Daily Fantasy Baseball 2015: MLB DraftKings Pitcher Studs and Duds for July 1

The beginning of July marks the home stretch toward the MLB All-Star break and the midway point of the DraftKings daily fantasy league season. Pitchers are arguably the most important components of fantasy baseball teams, especially in daily leagues.

On Wednesday, several top aces will take the mound, including Johnny Cueto and Jon Lester. On this list of studs and duds, we note four familiar names for both positive and negative reasons.

Without further ado, here are the pitcher studs and duds for Wednesday, July 1.

Studs

Dan Haren ($7,300) vs. San Francisco

John Minchillo/Associated Press

After an up-and-down year with the Los Angeles Dodgers last season, Dan Haren has arguably been the Miami Marlins’ most consistent pitcher in 2015. On Wednesday, he faces a San Francisco Giants team that he has dominated over the past four seasons.

Since 2012, Haren has allowed the Giants to hit an abysmal .089 against him, giving up just two earned runs over two starts. He has also been virtually mistake-free against the Giants, allowing just two walks since 2012.

What’s been most impressive about Haren is his ability to get out of jams throughout his starts. He has a career-high 80.4 left-on-base percentage so far this season, with opponents hitting just .234 on balls in play.

The Giants have struggled to score runs since star outfielder Nori Aoki landed on the 15-day disabled list (leg) a week ago. Haren’s dominance against the Giants over his career is the main reason why San Francisco won’t end its struggles, which will help those who decide to use him in daily fantasy leagues.

Alfredo Simon ($5,600) vs. Pittsburgh

Frank Franklin II/Associated Press

A former All-Star with the Cincinnati Reds, Alfredo Simon has had an up-and-down season with the Detroit Tigers in 2015. After a strong start to the year, he has struggled in his last two starts but will face a Pittsburgh Pirates team that he is greatly familiar with.

Over four career starts against the Pirates, Simon has allowed hitters to bat just .220 against him. He dominated the Pirates earlier this season, when he allowed just two hits over eight innings of work in a 1-0 victory.

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Tigers' Simon hopes to get a grip on his split: Alfredo Simon had been the Tigers most consistent pi... http://t.co/WkkPIrQqMe #breaking

— Detroit Post (@DetroitPost) June 30, 2015"

Simon isn’t known as a high-caliber fantasy commodity because of his lack of strikeouts. He has struck out just 17.5 percent of the batters he has faced this season. However, his low value in daily fantasy leagues makes him a positive matchup Wednesday.

While the 34-year-old's best days are most likely over, he will still be a solid fantasy commodity Wednesday because of his low value combined with his past performances against the Pirates. He is a great pick for teams looking for cheap pitchers in order to save their budgets for high-caliber hitters.

Duds

Brett Anderson ($6,700) vs. Arizona

LM Otero/Associated Press

Similar to Haren, Brett Anderson has been the most consistent pitching asset for the Los Angeles Dodgers this season. The difference regarding the daily fantasy value of the two players is that Anderson will face an Arizona Diamondbacks team that has one of the best offenses in the major leagues.

Anderson had his worst outing of the season against the Diamondbacks in a 7-6 comeback victory June 10. He allowed four earned runs and two home runs through just five innings pitched.

The Diamondbacks rank seventh in MLB with 344 runs scored this season and eighth with a .261 team batting average. The team also demonstrates great plate discipline with a .320 on-base percentage.

Anderson will have his fair share of struggles against the Diamondbacks and is too risky of a pick to make for daily fantasy leagues. While his season has been impressive, there are more trustworthy pitching matchups for Wednesday than Anderson.

Bartolo Colon ($7,000) vs. Chicago Cubs

Seth Wenig/Associated Press

The 42-year-old Bartolo Colon is proving he can still start in the major leagues, but he has struggled in his past two starts. He has allowed 10 runs and 19 hits combined over his past two outings and seems to have lost his command.

Colon will face a Chicago Cubs team that has many offensive weapons at its disposal. Outfielder Kris Bryant and first baseman Anthony Rizzo are just a few of the power bats on Chicago’s roster. This is a big problem for Colon, who is allowing just over one home run per nine innings pitched, his highest average since 2009.

Unlike Haren, Colon has had a big problem getting out of jams this season. His 65.4 left-on-base percentage is his worst since 2007.

Colon may be a better hitter than pitcher Wednesday.

During his last start against the Cubs in 2013, he allowed Chicago to hit .310 against him along with nine hits. Colon’s current pitching slump, combined with his poor matchup against the Cubs, makes him an unreliable daily fantasy league option for Wednesday.

All advanced stats are courtesy of FanGraphs.

Follow Curtis on Twitter: @CalhounCurtis.