Daily Fantasy MLB Pitchers for FanDuel and DraftKings - 4/4/16

Here's where you can find some recommendations for tournament pitchers target for FanDuel and DraftKings. Find our main set of cash game picks here.

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Pitchers

Lance McCullers FD 8800 DK 9500
Opponent - SEA (Iwakuma) Park - @HOU
FD - 33.47 DK - 22.11

It's an interesting eight-game slate tonight, with no shortage of pitching options across the spectrum. That makes it tough to gauge which way the market will turn in tourneys, especially this early in the season. But forced to guess, I think we'll be seeing high ownership percentages on McCullers tonight. If that emboldens you to play the fade, have at it. Just be aware of the upside you'll be passing up. We're only 36 starts into McCullers' career, and he's already shown stuff that surpasses anything in his prospect scouting reports. Through 200-plus innings, he's striking out better than 10 per 9, giving up just .65 HRs/9, and coaxing a 50 percent groundball rate. He checks just about every box you're looking for ... except one. Control. The 23-year-old has yet to master his command and averaged 5 BBs/9 in 14 starts last season. That's where the risk comes in, because if he can't find his spots, all that K upside is effectively neutered. But winning tournament lineups always include some level of risk, and considering the ceiling, McCullers is a fine place to take chance tonight.

Sean Manaea FD 6800 DK 7400
Opponent - LAA (Shoemaker) Park - @OAK
FD - 29.01 DK - 19.11

If you've got your eye on some high-priced bats that won't fit in easily with McCullers' salary, you could do a lot worse than Manaea when shopping in the bargain bins. The 25-year-old lefty has a solid prospect pedigree and held his own as a rookie last season, putting up a 3.96 xFIP in 25 games. He really started to find his stride after a tumultuous start, dropping the xFIP to 3.56 with 8Ks/9 in the second half. He stands a good chance to improve on those numbers this year, and he'll be at home in one of the majors' best parks for suppressing offense tonight. The Angels will probably be rolling out a bunch of righties against him, and their lineup isn't as bad as you might think. They were more or less league average against lefties last season, and made some (very marginal) improvements in the offseason with the addition of Cameron Maybin and Danny Espinosa (who is kinda garbage, but less so from the right side). Nonetheless, this is far from a lineup we need to avoid, especially in a pitcher's park with a rising star on the hill.

Zach Davies FD 7300 DK 6500
Opponent - COL (Anderson) Park - @MIL
FD - 28.63 DK - 19.03

Both of the guys we've talked about so far will probably be pretty popular in tournament formats tonight. Davies, on the other hand, could slide under the radar. The case against him: below average velocity, mediocre pedigree and a home park that ranks among the top five in overall offensive factors. The good news is that Davies has shown the ability to limit long-ball damage, even in Miller Park, and the Rockies are historically much less dangerous away from home. Consider: Last season Colorado was second in MLB with a .344 team wOBA against RHP, but 16th with a 96 wRC+, which weighs park factors. In other words, when you remove Coors Field from the equation, this was a below average offense, with enough swing-and-miss in the lineup (20.6 K%) to boost Davies so-so strikeout rate. If you're purely hunting upside, there are plenty of pitchers on this slate with more than Davies can offer. But when you weigh his low cost and low expected ownership, he becomes a pretty intriguing guy to consider.

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