This article is part of our DFS Baseball 101 series.
Last year, I wrote an article each month based on team hitting. This is a huge thing to look at in daily fantasy baseball when selecting your starting pitcher, especially when you need a cheaper option as a second pitcher or tournament play. You want to find that underpriced pitcher who is in a great matchup. I will admit that those articles would take hours for me to compile all the data and break out all 30 teams, so I have a different approach this year.Starting with FanDuel data, I will breakdown all the team pitchers/hitters and give you the rankings with the value reports on individual players.
TEAMS TO TARGET AGAINST FOR STARTING PITCHING
Just like 2016, the Padres at home are the team you want to pick on the most with your starting pitchers. Toronto has been one of the worst teams in baseball and got off to a slow start last April, as well. Seeing Houston on this list is surprising, but much like Toronto, the Astros also off to a slow start last April. The Royals are one of the worst hitting teams in baseball.
Road
| TEAM | FANDUEL PPG | COUNT |
| at SD | 39.11 | 9 |
| at TOR | 39.00 | 12 |
| at ATL | 32.57 | 7 |
| at HOU | 32.43 | 14 |
| at KC | 30.70 | 10 |
Home
| TEAM | FANDUEL PPG | COUNT |
| OAK | 36.67 | 12 |
| SD | 36.59 | 17 |
| KC | 36.31 | 13 |
| TB | 34.92 | 13 |
| ARI | 34.50 | 10 |
Overall
| TEAM | FANDUEL PPG | COUNT |
| SD | 37.46 | 26 |
| TOR | 34.71 | 24 |
| KC | 33.87 | 23 |
| CWS | 31.74 | 23 |
| LAA | 31.15 | 27 |
Top 10 Teams to Start LHP Against
| TEAM | FANDUEL PPG | COUNT |
| STL | 41.50 | 4 |
| KC | 40.33 | 6 |
| CLE | 36.40 | 10 |
| TOR | 35.33 | 6 |
| BAL | 34.50 | 10 |
| TEX | 34.17 | 6 |
| SD | 33.78 | 9 |
| MIA | 33.67 | 3 |
| HOU | 32.25 | 8 |
| OAK | 31.50 | 8 |
Top 10 Teams to Start RHP Against
| TEAM | FANDUEL PPG | COUNT |
| SD | 39.41 | 17 |
| CWS | 38.73 | 15 |
| TOR | 34.50 | 18 |
| LAA | 34.11 | 19 |
| KC | 31.59 | 17 |
| HOU | 29.65 | 17 |
| OAK | 29.41 | 17 |
| ATL | 29.14 | 22 |
| CHC | 28.88 | 17 |
| STL | 28.83 | 18 |
TEAMS TO AVOID STARTING PITCHING AGAINST
The Nationals are a team you absolutely want to avoid taking starting pitchers against, especially coming off their destruction of Coors followed by a 23-run performance against the Mets. Some surprises on this list would be the Rays and the Mariners, who are not known for being offensive juggernauts.
The Brewers and Diamondbacks are starting to play like Coors Lite with run totals approaching 10 and 10.5.
Road
| TEAM | FANDUEL PPG | COUNT |
| at SEA | 17.67 | 9 |
| at TB | 18.77 | 13 |
| at COL | 20.08 | 12 |
| at NYY | 22.08 | 12 |
| at ARI | 22.65 | 17 |
Home
| TEAM | FANDUEL PPG | COUNT |
| MIL | 15.63 | 8 |
| NYM | 18.70 | 10 |
| WAS | 20.46 | 13 |
| TEX | 24.78 | 9 |
| DET | 24.91 | 11 |
Overall
| TEAM | FANDUEL PPG | COUNT |
| WAS | 22.24 | 25 |
| MIL | 22.46 | 26 |
| SEA | 23.42 | 26 |
| DET | 24.00 | 24 |
| PIT | 25.33 | 24 |
Teams to Avoid LHP Against
| TEAM | FANDUEL PPG | COUNT |
| MIL | 15.57 | 7 |
| CWS | 18.63 | 8 |
| CHC | 21.86 | 7 |
| NYM | 24.17 | 6 |
| PIT | 24.60 | 10 |
| LAA | 24.86 | 7 |
| NYY | 26.80 | 5 |
| SEA | 27.50 | 6 |
| ARI | 28.00 | 10 |
| BOS | 28.75 | 4 |
Teams to Avoid RHP Against
| TEAM | FANDUEL PPG | COUNT |
| CLE | 19.31 | 13 |
| BAL | 20.85 | 13 |
| DET | 21.31 | 16 |
| SEA | 22.20 | 20 |
| LAD | 22.29 | 14 |
| WAS | 22.33 | 24 |
| COL | 22.60 | 15 |
| TEX | 24.11 | 19 |
| MIL | 25.22 | 18 |
| PIT | 25.86 | 14 |
TOP 10 VALUE STARTING PITCHERS
Start watching the salaries on these pitchers. If they keep outperforming their price, they will no longer be considered value plays.
| PITCHER | FANDUEL PPG | VALUE | AVG SALARY | STARTS |
| Luis Severino | 44.25 | 6.15 | $7,125 | 4 |
| Jesse Chavez | 31.25 | 6.10 | $5,425 | 4 |
| Jason Vargas | 44.75 | 6.10 | $7,550 | 4 |
| Wade Miley | 43.50 | 6.08 | $7,100 | 4 |
| Mike Leake | 41.00 | 5.90 | $7,175 | 4 |
| James Paxton | 46.60 | 5.64 | $8,300 | 5 |
| Brandon McCarthy | 37.50 | 5.60 | $6,725 | 4 |
| Miguel Gonzalez | 38.25 | 5.55 | $6,900 | 4 |
| Trevor Cahill | 32.50 | 5.45 | $6,025 | 4 |
| Amir Garrett | 30.00 | 5.45 | $6,350 | 4 |
BOTTOM 10 VALUE STARTING PITCHERS
Start targeting hitters and stacking against these pitchers.
| PITCHER | FANDUEL PPG | VALUE | AVG SALARY | STARTS |
| Steven Wright | 9.75 | 1.18 | $8,475 | 4 |
| Rookie Davis | 6.67 | 1.47 | $5,367 | 3 |
| Kyle Gibson | 9.20 | 1.54 | $6,000 | 5 |
| Dylan Covey | 9.33 | 1.60 | $6,033 | 3 |
| Josh Tomlin | 13.50 | 1.83 | $7,500 | 4 |
| Kevin Gausman | 14.17 | 1.92 | $7,433 | 6 |
| Jon Gray | 15.33 | 1.93 | $7,900 | 3 |
| Hisashi Iwakuma | 17.20 | 2.24 | $7,600 | 5 |
| Jason Hammel | 17.25 | 2.25 | $7,725 | 4 |
| Jordan Zimmermann | 17.25 | 2.25 | $7,825 | 4 |
TOP 10 STARTING PITCHERS -- PPG
The only pitcher I don't trust on this list is Vargas.
| PITCHER | FANDUEL PPG | VALUE | AVG SALARY | STARTS |
| Chris Sale | 56.00 | 4.92 | $11,400 | 5 |
| Clayton Kershaw | 47.20 | 3.80 | $12,240 | 5 |
| James Paxton | 46.60 | 5.64 | $8,300 | 5 |
| Jason Vargas | 44.75 | 6.10 | $7,550 | 4 |
| Max Scherzer | 44.40 | 4.02 | $11,140 | 5 |
| Luis Severino | 44.25 | 6.15 | $7,125 | 4 |
| Dallas Keuchel | 44.20 | 4.86 | $9,120 | 5 |
| Jacob deGrom | 43.80 | 4.42 | $9,940 | 5 |
| Noah Syndergaard | 43.75 | 3.95 | $11,150 | 4 |
| Ervin Santana | 43.60 | 5.38 | $8,120 | 5 |
BOTTOM 10 STARTING PITCHERS -- PPG
Start targeting hitters and stacking against these pitchers.
| PITCHER | FANDUEL PPG | VALUE | AVG SALARY | STARTS |
| Rookie Davis | 6.67 | 1.47 | $5,367 | 3 |
| Kyle Gibson | 9.20 | 1.54 | $6,000 | 5 |
| Dylan Covey | 9.33 | 1.60 | $6,033 | 3 |
| Steven Wright | 9.75 | 1.18 | $8,475 | 4 |
| Adalberto Mejia | 13.33 | 2.30 | $5,633 | 3 |
| Josh Tomlin | 13.50 | 1.83 | $7,500 | 4 |
| Tyler Glasnow | 14.00 | 2.38 | $5,425 | 4 |
| Kevin Gausman | 14.17 | 1.92 | $7,433 | 6 |
| Jon Gray | 15.33 | 1.93 | $7,900 | 3 |
| Ubaldo Jimenez | 16.50 | 2.43 | $6,775 | 4 |
The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire. Michael Rathburn plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: FanDuel: burnnotice, DraftKings: burnnotice, Yahoo: burnnotice, Fantasy Aces: burnnotice, FantasyDraft: burnnotice.
