Our daily fantasy baseball picks continue with starting pitcher rankings and advice for Friday's MLB slate.
Today we have a little something for everyone. If you prefer an elite ace and a little drama, we've got Jacob deGrom in the afternoon (assuming his wife doesn't go into labor); don't worry, there are three more aces later if you need 'em. If you want mid-tier value, we have plenty of good pitchers with great matchups, or high-upside risks with "meh" matchups. If you'd like to have arguably the worst pitcher in baseball, we have a few candidates for that title as well.
MORE DAILY FANTASY: Hitter picks | MLB Playbook | Optimal lineup | Sporting News DFS
My strategy will be to pay up only as much as I need to get an ace, or at least someone who can provide ace-level stats. In other words, I'm avoiding the cliff that follows Luis Severino. Let's take a look at the full starting pitcher rankings (for daily and seasonal leagues) and picks below. As usual, we'll also have the day's best daily fantasy hitter picks and Fantasy Alarm's MLB DFS Playbook to help you find the best values on FanDuel and DraftKings. Good luck!
Daily fantasy baseball pitcher rankings
| Rank | Pitcher | Team | Opp |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jacob deGrom | NYM | vs. PHI |
| 2 | Francisco Liriano | PIT | at CIN |
| 3 | Marcus Stroman | TOR | vs. BOS |
| 4 | Chris Archer | TB | at BAL |
| 5 | Danny Salazar | CLE | at CHW |
| 6 | Taijuan Walker | SEA | vs. OAK |
| 7 | Jaime Garcia | STL | at ATL |
| 8 | Jordan Zimmermann | DET | vs. NYY |
| 9 | Yordano Ventura | KC | vs. MIN |
| 10 | Jason Hammel | CHC | at ARI |
| 11 | Luis Severino | NYY | at DET |
| 12 | Ervin Santana | MIN | at KC |
| 13 | Alfredo Simon | CIN | vs. PIT |
| 14 | Matt Wisler | ATL | vs. STL |
| 15 | Robbie Ray | ARI | vs. CHC |
| 16 | Chris Tillman | BAL | vs. TB |
| 17 | Chase Anderson | MIL | vs. HOU |
| 18 | A.J. Griffin | TEX | at LAA |
| 19 | John Danks | CHW | vs. CLE |
| 20 | Matt Shoemaker | LAA | vs. TEX |
| 21 | Jerad Eickhoff | PHI | at NYM |
| 22 | Joe Kelly | BOS | at TOR |
| 23 | Scott Feldman | HOU | at MIL |
| 24 | Matt Cain | SF | vs. LAD |
| 25 | Eric Surkamp | OAK | at SEA |
| 26 | Jordan Lyles | COL | vs. SD |
| 27 | Ross Stripling | LAD | at SF |
| 28 | Colin Rea | SD | at COL |
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Daily fantasy baseball picks
Splurge: Jacob deGrom, Mets vs. Phillies. This one needs no explanation. Is it too cocky to call the first no-hitter of the season? The only concern is that deGrom ($11,000 on FD; $12,300 on DK) misses this start if his wife goes into labor by first pitch (1 p.m. ET). Let's hope she holds out and helps us all out in DFS. If not, I like Francisco Liriano ($9,900 on FD; $10,300 on DK) too.
MORE: Sporting News DFS | Fantasy Alarm Playbook PRO
Sell: Jordan Zimmermann, Tigers vs. Yankees. I'm going to let Zimmermann ($8,900 on FD; $9,100 on DK) make his Tigers/AL debut before I pony up this kind of cash for him in daily leagues, especially against the fast-starting Yankees lineup. There are enough other aces today anyway.
Save: Jaime Garcia, Cardinals at Braves. Great matchup to start the season for Garcia ($8,900 on FD; $9,400 on DK), who could rack up a few more Ks than usual. If you're really wanting to maximize your strikeout upside on the cheap, I also like Taijuan Walker, who's an even better value than Garcia on FanDuel at just $7,600 ($9,300 on DK).