FanDuel Daily Fantasy Baseball Helper: Saturday 7/16/22
Our daily helper is available every day to analyze FanDuel's main slate and help give you a starting point when you're building lineups.
Be sure to also incorporate our great tools into your research process. Whether you're looking for daily projections, the latest starting lineups and weather, or batting and pitching heat maps to find the best matchups -- we've got you covered!
Let's check out the top options on today's main slate.
Pitchers
Justin Verlander ($11,100)
At his second highest salary point, Saturday's most expensive pitcher will face an Oakland Athletics' lineup with a projected .272 weighted on-base average (wOBA) including seven expected hitters with K-rates over 22.1% and contact percentages under 76.2% in their last 386 plate appearances.
With optimal recent form including a 3.48 expected Fielding Independent Pitching rating (xFIP) in his last seven starts and matchup versus his division rivals, Verlander currently ranks as numberFire's top pitcher with a 36.9 FanDuel point expectation and 6.7 projected strikeouts.
Max Fried ($10,700)
Despite an average strikeout opportunity versus a Washington Nationals' team with a .319 wOBA and a 18.7% K-rate, Atlanta's steady left-hander rates as Saturday's second overall pitcher with a 32.4 fantasy projection and 5.75 expected strikeouts.
Even at his highest FanDuel salary point this season, Fried potentially offers the best form among Saturday's 12 pitchers with a 3.10 xFIP, a 11.6% swinging strike percentage, and a 23.3% K-rate.
Logan Gilbert ($10,300)
In his second largest sample size starting in the Majors, Seattle's 25-year old right-hander has overall improved upon his rookie season, accounting for a 3.80 xFIP and a 22.9% strikeout percentage in 106.0 innings.
As numberFire's third ranked pitcher, Gilbert's Saturday expectation includes a 30.9 FanDuel point projection and 5.7 expected strikeouts against a Texas Rangers' lineup with a .328 wOBA and a 23.2% K-rate in their last 710 plate appearances.
Ranger Suarez ($8,300)
After the top-tier over 10K, Philadelphia's left-hander is a value option to consider with a 4.04 xFIP and a 18.6% K-rate against a Miami Marlins' team with a low .281 wOBA and a 23.6% strikeout percentage in this particular split.
At his second highest FanDuel salary, Suarez still ranks third in value at his position with a 3.39 rating and fifth overall with a 28.1 fantasy projection.
Stacks
In his second chance starting against his division opponent this season, Paolo Espino will challenge an Atlanta Braves' offense projected for a slate-high 5.7 runs.
Although Washington's veteran right-hander allowed only two earned runs and a 3.72 xFIP in four innings during his most recent start versus Atlanta, Matt Olson (12.3% barrel rate, .482 expected slugging) and Michael Harris II (.498 expected slugging, 10.6% barrel percentage) remain in great spots to counter Espino's main weakness (4.73 xFIP versus LHB) while Austin Riley (14.9% barrel rate, .606 expected slugging), Dansby Swanson (.545 expected slugging, 12% barrel rate), and Travis d'Arnaud (8.6% barrel percentage) provide power among infield possibilities.
Oakland's journey-man left-hander Jared Koenig will make his fifth career start versus a Houston Astros' unit with an underestimated 5.1 implied run total.
Through 18.1 career innings, Koenig has profiled as a subpar Major League starter with an ugly 6.18 xFIP and a 11.6% strikeout percentage, while his minor league production (4.58 xFIP in 64.0 Triple-A innings, 4.88 xFIP in 121.1 Double-A innings) unfortunately further supports this negative outlook.
With overall trouble versus both sides of the plate, Houston combinations can include their top power hitters including Kyle Tucker (.573 expected slugging, 10.8% barrel rate), Jose Altuve (.488 expected slugging, 8.6% barrel percentage), Alex Bregman (7.3% barrel rate, .479 expected slugging), Jeremy Pena (10.6% barrel rate, .478 expected slugging) and Chas McCormick (11% barrel percentage, .456 expected slugging).
Dean Kremer will make his eighth start this season on the road against a Tampa Bay Rays' lineup with a .311 wOBA in their last 535 plate appearances.
While Baltimore's right-hander has recorded a career-best 2.15 Earned Run Average through 37.2 innings, Kremer is due for massive regression when examining his 4.65 xFIP and his 84.4% left on-base percentage (career 71.5%).
To best counter his top weakness versus right-handed bats (5.51 xFIP), Christian Bethancourt (13.3% barrel rate, .561 expected slugging), Yandy Diaz (.294 expected average, .365 expected wOBA), Harold Ramirez (.351 expected wOBA, .452 expected slugging) and Randy Arozarena (7.1% barrel percentage) present top stacking options while Ji-Man Choi (10.6% barrel rate) and Brandon Lowe (10.6% barrel percentage) can also be mixed in.
