Thursday’s eight-game MLB DFS main slate will make its opening pitches at 1:05 p.m. ET. Headlined by Gerrit Cole against the Astros, today’s pitcher pool offers plenty of value in the mid-range price tiers on both DraftKings and FanDuel. Brandon Woodruff has a fitting matchup at hand in Philadelphia, and Nathan Eovaldi‘s homefield date with Detroit appears just as inviting at first glance. We will set our sights on the group beneath Cole in today’s Spotlight Pitchers for Thursday, May 6.
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Top Daily Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitchers | May 6
Brandon Woodruff: MIL at PHI — DraftKings $9,300; FanDuel $10,100
Brandon Woodruff has been superb this season posting a 30.1% strikeout rate, .156 average against, 0.80 WHIP, 2.13 FIP and 0.26 HR/9. Averaging 22.5 DraftKings and 39.33 FanDuel points in six starts, Woodruff’s matchup with the Phillies paves potential for a high fantasy ceiling.
Awesemo’s MLB Top Pitchers Tool gives Woodruff a 20.2% likelihood of being a top-two pitcher on DraftKings and an 8.4% chance of being the top pitcher on FanDuel. His prices drops his top-value projections slightly below that, but not overly so. However, MLB DFS ownership projections of 28.5% on DraftKings and 15.5% on FanDuel suggest decent popularity.
Woodruff is scheduled to face five righties and four left-handed hitters. He had 11.89 K/9, .220 average against, 1.11 WHIP, 8% walk rate, 3.12 FIP and 0.96 HR/9 against right-handed hitters last season and fared comparably against lefties. Still without Bryce Harper, the Phillies present some potency in Brad Miller (second), Rhys Hoskins (third) and J.T. Realmuto (fourth), with each hitting over a .206 ISO against righties over the past season, while Didi Gregorius is batting .275 against righties this year. The Phillies collectively have a .224 average, 26.5% strikeout rate, .296 on-base percentage and 82 wRC+ against right-handed pitching this season. Despite the spend-up on FanDuel, Woodruff is among the best projected pitchers for Thursday.
Awesemo’s FanDuel Grades: Points A, Value D
Awesemo’s DraftKings Grades: Points A, Value B
Nathan Eovaldi: BOS vs DET — DraftKings $8,400; FanDuel $8,600
Nathan Eovaldi has a 22.4% strikeout rate, .248 average against, 4.9% walk rate, 1.15 WHIP and 2.12 FIP this season. Priced modestly in the mid-$8,000 range, Eovaldi is averaging 17.4 DraftKings and 31.66 FanDuel points over his six starts. Awesemo’s MLB Top Pitchers Tool gives Eovaldi a 17.9% chance of being a top-two pitcher on DraftKings and 8.1% of being the top pitcher on FanDuel. Eovaldi’s daily fantasy baseball point projections of 18.57 DraftKings and 32.34 FanDuel points align him as a top-five pitching option on both sites. Given MLB DFS ownership projections of 28.2% on DraftKings and 19.7% on FanDuel, Eovaldi is among the top of the field’s attention, however.
The Tigers will have four switch-hitters and three righties in their order today. Last season against lefties, Eovaldi had 9.79 K/9, .191 average against, 4.9% walk rate, 0.86 WHIP and 1.01 HR/9. He was less impressive against righties, allowing a greater home run rate and smaller strikeout rate, though he walked fewer batters. Catcher Wilson Ramos (fourth) has a .284 ISO against right-handed pitchers this season, while Akil Baddoo rounding out the order is smacking a .367 ISO. The Tigers against right-handed pitching have a .209 batting average, 29.4% strikeout rate, .269 on-base percentage and 81 wRC+. Eovaldi may be a hot commodity on this slate, yet the projected ownership doesn’t appear to tilt the scale and the matchup is too good to ignore.
Awesemo’s FanDuel Grades: Points B, Value B
Awesemo’s DraftKings Grades: Points B, Value B
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Taijuan Walker: NYM at STL — DraftKings $7,000; FanDuel $7,500
Taijuan Walker provides the salary relief on Thursday while offering promising projections sans the heavy field investment. Walker has a 23.9% strikeout rate, .196 average against, 1.26 WHIP and 0.33 HR/9 this season. Averaging 13.3 DraftKings and 24.83 FanDuel points in five starts, Awesemo’s MLB Top Pitchers Tool gives Walker a 15.1% chance of being a top-two pitcher on DraftKings and 7.2% of being the top pitcher on FanDuel. With Walker’s fiscal-friendly pricing on both sites, he has a 22.4% chance of being a top-two value on DraftKings and 9.4% chance of being the top value pitcher on FanDuel. MLB DFS ownership projections peg Walker for 12.7% on DraftKings and 4.6% on FanDuel, making him a slightly under-the-radar candidate.
The Cardinals are scheduled to roll out a lopsided batting order of seven righties and two switch-hitters. When facing righties last season Walker had 7.71 K/9, .178 average against, 0.95 WHIP, 0.55 HR/9 and 3.38 FIP. Tyler O’Neill (sixth) has an .825 OPS and 125 wRC+ against righties this season, while Nolan Arenado (fourth) and Paul DeJong (fifth) each have ISOs over .202. The Cardinals are striking out 24.3% of the time and have a .295 on-base percentage with an 89 wRC+ against right-handed pitchers this season. Providing plentiful savings while shedding field ownership, Walker is an excellent alternative low-cost pitching option for Thursday’s early main MLB DFS slate.
Awesemo’s FanDuel Grades: Points B, Value A
Awesemo’s DraftKings Grades: Points B, Value A
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