Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks: Starting pitcher rankings, advice for May 11

Brad Pinkerton

Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks: Starting pitcher rankings, advice for May 11 image

Our daily fantasy baseball picks continue with starting pitcher rankings and advice for Wednesday's MLB slate.

As a former pitcher, I'm a huge fan of pitching duels. That's why I'm in love with today's matchups: Mat Latos vs. Cole Hamels (both undefeated); Chris Archer vs. Taijuan Walker; Marcus Stroman vs. Madison Bumgarner; Jordan Zimmermann vs. Max Scherzer in the odd double-revenge game against former teams; Noah Syndergaard vs. Kenta Maeda. 

MORE FANTASY: Prospect rankings | Waiver wire 

The problems are that all those aces means fantasy stats could be suppressed today, and those matchups will make it difficult to predict the winning pitcher, which is critical in FanDuel's scoring this year. 

Let's take a look at the full starting pitcher rankings and picks. As usual, we'll also have daily fantasy baseball hitter picks and the DFS Playbook from Fantasy Alarm to help you find the best values on FanDuel and DraftKings. Good luck!

Daily fantasy baseball picks

Splurge: Jordan Zimmermann, Tigers at Nationals. I'd take Zimm over Scherzer in this revenge game if you're willing to pay up. However, I'd recommend not "splurging" today because there are some undervalued aces in lopsided matchups, such as Rick Porcello ($8,400 on FD; $9,200 on DK) against the A's Eric Surkamp. 

Sell: Madison Bumgarner, Giants vs. Blue Jays. I hate this matchup for Bumgarner ($11,200 on FD; $12,400 on DK), who is the most expensive player on both sites today. The Blue Jays can rip lefties and Stroman could limit the Giants offense. If you're splurging on a pitcher, find someone with an easier road to victory. 

MORE: Hitter picks | Optimal DFS lineupDFS Playbook PRO | Play FanDuel

Save: Marcus Stroman, Blue Jays at Giants. The Ks are up for Stroman ($7,700 on FD; $8,600) and I'm betting that the Blue Jays' righthanded power bats get to Bumgarner. If you're looking for cheaper plays on DK, check out Latos ($6,400) during the day and Juan Nicasio ($6,000) at night, assuming he finally gets to pitch. Nicasio also looks good on FanDuel ($7,900). 

Editor's note: Play one-day fantasy baseball leagues for real money at FanDuel! Claim your free entry and deposit bonus here.

Daily fantasy baseball rankings

Turn mobile device horizontally for best viewing experience.

RankPitcherTeamOpp
1Jordan ZimermannDETat WAS
2Noah SyndergaardNYMat LAD
3Marcus StromanTORat SF
4Kenta MaedaLADvs. NYM
5Taijuan WalkerSEAvs. TB
6Danny SalazarCLEat HOU
7Cole HamelsTEXvs. CHW
8John LackeyCHCvs. SD
9Rick PorcelloBOSvs. OAK
10Jaime GarciaSTLat LAA
11Madison BumgarnerSFvs. TOR
12Chris ArcherTBat SEA
13Max ScherzerWASvs. DET
14Kyle HendricksCHCvs. SD
15Juan NicasioPITat CIN
16Mat LatosCHWat TEX
17Yordano VenturaKCat NYY
18Drew PomeranzSDat CHC
19Jerad EickhoffPHIat ATL
20Michael PinedaNYYvs. KC
21Doug FisterHOUvs. CLE
22Wei-Yin ChenMIAvs. MIL
23Tyler WilsonBALat MIN
24Jhoulys ChacinATLvs. PHI
25Matt ShoemakerLAAvs. STL
26Chase AndersonMILat MIA
27Alfredo SimonCINvs. PIT
28Colin ReaSDat CHC
29Phil HughesMINvs. BAL
30Robbie RayARIat COL
31Eric SurkampOAKat BOS
32Chad BettisCOLvs. ARI

Brad Pinkerton