Opening Day is here! MLB DFS pitching breakdowns are key to starting a winning lineup. MDell (Matt) walks you through key stats, trends, and fantasy scoring capable of going deep, shutting down offenses, and bringing big value to your fantasy baseball lineups.
Matt is mostly a Fanduel player, so the content will be for geared mainly towards Fanduel. However, pricing for both Fanduel and DraftKings will be included. Some plays may be better off for the two pitcher sites and he will mention that when necessary. For an even deeper dive into MLB Pitching Strategy, click here. And, for proper definitions of the many stats used below, head to Fangraphs.com. They are easy to find and learn.
Yesterday’s MLB Pitcher Results: (here I will post fantasy points from previous day’s picks)
Here I will post the fantasy scoring points for the previous day picks that I provided. Since tonight is Opening Day, there are obviously no picks from yesterday! But I will provide the scoring, good or bad from my picks!
Mar 31, 2022; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Los Angeles Angels pitcher Shohei Ohtani (17) throws against the Milwaukee Brewers during a spring training game at American Family Fields of Phoenix. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports
Main MLB DFS Slate (7 Games)
Corbin Burnes (11.2k FD) (FD ONLY)
This game is only on the Fanduel Main slate and so far, DK has not put out a showdown slate. I like Burnes here against the Cubs, weather permitting. He’s had pretty good numbers in 11 games against the Cubs over his career, pitching 38 innings and striking out 61 hitters. The Brewers have a solid-looking rotation coming into this season too. In the Spring, Burnes only threw 14 innings this Spring, but struck out 19 hitters. He did struggle a bit with 7 ER though, but likely just getting the feel for all his stuff again.
Shohei Ohtani (10.5k FD) (7k DK)
Ohtani makes for a solid SP2 on DK here tonight on Opening Day, even though he’s facing the Astros. He’s the 4th cheapest pitcher on the slate over on DraftKings tonight. He didn’t pith much in the spring, just 5.2 innings, but he did strike out 9 hitters in the 2 games. This Houston lineup is without Correa here which hurts them a bit. I don’t mind going to him and I have read reports that he is looking even better this season. Watch out Houston.
Shane Bieber (10.4k DK) (8.3k DK)
Bieber is in a good spot here against the Royals. After being limited to just 16 starts last year, Bieber looks healthy and ready to go. He did struggle this spring though, but a lot of guys have struggled in the Spring. Since he’s facing KC, we have a lot of data with him against them. Against KC in his career, he is 4-0 with 10 starts. He has struck out 74 hitters in 56 innings too.
Yu Darvish (9.4k FD) (9.5k DK)
I don’t love his price on DK being the most expensive guy there, but he’s a little cheaper on FD here. He’s had a pretty good Spring this year, striking out 14 hitters in 11.1 innings of work, allowing just 3 ER. He had an up and down year last year, but still made the all-star team and fired 166 innings with 199 strikeouts. He does get a good matchup to start here with the Diamondbacks as well. This lineup outside of Marte doesn’t really scare me that much and they only had 2 guys over a .320 wOBA last year at home against RHP.
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Max Fried (9.3k FD) (9k DK)
Fried took a little step back last year, but nothing too crazy. He still had a WHIP just over 1 and almost struck out a batter per inning. This is the later game of the night at home where the Braves to get raise their WS banner. Comes in as a pretty big favorite here tonight too. He did well against righties last season, allowing just a .251 wOBA against them, while not giving up a ton of hard contact. CIN likely will roll out 7-8 righties in their lineups for Opening Day here.
Adam Wainwright (8k FD) (7.5k DK)
Waino gets another opening day nod for the Cards here. He also has a good matchup with the Pirates to start his campaign. Last year the Pirates were not a good team. The only guys who worry me much against Waino is Reynolds who was the Pirates best hitter last season.
Patrick Corbin (6.9k FD) (6.7k DK)
The cheap option here for some GPPs. I wouldn’t trust using Corbin in cash games against this Mets offense. The Mets are already dealing with starting pitcher issues and I do think Corbin can go deep enough for the QS bonus here on FD. He had a really good Spring with 9 scoreless innings and 10 strikeouts. The Mets do have a very tough-looking lineup, especially against lefties, but I’m willing to take his hot spring into the regular season here.
My Personal Rankings for DFS MLB Opening Day
- Corbin Burnes
- Adam Wainwright
- Max Fried
- Shane Bieber
- Yu Darvish
- Shohei Ohtani
- Patrick Corbin
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