FanDuel MLB Picks: Picks and Pivots for June 3

Jun 1, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; General view of the sun setting behind Coors Field during the fifth inning of the game between the Cincinnati Reds against the Colorado Rockies The Reds defeated the Rockies 7-2. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports /

FanDuel MLB Picks: Picks and Pivots for June 3

Welcome to the Friday edition of Picks & Pivots, a daily fantasy baseball column focused on providing analysis and insights into the top FanDuel MLB Picks. The purpose of this column is to first identify key building blocks that can be used for any roster construction and then identify pivot points to help differentiate your lineup in hopes of a big payday!

FanSided and Fantasy CPR have you covered – For additional FanDuel MLB analysis, take a look at Matt Rogers FanDuel Economics column or Mike Marteny who provides Draft Kings MLB Picks analysis giving you the most in depth DFS coverage for tonight’s baseball slate.

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Friday’s MLB action starts off at 2:20PM EST with the typical Friday afternoon game in Wrigley but the main FanDuel contests kick off at 7:05PM EST with a loaded 14 game slate!

I will continue to track winning Tournament lineups and compare trends over 5 day periods to help us understand what it takes to remain profitable. I HIGHLY recommend each of you do this each morning to look back on the previous night and understand how the winning lineups are constructed in the games you participate in.

The view below tracks GPP entries over various time periods, breaking out key metrics to understand the trends and compositions of GPP winning rosters:

Time Period	Score	Pitcher Salary	Pitcher %	Hitter %	Hitter $/Player	Value
Season	250.5	$ 8,565	24%	76%	$ 3,304	7.16
5 Day	248.7	$ 7,380	21%	79%	$ 3,453	7.11
Prev Day	271.5	$ 7,600	22%	78%	$ 3,425	7.76

Now on to the picks…For more DFS Strategy insights, check out my latest article to help take your game to the next level! I highly recommend gamers track their game performance across the various types of games they play – GPP’s, Cash, Multipliers etc – as this simple exercise will help teach you more about profitable roster construction than you can imagine.

Next: Who are the top pitching options on Friday?

May 22, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Cleveland Indians pitcher Danny Salazar (31) delivers a pitch during the first inning against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports /

Friday night’s MLB action has a relatively clear cut top top tier of starting pitching options when putting together your FanDuel MLB Picks with a trio of hurlers in the best spots to succeed across multiple formats.

Noah Syndergaard ($10,600) at Miami Marlins: The last time we saw Thor start a game he was cruising through 3 innings before allowing a pitch to “slip” and sail past Chase Utley before being immediately tossed. That play aside, Syndergaard was well one his way to putting up another massive outing so do not forget that Thor had put up 64.5 points in his prior two starts and struck out double digit batters in both games prior to his last abbreviated outing.

Syndergaard has established himself as one of the best pitchers in baseball and the stats across various metrics support this claim. Noah is top 3 in strikeout rate (32.9%), top 3 in Walk Rate (3.7%) and has pitched to a minuscule 1.84 ERA.

Syndergaard faced the Marlins once already this season, pitching 7 innings of 1 run ball and striking out 12 in a no decision.

Danny Salazar ($9,500) at home versus Kansas City: If you are looking to pivot off Syndergaard on Friday night then dropping down to Salazar will allow you to save salary while not dropping as far as you may think from a production standpoint.

While Syndergaard is 3rd in MLB in K rate, Salazar ranks 6th overall with a 29.2% K Rate on the season.

Salazar is also a much better pitcher statistically at home as this season he has pitched to a 1.61 ERA and held opposing batters to a .171 average while pitching at home. This trend is in line with last season where Salazar pitched to an ERA almost a full run lower at home than on the road and he gets to face the Royals in Cleveland on Friday night.

Salazar has also already faced the Royals once this year pitching 7.2 innings and striking out 9 batters in a win while racking up 62 FanDuel points.

Yu Darvish ($9,000) at home versus Mariners: In his first start back in nearly two years, Darvish was absolutely brilliant over 5 innings striking out 7 hitters and only giving up 1 run in a win against the Pirates which racked up 45 FanDuel points.

Darvish is expected to up his workload to 95 pitches in his Friday start and we can continue to target one of the best pitchers at a discounted price for a bit longer.

As I outlined in my Fantasy Outlook Column prior to his return, Darvish was one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball prior to his injury and was flashing the same strikeout arsenal and impeccable control through his minor league stint this season.

Darvish struck out 7 batters while only walking one hitter in his first Major League start and he makes for a high upside tournament option Friday evening.

Pitching Summary: Syndergaard is my top cash game play and we should be very happy that his price actually decreased since his last time out and we get to target him on a night where he is not even the top priced option. Darvish and Salazar make great tournament pivots and with three legit options to chose from, this may be a great night to utilize multiple lineups.

Next: Who are the top hitters on Friday?

Jun 1, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Astros right fielder George Springer (4) hits a walk off home run during the eleventh inning to defeat the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-4 at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports /

Wait, no game in Coors? I have gotten used to doing everything in my power the last few days to get the Coors Field bats into my lineup but tonight we will have to look elsewhere when building our FanDuel MLB picks.

Houston Astros versus Jesse Hahn in Houston: Hahn is one of the most exploitable pitchers in the slate Friday night and we can specifically target the Astros left handed bats against Hahn. So far this season, in 13.2 IP versus LHB Hahn has given up a .321 opposing BA, with 9 ER and 5 home runs.

The left handed bats on Houston make for a cost effective stack, especially if you are paying up for Syndergaard as your starting pitcher. Jason Castro ($2,700) is averaging 12.7 points per game (4.5x value) over the last week and makes for a great play at Catcher. Luis Valbuena ($3,000) at 3B is averaging 12.9 points per game over the last week which is good for 4.3x value.

Colby Rasmus ($3,100) in the heart of the order and George Springer ($4,000) who has put up over 21 points per game the last week make for great additions to any Astros stack.

Boston versus Toronto (Dickey versus Price): One of the games with the highest over/under can be found in Fenway and there are some BvP targets we can identify in this match-up to give us some exposure to two explosive offenses.

David Ortiz ($4,600) has been on absolute fire over the last two weeks and is the highest scoring first baseman in all of baseball during that time. In his career against Dickey, Big Papi is 10 for 36 with 3 home runs and is worth every penny of this price based of his recent performance.

On the other side of this game, Jose Bautista ($4,100) has fantastic career numbers against David Price going 19 for 55 with 10 extra base hits and 6 home runs.

Hitting Summary: There are no stand out games on this slate which makes me more likely to utilize a variety of mini stacks and fill out my roster with targeted “one-off” hitters in solid match-ups.

Next: Top FanDuel Lineup

Jun 2, 2016; Baltimore, MD, USA; Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz (34) celebrates after hitting a three run home run during the sixth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports /

Below you will find my initial lineup for Friday’s MLB FanDuel slate including notes/comments on my roster construction.

Pitcher:

More from FanSided

Catcher: Jason Castro ($2,700)

First Base: David Ortiz ($4,600)

Second Base: Jurickson Profar ($2,500) Profar has averaged 12.3 points over the last week which exceeds 5x value and we should continue to ride this train until Rougned Odor returns thus weekend.

Third Base: Luis Valbuena ($3,000)

Shortstop: Wilmer Flores ($2,100) Wilmer should continue to play every day with the Mets lineup decimated by injury.

Outfield: Colby Rasmus ($3,100)

Outfield: Jose Bautista ($4,100)

Outfield: Tony Kemp ($2,200) Kemp makes for a cheap addition to an Astros stack as he has been finding his way into the lineup against opposing RHP and makes for a great punt play.

Next: DFS Strategy - Take Your Game to the Next Level

Best of luck tonight gamer’s! Make sure to review the lineups as they are announced before locking in your lineups!