Sunday’s main slate features 11 games starting at 1:05 pm ET.
Pitchers
The four pitchers projected for the most fantasy points today are:
Shane Bieber
Aaron Nola
Carlos Rodon
Framber Valdez
Shane Bieber from the Cleveland Indians is the clear top choice on the slate. Bales Model rates Bieber as the best pitching option for both DraftKings and FanDuel. Not only is Bieber striking out over 13 batters per nine innings, he is also averaging 105 pitches thrown per start. This afternoon, Bieber will be pitching against the Seattle Mariners who are currently on a three-game losing streak and have the fourth-most team strikeouts in MLB (624). The only flaw to choosing Bieber is that he will be extremely high owned, but he is still an elite option.
The second highest-rated pitcher for both DraftKings and FanDuel is Aaron Nola from the Philadelphia Phillies. Nola has really struggled this year currently owning a 4-4 record with a 4.06 ERA. Due to his struggles, Nola has again dropped in price, and today is considered a 93% bargain by Pro Trends on FanDuel. Today, he will be pitching against the New York Yankees who are projected to have the fifth lowest implied runs total on the slate of 3.8 runs. Another strong reason to consider Nola is that he is projected to have low ownership.
The pitcher projected to have the third highest ceiling on the slate is Carlos Rodon from the Chicago White Sox. Rodon has pitched well this year as he currently has an ERA of 2.01 and 0.93 WHIP. This afternoon, he will be facing the Detroit Tigers who have struck out the second most in MLB (651). Although he has a high ceiling, Rodon’s high price does worry me a bit, as I believe there are better options to choose from. If you are willing to fade Shane Bieber, I absolutely think Rodon and Nola are the next best options.
Framber Valdez from the Houston Astros has looked great in his first three starts of his 2021 campaign. In 18.1 innings, Valdez has stuck out 22 opposing batters and has only allowed three runs. It truly seems as though Valdez has earned Dusty Baker’s trust with his strong performances this year. Today, he will be pitching against the Minnesota Twins who lead MLB with 93 home runs. If Valdez can avoid solid contact from Twins batters, he might be in for a big fantasy day.
Value
Drew Smyly is priced lower than ever before this season which makes him a strong value play to consider. Although Smyly has struggled to find consistency with his pitches, he does bring value as he has 43 strikeouts in 51 innings pitched. Today, he will be facing the Miami Marlins who have hit the fifth fewest home runs this year (60). Giving up home runs is something Smyly has unfortunately fought with this year as he has allowed 15. This may be a great spot to use the right-handed pitcher from the Atlanta Braves.
Another value option to consider is Joey Lucchesi from the New York Mets. Like Smyly, Lucchesi has struggled finding consistency which has led to a 1-4 record. The reason I am highlighting Lucchesi is due to his extremely low projected ownership. If you are using someone like Shane Bieber to headline your lineup, a pitcher like Lucchesi may help bring with diversifying your lineup from others.
Hitters
Notable Stack
Today’s top stack comes to you from the -153 Cincinnati Reds:
- Jesse Winker (L)
- Nick Castellanos (R)
- Joey Votto (L)
- Eugenio Suarez (R)
Projected to have the highest implied runs total on the slate of 5.6, the Reds batters will be hoping to take advantage of Antonio Senzatela who has an ERA of 4.62. Even though most pitchers do better away from Coors Field, Senzatela has worse stats. His ERA away from home is 6.75 in 17.1 innings pitched. On FanDuel, this stack will cost you $14.1k in salary and are projected for a combined 49.7 fantasy points.
Other Hitters
Bales Model predicts the highest floor play on the slate is Christian Yelich from the Milwaukee Brewers. Believe it or not, the Brewers are one of the hottest teams in baseball as they have won eight out of their last 10 games and currently share a lead with the Chicago Cubs in the NL Central. Today, they are hoping to complete a three-game sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates who hold the worst record in the NL Central. The Brewers have scored seven runs in each of their last three-games, and have a projected implied runs total of 5.3 today.
Luis Urias and Leury Garcia are the highest rated batters on Bales Model for FanDuel and DraftKings respectively. Both batters are projected to leadoff in their teams’ games, and both teams are amongst the highest projected scoring this slate.
Value
Lastly, here is a handful of batters to consider while completing your lineups today that are projected for a high fantasy points/salary:
- Brian Goodwin
- Omar Narvaez
- Brandon Belt
- Mike Tauchman
- Raimel Tapia
