 The pitching slate for tonight in daily fantasy baseball is unhinged good like absurd one of the best pitching slates I have seen in a very long time I know we have opening date kind of stuff that does slam things But like you look at the guys on tap for tonight and the pitchers We will not discuss for today would have been the top guys on several slates throughout this week So it is going to be a fun one We got a little bit less down decide who we want to be highest on can we find the salary and our hitters to afford those guys They do come with lofty salaries. How do we navigate all that and fill out good lineups? I think I've got a good feel for how I want to rank them first day So let's dive on in and get you said for this Friday main slate welcome on into the solo shop That's right here on the fan dual podcast network and number fire calm My name is Jim Sonnis. I am a senior writer and analyst for number fire calm here to break down Friday's 12 a game and main slate with locks up for 705 p.m. Eastern for today And the good news is we don't have any weather to discuss for today Do some wins out of course field at 10 miles per hour. It's course You're gonna be there anyway, but bump it up a little bit some slight winds out in Oakland But that doesn't tend to matter too much also as always is cooler there So it's a pretty good slate. Honestly, wherever you may be listening. It sounds like a fun weather night for you as well So hopefully we can enjoy some good weather for tonight and enjoy some good DFS as well We'll dive into the pitching preview in just one second But first a quick reminder to make sure you are subscribed to the number fire daily fantasy podcast feed coming up later on today Got a NASCAR podcast breaking down the NASCAR Cup Series first trip to worldwide technology Raceway Gateway they're gonna be there later on today Breaking that down on the same feed USC the Austin Swain will be up later on as well So make sure you are subscribed to the number fire daily fantasy podcast feed to get all those podcasts Right as they go alive and if you like what you hear leave us a rating and review as well The NBA Finals are now underway and it is now your chance to score big on Fandall sportsbook throughout the NBA Finals Fandall is giving new customers $200 and free bets guaranteed when you place your first $5 bet bet the money line point spread Player props and so much more plus you can combine your bets for an even bigger payday with a same game parlay If you haven't tried Fandall now is the perfect time to give it a shot because the only thing sweeter Then watching the finals is cashing in on all the action make every game feel like game 7 with Fandall sportsbook Fandall official partner of the NBA Must be 21 plus and in select states first online real money wager of at least $5 $10 first deposit required Bonus issued as non-withdrawable free bets that expire 14 days after receipt see full terms at Fandall comm slash sportsbook gambling problem call 1-800 gambler or visit Fandall comm slash RG in Arizona 1-800 next step or Tex next step to 5 3 3 4 2 in Connecticut 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org slash chat in Indiana 1-800-9 with it in Louisiana 1-877-770 stop in New York 1-877-780 hope and why or text hope and why in Tennessee call the red line at 1-889-789 or in West Virginia call or visit 1-800 gambler Dot net Pitching preview for today. It is done. We got Shane McClanahan at the top of the heap He is $11,200 on Fandall followed by Joe Musgrove at 10 9 Garakolas 10 8 with Corbyn birds at 10 5 Logan Gilbert is 10,000 Shane Beiber down at 97 facing Baltimore Tyler Anderson is 96 Chris Bassett facing Anderson is 94 with Nathan E of Aldi Max Freed Meryl Kelly Dane Dunning Zach Eflin of use a kukuchi as the others $8,000 or higher Eflin not officially announced yet So check back on that one later, but I would expect him to be the guy for there And it's it's an amazing pitching slate so I feel very firm with my rankings and I think the most firm take that I have for today is a Garrett Cole is the top guy and I feel great about that Cole is at home facing the Tigers Which is the best match if you could possibly concoct for a right-handed pitcher They have a 77 WRC plus against righties with a 116 ISO their strikeout rate is 25% I don't think you can get any better than that from a matchup perspective and Cole is getting better as the season goes along Over his past five starts Cole has been using fewer change-ups and more sliders and the with rate on that slider is 10 percentage points higher according to baseballs of up the Xwoba against it is about 50 points lower And it's led to a 34 percent strikeout rate in that time That's led to a 2.3. Oh skill interactive ER for a for Cole He is it double digit strikeouts and three of the five games he has started That's even with three of those starts being on the road. He is at home tonight I don't think there's a better matchup for a righty right now. And so I shouldn't have to explain too much more here I've got Cole projected for 9.4 strikeouts even on a loaded slate. That is a top mark by a full strikeout so to me the Easiest thing on tonight's late is deciding who's number one and that will be Garrett Cole for me despite it being a loaded slate overall The second pitching slot behind Cole is more complicated for me It's Shane McClanahan versus Corbin Burns and McClanahan is at home against the White Sox burns at home against the Padres I'm gonna give the slightest edge to burns here There are a couple reasons for that and the first one is length McClanahan is top 95 pitches twice so far this year. He said a hundred once burns Has gone 95 plus pitches in every start except for his first start this year He's gone 105 plus pitches three separate times. So the length edge goes to burns I do the match if it's being pretty equal McClanahan gets the White Sox They are still good against lefties, but they're pretty banged up 22% strike area for the active roster against lefties burns face in the Padres They have no power against righties so far this year with a 114 ISO and a 23% strikeout So from a results perspective I'd rather have a righty face in the Padres than a lefty face in the White Sox Narratively I would go that way as well. I do a McClanahan Projected for a slightly more strikeouts at 8.4 whereas burns is 8.0. So McClanahan has the edge there. That's why I have them in the same tier But I just feel better about burns personally and they're both behind Cole, but they're both elite options So I do love both of them here and it is you know splitting hairs to go with burns over McClanahan But I feel pretty good about that so to me It's cold at the top followed by burns followed by McClanahan as the top three pitchers for today For the value plan to talk about Nathan Ivaldi here I do think that Dane Dunning is a strong consideration for this slot as well So if you don't like Ivaldi I'd be fine going there We'll talk about Dunning and why he's not above Ivaldi if things to watch but Ivaldi's matchup is sick He's facing the A's and we know their issues They have an 82 WRC plus against righties with a 115 ISO and the striking out plenty enough as well The bigger question here is about Ivaldi himself Obviously, he has been getting rocked at times this year mostly when I've used him and when I haven't used him He's been lights out three point seven seven era, but some really poor starts in there again. Sorry It's probably my fault. We have seen the Ivaldi tinkering He's thrown fewer curveballs as past six starts and the strikeout rate has gone down But he has had some really nice individual outings. He had 11 strikeouts against Seattle He had a complete game against Baltimore. He did get torched by the Astros right before those two games while using the same approach and Four of his six starts had been at home But the two road starts of both quality starts, so I don't care too much about the home run splits here for Ivaldi I haven't projected for a six point five strikeouts tonight That's pretty strong for a value play and actually ranks fifth on this slate despite having a lot of really good options That's enough for me to use the Ivaldi at $8,800 He won't be a high exposure planks I think that Cole and McLanahan and Burns even Bieber guys like that all have absurd ceilings But I will use the Ivaldi at a time to jam in some more high-salary batters and that is a key consideration for me today as we talk about the stacks because I Feel very firm in the Yankees being the top stack for the day My conviction in Cole being the top pitcher is about similar to my conviction in the Yankees being the top stack I would put them above Coors as well personally and they're facing elvin Rodríguez Who did have a good start last time out? But that's been a big exception for this year in 11 and 2 3rds big league innings Elvin Rodríguez has a 42 percent hard hit rate allowed at a 49 percent fly ball rates This comes after he wasn't necessarily lighting it up at triple a either get a 22 percent strikeout right there But a 13 percent walk rate plenty of fly balls to Last year in double a Rodríguez had a 5.83 era tons of fly balls there So we can say with a good amount of confidence that Rodríguez will be a fly ball pitcher We can say that for sure Probably not going to get a ton of strikeouts and that's a prime combination for stacking he is facing a beat-up offense, but The Yankees get to play in the best part just for pure dingers in the league the temperature pretty solid at 76 degrees as well So I think we have to be high on the Yankees in this spot even with some alternatives from a stacking perspective now the question here is whether we can buy into what Matt Carpenter has been doing because Carpenter is $2,500 and if we want to get to Cole with Aaron judge in the same lineup We got to find value I think that Carpenter actually is in play hit a homer off Shohei Otani yesterday He was hitting the ball really well in triple a before he asked for his release He had a 338 ISO there. He apparently has been reworking his swing across the offseason so I'm very okay buying in it could be because I'm desperate for value at hitter for today, but I've always liked Carpenter to my Detriments in the past from a DFS perspective. I might as well be here and see if it all sticks Matt Carpenter I think a very fine value play at 25. I Feel better about him than I do by Joey Gallo who I'll probably use too But I think that Carpenter very much okay with me for today. I'd put core second on the stacking list Specifically with the Braves I'm off the Rockies here against Max Freed, but the Braves get Chad cool and cool has I'm sorry cooled off. If you'll allow me that one after his hot start cool let up Just two or runs in his first three starts He has let up now two or more and runs in four of six sets a lot of that is due to Some slipping with his bad at ball numbers the hard hit rate allowed for cool is up to 41 percent Fly ball rate 39 percent and it's tough to make that work with a 19 percent strikeout Right, especially when you're pitching your home games at Coors field There are some guys who handle Coors pretty well and can navigate that effectively and cool Had a great first out of Coors field, but he let up two bombs in the second He left after three innings in his third starts. I think the Braves here are just too good to pass up So I think the Yankees are one Braves two and both those teams very very good options But similar to the Yankees, we do need to try to find some value guys within this stack I think we can use Michael Harris Even assuming he bats ninth for tonight and assuming he does play which he might not but I'd assume that he does based on the Way they use him so far Harris really good numbers in triple A before his promotion He had a 201 ISO there and also stole 11 bases So I don't always like to use guys batting ninth in large part because most of the guys batting Ninth aren't good enough to be used in DFS. I think Harris is based on his triple A numbers based on his speed He's $2,500. He's at Coors field. So he's gonna bat ninth. That's okay. I don't care too much I think that he is still a very good option for DFS for tonight and Someone where I do believe in the talent so Michael Harris to me a good option for DFS in the bottom of the order For the Braves it makes it easier to get to your stud pitcher plus a Yankees and a Braves stack I think the third stack for value if we're looking for value to try to get in a CUNY if he plays get a judge Etc. Etc. It has to be the raise. They are definitely a worse offense without wander Franco We have to account for that for sure But it also bumps some others up in the order and I'm willing to lean on the value They provide here they're facing Vince Alaska's who had been demoted to the bullpen but he's back in the rotation now with Dallas Keichel being gone and Velasquez Unfortunately did get demoted for a reason namely again letting up too much hard contact and it's a typical story here for Velasquez Overall this year. He's led up a 45% hard hit rates with a 45% fly ball rate Across his seven starts. He led up three plus earned runs four separate times And he let up five twice had a three-homer game against the Yankees two and we've seen this in the past for Velasquez where He lets blot hard contact but this year. It's actually been a bit worse in those key areas And it had been previously Plus we've seen some lesser teams like the Ray or the Royals get to Velasquez So we do bump down the rays of the other best hitter But I think that's reassuring to see that some not elite offenses have still gotten to Velasquez this year And I think that the rays should have enough guys to make things work here So the rays if you want some value, I think they're a good spot to go to outside of Harris carpenter, etc, etc They do some lower salary guys who can hit for some power got Jim on Choi at $2,900 Kevin Keirmeyer is 27 He's still finding a way to hit for power this year, which is surprising, but I'll take it Taylor walls doesn't have power, but he can swipe some bags Brett Phillips if he plays he's not the kind of guy I want to use against Velasquez He does strike out a lot prefer some lower strikeout guys against Velasquez, but Between Choi Keirmeyer, maybe walls, maybe Phillips. I think we'll have a lot of value here We give value with upside. I think that's what I want. So the rays give us flexibility to get some of the Desirable plays on the Yankees and the Brays without having to avoid the elite elite pitchers for tonight Moving on to things to watch did want to talk briefly on daintoning as a potential value pitcher He's at home against the Mariners and they're a pretty low strikeout team. That's my main issue with Dunning I like him as a player. I think he's pretty good. They are letting him go deeper in games now So I can get on board with Dunning for sure The matchup was the one thing that kept me from getting to jazz But I think everything else lines up pretty well for Dunning here The blue jays are facing Chi Chi Gonzalez today The implied total for the Jays is very high and I won't push back on that But it's not the kind of pitcher I like to stack against because Gonzalez gets a lot of ground balls his ground ball rate in triple eight this year is 56% So you can stack the Jays for sure and I don't mind it But that is the reason why they're behind the rays behind the Yankees behind the Brays is I'm expecting Gonzalez to have a pretty big ground ball rate for today Finally, I'm not opposed to some guardians here. They're facing Bruce Zimmerman who has started to slip a bit after his Super good start to the year and hard contact is a key issue with a 42% hard hit rates and a 40% fly ball rates the guardians Not a super powerful team against lefties. So I want to be selective But it's like Oscar Gonzalez at $2,600. He's likely to bat in the middle of the lineup good numbers in triple a I don't mind him as part of a a one-off of or a mini-sack So honestly, I think that value for today hitter isn't bad Gonzalez is a good option Harris I talked about if you've all plays you could get to him for the Brays Carpenter maybe Gallo, I guess, you know We'll try to avoid that but I might not be able to so I think that the value options for today are actually not all that terrible Which should make it easier to get to Your call stacks even with like Rizzo and judge in there, too I think you make that work pretty easily. So I Think pitching is attainable good pitching is attainable for tonight for sure Let's finish up the week with some Dinger calls for today the boring one It's very boring. I'm sorry, but it's Aaron judge. I just love the spot here for judge facing off against Ain't a matchup where I think that we have to stack the Yankees again Rodriguez Let's up a ton of fly balls. So Aaron judge as boring as it gets for the first-home run call for today The fun one I got a lot of options. I could go carpenter, but that means two Yankees I think that if you're looking for like a betting selection, I haven't seen carpenter's odds So that's a dumb recommendation if you haven't seen the odds the odds always matter Would look at him looking to him. They could go Kiermaier go Jim on Choy guys like that I think that they're in play, but I will go Michael Harris Power was not his like calling card necessarily in triple a but he's got speed got a massive outfield the course field Maybe we go fun and say inside the park home run for Michael Harris I'm not really sure but I will say Aaron judge Michael Harris as the home run calls for today Oscar Gonzalez another guy to check into If you're looking for some fun home run calls for this Friday slate That is all that we have here for today on the MLB side of things But as mentioned NASCAR and UFC coming up later on today on the number fire daily fantasy podcast needs to go search forward Hit subscribe if you like what you hear leave us a rating and review if you've got any questions for me I am on Twitter at Jim Sonnis JMS an NES you can also follow the fan dual podcast network at fan dual podcast big Thank you to everyone for tuning in for today. Good luck to you with your DFS lineups Enjoy the fantastic pitching slate that we've got a fantastic weekend. We'll talk to you once again next week This has been the solo shot right here on the fan dual podcast network