Happy Tuesday, Pitcher List fam! DraftKings and FanDuel have the same 11 games on their featured contests tonight, so there is no need to worry about any significant differences between the sites regarding matchups. Lineups will begin to lock at 7:05 pm Eastern as the Marlins-Nationals and Yankees-Orioles throw the first pitch. Then, we go across the country as the West Coast nightcap gives us the first game of the Bay Bridge Series between the Athletics and Giants.
Pitching Kings on DraftKings
| Pitcher | Opp | DK Salary | ERA | WHIP | K% | BB% | DK FPPG |
| Carlos Rodón | vs. OAK | $10,100 | 1.06 | 0.82 | 44.6 | 9.2 | 30.4 |
| Luis Severino | vs. BAL | $9,200 | 2.08 | 1.38 | 25.0 | 7.1 | 14.6 |
| Josiah Gray | vs. MIA | $8,400 | 3.14 | 1.33 | 31.0 | 12.1 | 18.1 |
I’m not sure what else to say about how dominant Carlos Rodón has been to start the 2022 season. The Giants gave him that two-year contract in the offseason, and it looks like they’ve made the deal of the year. A 44.6 percent strikeout rate, a fastball producing a .217 xwOBA, a slider with a 55.6 percent whiff rate; I’m not sure what to wax poetically about for this phenomenal southpaw. Combine all these positives with the Oakland A’s and their 24.5 percent K rate, and Rodón is far and away the No. 1 pitcher on Tuesday.
One of the bigger differences between DraftKings and FanDuel is quality starts. FanDuel gives you points if your pitcher qualifies for one, while DraftKings does not. Therefore, I tend to chase strikeout upside on DK more, and that’s where Luis Severino comes into play. The Yankees pitcher hasn’t made it out of the fifth inning in any of his three starts this season, and I don’t expect that to change anytime soon. Now, he faces a Baltimore outfit striking out 24.9 percent of the time to righties while producing a 0.088 ISO (yes, you read that correctly), with an OBP (.298) higher than their SLG (.293). While matchups in Yankee Stadium can be scary, the upside of facing the Orioles is too great to pass up.
Side note: I would rather play Kevin Gausman ($8,700) than Severino here, but I’m about to write him up in my FanDuel section.
When you see a pitcher going against Miami, their odds of a win shoot way up. While that’s not the sole reason to roster Josiah Gray on Tuesday, it certainly makes his $8,400 easier to digest. Acquired in the deadline deal that sent Max Scherzer and Trea Turner to the Dodgers, the 24-year-old is coming into his own during his first full MLB season. Last time out, Gray produced an enormous 50 percent CSW rate on his curveball thanks to six whiffs and nine called strikes on 30 pitches. So if that curveball comes to the mound on Tuesday, Miami, and its 25.1 percent strikeout rate, better watch out. Nick Pollack has him as a streamer to start in season-long leagues, and those are the types of pitchers I love to roster in DFS.
These Dudes Rule on FanDuel
| Pitcher | Opp | FD Salary | ERA | WHIP | K% | BB% | FD PPG |
| Kevin Gausman | vs. BOS | $10,200 | 2.89 | 1.13 | 30.1 | 0.0 | 38.0 |
| Sandy Alcantara | at WSH | $9,500 | 1.86 | 1.09 | 19.7 | 9.2 | 35.0 |
| Tony Gonsolin | at ARI | $7,300 | 0.69 | 1.23 | 15.1 | 13.2 | 23.3 |
As mentioned in my Severino section, I like Kevin Gausman tonight. If I get some bonus points for a quality start and maintain a high strikeout upside, then he’s my favorite pitcher on FanDuel. The newly-signed righty faces Boston for the second consecutive outing, but that shouldn’t be a problem. Last week, in Fenway, Gausman glided his way through eight innings of one-run baseball while striking out eight Red Sox batters. After a ‘meh’ outing to begin the year, the 2021 All-Star has struck out nine Yankees and eight Red Sox in back-to-back road outings while averaging 46.5 FD fantasy points.
I may be leaning too heavily into the quality starts on FD, but Sandy Alcantara is usually the safest bet to reach that benchmark when he takes the mound. A 19.7 percent strikeout rate doesn’t look that great on the surface, but he’s averaging 6.1 innings a start already, and it provides more opportunities for him to make up for that lack of Ks. Washington, Alcantara’s Tuesday opponent, doesn’t jump off the page in strikeouts (23.2 percent K rate to RHPs) but a .227/.291/.339 slash line isn’t scaring anyone on Tuesday night.
Los Angeles is taking the training wheels off its 27-year-old pitcher and seems inclined to let Tony Gonsolin do what he’s best at: pitch. After three and four-inning stints to begin the year, the Dodgers righty went six versus the Braves. He only allowed one hit, but three walks to three strikeouts was a bit eyebrow-raising in fantasy circles. Fortunately, a date with Arizona is a soft-landing spot for pitchers (look at Walker Buehler’s complete-game shutout last night), and Tony G should produce versus a squad sporting a 27.3 percent strikeout rate and .196 average to RHPS in 2022.
Tasty Stacks
Toronto Blue Jays vs. Boston Red Sox (Nick Pivetta, RHP)
- Pick one of the high-priced studs in Vladimir Guerrero Jr., George Springer, or Bo Bichette, and match them with some combination of Matt Chapman, Zack Collins, or Lourdes Gurriel Jr. Collins and Gurriel are my preferred two of that latter trio as they are $500 cheaper than Chapman, and bat higher in the lineup. Collins was on the bench for Monday’s series opener and should be right back in for Tuesday.
New York Mets at St. Louis Cardinals (Jordan Hicks, RHP)
- New York is a tougher stack than Toronto because they have five players with a DK salary above $4,900. Still, Jeff McNeill is the excellent enabler on both sites despite his lower-than-we-would-like batting order spot. He’s 6-for-16 in his last four with five runs and four extra-base hits. Hopefully, these performances can get him back up the order soon enough and make him a more attractive DFS asset.
Los Angeles Dodgers at Arizona Diamondbacks (Zach Davies, RHP)
- Cody Bellinger ($3,200) remains a massive value on DraftKings and needs to be in one of your lineups each night until his price rises. Gavin Lux ($3,000/$2,800) is also affordable and provides DFS managers enough space to get Mookie Betts or Freddie Freeman in the lineup.
Value Bats
| Player | Position | Opponent | DK Salary | FD Salary |
| Travis d’Arnaud | C | vs. CHC (Stroman) | $2,900 | $3,200 |
| Spencer Torkelson | 1B | at MIN (Paddack) | $2,900 | $2,900 |
| Gavin Lux | 2B/OF | at ARI (Davies) | $3,000 | $2,800 |
| Brad Miller | 3B/OF | vs. HOU (Odorizzi) | $3,500 | $2,600 |
| Jorge Mateo | 2B/SS | at NYY (Severino) | $2,500 | $2,500 |
| Franmil Reyes | OF | at LAA (Sandoval) | $3,700 | $2,600 |
| Joey Gallo | OF | vs. BAL (Lyles) | $3,400 | $2,400 |
| Willie Calhoun | OF | vs. HOU (Odorizzi) | $3,100 | $2,300 |