 Another day with the early lock time in daily fantasy baseball and this time instead of a nine game slate It is a four-gamer. They were supposed to be more for today But with bad weather pretty much all across the globe It seems like a lot of those games are postponed So just a four-game main slate for today would lock at 1 10 p.m. Eastern We're gonna break down this slate because despite the fact it is just four games We get Coors Field for the first time in 2023 we'll talk about what that means where we're going there and our favorite pitching options for Thursday on Fanduel welcome on into the solo shop That's right here on the Fanduel podcast network and number fire comm My name is Jim Sannis. I am a senior writer and analyst for number fire here to dissect this four-game main slate What locks up for one to ten p.m. Eastern for today? I would give out weather notes But again just four games and all of them that had weather were postponed Every game remaining of the four games has low temperatures So the temperatures between about 48 and 56 degrees or so which means we don't need to adjust for weather because everywhere is cold so Definitely you want to keep that in mind specifically with Coors because it's not typical Coors because it's not You know 70 degrees or whatever in Denver, but it is still the same temperature as everywhere else So the relative upsides of Coors are still there. So to me, I think that's impactful I think that that lowers a lot of my concerns around Coors field for today I think we feel pretty good about it being full Coors Relative to this lady if it's not full Coors relative to itself We'll talk about what that means talk about pitchers and more in just one second Reminder to make sure you are subscribed to the number fire daily fantasy podcast feed wherever you get your podcast We have NBA covered MLB UFC PGA all in the same place So search for the number fire daily fantasy podcast feed to get this podcast as it goes live each and every weekday And while you're there if you like what you hear leave us a five-star rating as well Grand slams no hitters and double plays are back and there is no better place to get in Fandall America's number one sports book That's because right now new customers can step up to the plate with a no sweat first bets up to one Thousand dollars sign up place your first bed and get up to one a thousand dollars back in bonus bets if you don't win So don't miss your chance to get a no sweat first bet up to one a thousand dollars when you join Fandall today Fandall official partner of Major League Baseball must be 21 plus and president select states first online real money wager Only $10 deposit required refund issued is non with trouble bonus bets that expire in 14 days Restricted supply see full terms at fandall.com slash sports book Fandals offering online sports wagering in Kansas under an agreement with Kansas Dark Casino LLC gambling problem call 1 800 gambler over the fandall.com Rg in Arizona 1 800 next step or text next step to 5 3 3 4 2 in kinetic at 1 8 8 8 7 8 9 7 7 7 7 or visit ccpg.org slash chat in Indiana 1 800 9 with it in Wyoming in Kansas 1 800 5 2 2 4700 or in Kansas KS gambling health comm in Louisiana 1 8 7 7 7 7 7 0 stop in Maryland md gambling health org in New York 1 8 7 7 a open wire text open Y and in West Virginia Go to 1 800 gambler.net Pitching preview for this Thursday slate is a short one because not a lot of pitchers to be had Kevin Gossman comes in with the highest salary of 10 eight got landflint in 97 Chris Salem his second start back is 9000 alex wood 84 Kyle Freeland 82 as the guys above $8000 and when you look at this slate and you hear those names Given where sales that right now I feel like it should be pretty clear that Kevin Gossman is the top guy and I'd agree with that whole heartedly So Kevin Gossman is our number one pitcher for tonight in daily fantasy now Gossman is on the road But that did not bother him last year He actually had better results in the road than at home His strikeout rate went up 1.7 percentage points and that's not something we should expect to stick over the long run We should expect all pitchers to be worse On the road than they are at home because that's the way things work But it does mean to me. We don't need to downgrade Gossman much being on the road He's facing the royals here who are a lower strikeout Team than some others But I also think that they're a higher strikeout team than what the royals have been in the past And that's an important note because a lot of times the royals have been Targets for cash games in DFS because they were not the best offense But they were a tougher tournament team because they didn't strike out a whole lot That's no longer the case. They're at a 23 strikeout rate versus uh, Righties over the uh, since the start of last year facing the current active roster. They're 85 w rc plus is worst on the slate Gossman is also stretched out. He went 90 pitches in his first start and looked very good He had seven strikeouts and six innings against a very good. St. Louis Cardinals offense We didn't see a lot of splitters from gossman in that game, which you can see happen with guys that throw splitters They'll work their way up throughout the year to not, you know, tear their fingers apart But we saw that adjustment last year too where Gossman scaled back on his his splitter over his final 18 starts Even in that time with fewer splitters his skill interactive era was 2.84 He had a 30 strikeout rate where they 4 walk rate So there were some rough individual starts in there, but the overall sample is very very good And I don't think anybody else is in his tier. So I have gossman projected almost a full strikeout above everybody else I agree with that. I think that is the way to be I think he is the definitive top option and if you want to stack course field You can get to kevin gossman for today and I would very much like to do so Lancelot is one of the guys that's in a strikeout of gossman and he's at home So you can justify him as a pivot, but he's not in gossman's tier He is a pivot but not in the same tier and I want to make that very very clear You know, if you don't want to deviate a full tier to pivot fine Then I think you stick with gossman. That's probably what I'll do But if you think that a full tier off is okay, then lin is within that consideration Lin's facing the giants not a great matchup for a righty. They have a 107 wrc plus versus righties They're about average in terms of strikeouts So being here our being here is a product of a four game slate Lin should though go deep in the game. He went 96 pitches his first starts He used to be this like massive horse and maybe so is but And that 96 pitch out and came against houston. He got six strikeouts there Which is pretty impressive even in their lineup being, you know, somewhat reduced from what it has been. That's very impressive Lin's been mixing in his slider a bit more across this past 13 starts. It's around 10 usage so not a huge pitch for him, but It's been good to him 25 strikeout right in that time 4 walk rates The bad of ball profiles not elite for lin in this time, but it's just 48 degrees in chicago So that should help keep things in the yard even if he does make a couple of mistakes I have lin projected at 6.6 strikeouts which ranks second behind gaussman So if you just if your goal is to avoid the chalk, I would go to lin But lin will also carry a lot of popularity as a result of just being a small slate So I think it's really gaussman to me lin if you really want to deviate there I think if i'm Saying I definitively must get off kevin gaussman I may prefer the other side of the lance lin game as the preferred pivot and that guy is alex wood our final picture $84 it's a very tough matchup which should keep people off of him I would guess the white socks have a 123 wrc plus against lefty since the start of last year with just an 18 strikeout rate We do not want to use guys in the spot But there are only two guys above him in lin and gaussman. They could always go kaput and Wood is stretched out. Uh, despite this being his first start of the year He went 97 pitches in his final start during the spring. So alex wood is ready to rock He is coming off a down year as far as the results go 5.10 era But the peripherals were better with a 4.00 expected era 24 strikeout rates We did see wood cut back on his sinkers a bit as the year went along and in that time He had a 3.45 skill interactive era 24 strikeout rate and a 5 walk rate the batted ball numbers In that sample not as good as they were for the full season, which is slightly concerning But again, not a great slight It was between wood and chris sail for this slot and I don't think sail is going longer than 80 pitches for a while So it kind of had to be wood. So I'll go alex wood here. We'll talk about sailing things to watch But I think that alex wood Deserves me number three and probably my preferred pivot off of gaussman Just because I know lin will also likely catch a lot of popularity for today Let's talk about stacks for today and the easiest decision on this slate Maybe even up there with gaussman. Maybe even a buzz gaussman is the stack course field I am fine with it. Again, low temperature that course. So it's not full course field But the relative weight of course is still there because every other game is also chilly We'll start here with the rockies who are my preferred side of this game They're facing joe zaya gray who is a guy who is upside I do like long term because he can get some strikeouts, but he's not getting them right now And everything else is kind of a little bit scary gray lets up a ton of fly balls And he's not getting enough strikeouts now to offset all those fly balls We have seen gray trying to combat this he has been adding a sinker into help with the batted ball issues It's a nine start sample with that sinker being in the mix, but It hasn't helped much In that time gray has a 43 fly ball rate allowed We'll just say 17 strikeout rates his eRA is 5.66 It is 2023 debut last week let up three home runs against the braves That's a tough team for sure But now you go from facing the braves very tough offense to pitching a course field Good luck The rockies are not the braves by any means 90 wrc plus against righties, but again, it's coarse that helps a ton so I do think we want to be here and be pretty aggressive in doing so with the rockies at the top of our stacking pool We do want to favor the lefties against gray since it started last year. They have a 603 slugging percentage against gray That's bananas righties are at 427 So don't ignore the righties. They're still fine here at course, but I would give the lefties a decent boost That means jerks and pro far charlie blackman ryan mcman mcman and pro far are both willing to run which is a huge benefit because Course yields not just for home runs. It's also a huge outfield which means more balls and play fall in Which means more guys getting singles which means more guys getting stolen base opportunities That's good for mcman and pro far. So I like that a lot for them They're gonna be on top two guys above blackman for today and they both have enough power to so I think macman and or mcman and pro far are going to be the two building blocks from yet hitter on this slate Other side of this game is the nationals. They're facing kyle freeland who is used to pitching in course field But he struggled quite a bit here last year his era with 6.00 His strike array went down at home. His hard hit ray went up and like gray we've seen freeland using more sinkers to try to Help keep things more in check But in that time with more sinkers we've seen freeland let up a 44 heart hit rate with a 40 fly ball rate His skill interactive era is 4.63 We did see freeland pitch greatness debut with six shutout innings against the pod rays and There were some changes to rep who to his repertoire in that start. So maybe freeland does turn things around going forward But in that game just one strike out 53 fly ball rates and now You put him back in course field that could bring him back down to earth. So I'm very good at the gnats here Think that they make a lot of sense They're not the most exciting overall offense, but I think they have some cool individuals joy meneses Gets a platoon advantage here against the lefty lane. Thomas. It's lefty as well Stone Garrett's got some power if he starts for the second straight day Victor robles pretty good spring with a little bit of power and great plate discipline to open this year. So You know, they've got some guys I'm not trying to oversell them because they're still the nationals uh in in their current state, but I think that they work pretty well for today So the Rockies and nationals the top two stacks of course feel prefer the Rockies But we'll be on the nationals as well other stack for today is the blue jays they're facing Jordan Lyles and I get I think I would say that Lyles has outperformed expectations personally if I were to like grade relative to consensus but Lyles is still a guy we can stack against here in his first start this year He did fine. He went five and a third innings let up two runs with one of those being earned But also let by 47 hard hit rates with a lot of fly balls It's part of a shift in approach that Lyles has had dating back to last year He's done that for his past nine starts We're throwing fewer sinkers and more forcing fastballs Likely trying to get more strikeouts. I would guess But it's hurt as bad at ball issues Or hurt as bad a ball profile The results in the time have been fine at the 3.99 era So I would expect him to stick with it But his skill interactive era 4.46 he has a 16 strikeout rate in that time, which is the lowest on this slate and He's not walking a lot of guys, which means he's letting up a ton of balls and play The Jays can smack righties. They have a 118 wrc plus versus righties a 176 iso Which is best on the slate So I think we can feel good here. I don't feel as good about the Jays as I do about Coors field But I feel good enough where it is in the pivot discussion if you want to deviate from stacking Coors for today As far as platoons, let's go Lyles is not heavy one way or another So he does get fewer ground balls versus lefties. So I would lean that way But he's not good enough against righties where I'm bailing on them That's good because the Jays have a lot of righties The one lefty they've got who I love is Dalton Varsha $3,500. I want to be heavy on Varsha today as like a one-off if I can get there at 35 He had two Scorched balls yesterday. One was a home run one was a line out, but he just murdered that one He has power. He will steal. He's batting fourth I would love Varsha to be a focal point of a one-off a focal point one off for me Around my Coors field sacks if I can get there maybe not as far as salary goes with gosman being a pitcher, but I do love Dalton Varsha for today Let's move to things to watch now. We've not talked about two pitchers. Both them are in the Red Sox Tigers game So let's talk about both them right now. First one is Chris sale He went three innings in his debut a red debut is is 2023 debut 74 pitches he led up seven earned runs and three homers But did have six strikeouts and they 17.6 swinging strike rates He led up a ton of hard contact 70 percent of the balls and play against him were hard hit So you could maybe stack the Tigers against him if you want to I'm not opposed to that. It's a small slate and he struggled but I'll put him below the jays here I want to see sale second start to see if he improves because I love Chris sale from a pitching perspective I would love to be back on him at some point, but Not right now Not even on this slate can't get there based on how things looked in that first one The only other pitcher is Spencer Turnbull based off of the Red Sox He also got back around in his first drive back from Tommy John A lot of ground balls though and a decent number of whiffs And that's why the Red Sox were below the blue jays for me despite the fact that Turnbull got knocked around I do think that they are fourth for stacking probably slightly above the Tigers because the Tigers offense is struggling but I would say it goes After the course game and after the blue jays I would go Red Sox next and then I would go with the Tigers after that Let's finish up with the dinger calls for today. Gotta go out to Coorsfield gotta Talk about a guy facing Josiah Gray. You can actually get Ryan McMahon at plus 450 to hit a home run for today I know the weather is weird in Coors. So it's not full course, but I find that pretty interesting So Ryan McMahon the boring home run call for today The fun one is the other lefty on the blue jays Brandon belt Brandon belt is You know didn't do a whole lot this spring has not done much as far as making loud contact so far this year, but You know, we got out some fun. It's hard to call a home run call a Coorsfield fun So we'll go elsewhere. I think that belt is fun ish Not sure if he'll go yard don't feel as good about him as I did about Chas McCormick yesterday But we'll see so the home run calls for today Ryan McMahon and Brandon belt We'll see how that goes for today That's all we have for this Thursday slate again lock is at 1 10 p.m Eastern to make sure you get your line of submitted before that time get them all neat and tidy And so you can go win that cash Do not forget to subscribe to the number fire daily fantasy podcast feed wherever you get your podcast and if you like Which here again leave us a five star rating. We appreciate those of you who have done so already If you have any questions for me, I am on twitter at jim sonnis j i m s a n and yes Especially this time of year where An lb dfs is pretty fresh back in our minds if you have questions feel free to fire away I'm more than happy to answer those over there We will talk to you once again tomorrow to break down the friday say which hopefully should be a bit more robust This has been the solo shot right here on the fan duel podcast network