Our daily fantasy baseball picks continue with starting pitcher rankings, strategy, and advice for Monday's MLB slate.
Despite the short slate (especially if you remove the Pirates' and Rockies' early-afternoon game and Game 1 of the Indians-White Sox doubleheader), there are a lot of talented pitching options tonight. Of course, no one is as talented as Clayton Kershaw, but if you decide to fade him, there are viable alternatives at much better prices.
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With that in mind, let's take a look at today's full starting pitcher rankings and picks. As usual, we'll also have the DFS Playbook from Fantasy Alarm to help you find the best values on FanDuel and DraftKings. Good luck!
Daily fantasy baseball picks
Splurge: Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers vs. Reds. Fade Kershaw ($13,200 on FD; $14,000 on DK) at your own risk. You can find an extra value hitter or two to fit him in, which is a good idea in tournaments anyway. He'll be under-owned with the other, more affordable options on the mound tonight.
Sell: Johnny Cueto, Giants vs. Padres. Nothing against Cueto ($11,800 on FD; $12,600 on DK), but he's going to be heavily owned today because of the savings on Kershaw and the matchup. It makes more sense to fade him and just pay up a little more for Kershaw, or save a lot more with a true value option. That said, he'll put up big points tonight.
MORE DFS: MLB DFS Playbook | Playbook PRO
Save: Adam Wainwright, Cardinals vs. Cubs. Waino ($7,500 on FD; $6,000 on DK) has looked better lately, but I still think people will avoid him tonight and go with sexier options in better matchups. That makes Wainwright a potentially low-owned value pick perfect for tournament play.
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Daily fantasy baseball rankings
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| Rank | Pitcher | Team | Opp |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clayton Kershaw | LAD | vs. CIN |
| 2 | Johnny Cueto | SF | vs. SD |
| 3 | Gio Gonzalez | WAS | vs. NYM |
| 4 | Vincent Velasquez | PHI | at DET |
| 5 | Drew Pomeranz | SD | at SF |
| 6 | Rich Hill | OAK | at SEA |
| 7 | John Lackey | CHC | at STL |
| 8 | Ian Kennedy | KC | at MIN |
| 9 | Adam Wainwright | STL | vs. CHC |
| 10 | Taijuan Walker | SEA | vs. OAK |
| 11 | Mat Latos | CHW | vs. CLE |
| 12 | Matt Moore | TB | at MIA |
| 13 | Bartolo Colon | NYM | at WAS |
| 14 | Brandon Finnegan | CIN | at LAD |
| 15 | Wei-Yin Chen | MIA | vs. TB |
| 16 | Mike Pelfrey | DET | vs. PHI |
| 17 | Cody Anderson | CLE | at CHW |
| 18 | Derek Holland | TEX | vs. LAA |
| 19 | Ricky Nolasco | MIN | vs. KC |
| 20 | Nick Tropeano | LAA | at TEX |
| 21 | Jordan Lyles | COL | at PIT |
| 22 | Erik Johnson | CHW | vs. CLE |
| 23 | Ryan Vogelsong | PIT | vs. COL |
| 24 | Mike Clevinger | CLE | at CHW |