Sunday’s all-day Major League Baseball slate on FanDuel features 15 games, starting at 12:10 pm ET. We will be using Bales Model to highlight some of the top options to consider.
Pitchers
The four pitchers projected to score the most fantasy points are:
Max Scherzer (R)
Lance McCullers (R)
Aaron Nola (R)
Max Fried (L)
Max Scherzer is a top-three rated pitcher on Bales Model for FanDuel. In case you missed it, Scherzer’s last start was the best of his young Dodgers career. In eight innings, he allowed only six hits against, while striking out 13. Scherzer was the biggest name moved at the MLB trade deadline, and it looks like the Dodgers are getting the most of their new acquisition. He will be on the mound against the San Diego Padres who are projected for the second-fewest implied runs total on the slate (3.3 runs).
One of the highest-rated pitchers on Bales Model for both DraftKings and FanDuel is Lance McCullers from the Houston Astros. In 138.1 innings, McCullers has a 3.19 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 161 strikeouts, and a 11-4 record. He has been a focal point of the American League West division leading Astros. A quick note as to why some might want to fade McCullers is his high walk figures. In his last three games he has walked 11 batters in only 17.2 innings.
McCullers will be on the mound pitching against the Los Angeles Angels rank 28th in MLB with 386 walks as a team. This is a great spot to use McCullers as his greatest weakness is also a weakness for the foe. Another reason you may want to have McCullers in your lineups is because the Angels are projected for an implied runs total of 3.3 runs.
Another top-rated pitcher on Bales Model today is Aaron Nola from the Philadelphia Phillies. In 157.2 innings, Nola has a 4.57 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 7-8 record, and 192 strikeouts. Although his ERA is quite high, he does get the luxury of pitching against the Colorado Rockies who have struggled mightily on the road. In 71 games, the Rockies as a team are 20-51, while scoring an average of 3.38 runs/game. Nola’s high strikeout total is good for eight in all of baseball as he will be taking on the team that strikeouts out the 23rd most in MLB. These numbers do contrast each other, however Nola’s recent dominance on the hill suggests that he will raise the Rockies in that category.
A pitcher who has not accrued a loss since the end of July is Max Fried from the Atlanta Braves. Even in that late July loss, Fried threw a season high 106 pitches over seven innings, while striking out nine. Fried has been extremely consistent throughout his 2021 campaign, and he does not seem to be slowing down anytime soon. He will be on the mound against the Miami Marlins who are projected for the lowest implied runs total on the slate of 3.2 runs. Although the Marlins have won three of their last four games, they have only scored a total of 11 runs in those four ball games. Fried is in a great position this afternoon to put up a large sum of fantasy points.
Value
The pitcher projected for the highest points/salary on Bales Model is Justin Steele from the Chicago Cubs. With the Cubs in full rebuilding mode, they have turned to using young and experienced players as they begin to regroup for years to come. Steele fits this description perfectly as this is his first year in the big leagues.
In 36 innings, Steele has a 3.75 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, and 39 strikeouts. He does have a tough task today as he will be up against the San Francisco Giants who are projected for an implied runs total of 5.5 runs. Two main reasons as to why Steele is considered serviceable are his low salary price and decent consistency.
Hitters
Notable Stack
The top projected points stack comes to you from the Toronto Blue Jays (-235):
- George Springer (R)
- Vladimir Guerrero Jr (R)
- Bo Bichette (R)
- Teoscar Hernandez (R)
The Blue Jays are projected for the highest implied-runs total on the slate (6.8 runs). On FanDuel, this stack will cost you $16.6k in salary and are projected for a combined 54.7 fantasy points. The Blue Jays are currently the hottest team in baseball as they have won nine of their last 10 games. After scoring 11 runs in each of their last two games, the Blue Jays may have difficulty beating that high figure, but it is not out of the question.
They’re finishing out a four-game series against the Baltimore Orioles who have the worst record in baseball (46-96). Not only do they have the worst record, but also, their pitchers have given up the most runs by a large margin. The Orioles are the only team to bypass the 800 runs against number (835).
Other Hitters
One of the highest-rated batters on Bales Model for both DraftKings and FanDuel today is Odubel Herrera from the Philadelphia Phillies. Herrera is currently on a six-game hitting streak as he is projected to bat leadoff for the Phillies taking on the Colorado Rockies. The Phillies have the highest team value rating on the slate (95).
Value
Finally, here is a handful of batters to consider while completing your lineups projected for a high fantasy points/salary:
- Brad Miller
- Jace Peterson
- Darin Ruf
- Jordan Luplow
- Jose Barrero
