FanDuel MLB: Picks and Pivots for June 8

Welcome to the Wednesday edition of Picks & Pivots, a daily fantasy baseball column focused on providing analysis and insights into the top FanDuel MLB lineups. 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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Wednesday’s games start at 1:05PM EST and FanDuel provides a 4 game early only slate in addition to a 11 game main slate kicking off at 7:05PM EST.

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	253.4	$ 8,532	24%	76%	$ 3,309	7.24
5 Day	285.0	$ 7,388	21%	79%	$ 3,452	8.14
Prev Day	255.8	$ 10,333	30%	70%	$ 3,083	7.31

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 Wednesday?

The main slate on Wednesday is absolutely loaded with top end starting pitchers including Madison Bumgarner against David Price, Max Scherzer and Noah Syndergaard all headed to the mound. With so many aces, there will be no clear cut “chalk” play which sets up nicely for tournament play!

Noah Syndergaard ($10,600) at Pittsburgh: With Bumgarner and Price going up against each other, I will opt to look towards Scherzer or Syndergaard as my top priced option. With many of the metrics being near identical, I am happy to take the slight salary savings with Thor to build my FanDuel MLB rosters.

Over his last three starts (excluding his Dodgers ejection), Syndergaard is averaging 61 points per start with 10 punch outs per game.

The upside is massive for Thor and he gets a road start against a pitcher making his debut which explains why he is slightly favored on Wednesday. My only concern with Noah is the Mets lack of offense lately but it is reasonable to expect another tremendous outing and I can easily see him being the highest scoring pitcher of the night.

Yu Darvish ($9,600) at home versus Houston: Priced just slightly below the top end arms but over $1,000 higher than the next tier, Darvish sits at a price point that I expect will be overlooked by those either opting to pay all the way up or dropping down for value.

Darvish has put up 40 points per start over his first two starts and we can expect he will continue to build his pitch count up and go deeper into games.

Prior to his injury Darvish was one of the best pitchers in baseball, and the early returns have been promising so far this season. The Astros are the most strikeout prone team in all of baseball which gives Darvish additional upside in this match-up.

Pitching Summary: Wednesday’s main slate seems like a great night for tournaments or those who want to play multiple lineups as with so many aces on the mound, we can expect diluted ownership among all the aces. Syndergaard is my top arm on the slate but utilizing Darvish makes for an interesting pivot as I expect the price point and the match-up against Houston will lead him to be under owned in large field tournaments.

Next: Who are the top hitters on Wednesday?

With so many aces on the mound, there are some clear spots to avoid and conversely some easier to identify spots to attack with our bats on Wednesday!

Yankees versus Jered Weaver: One of the best pitchers we can pick on is Jered Weaver as he heads to Yankee Stadium to take on the Yankees. Weaver has pitched to an ERA over 5 so far this year and is giving up roughly a 2 HR/9 ratio to opposing batters.

Carlos Beltran ($3,900) makes for one of the top hitters on the night as Beltran is averaging 11.3 points per game over the last two weeks and continues to have a very strong season. Brian McCann ($3,100) makes for a very reasonable addition to a mini-stack in a shallow catcher pool and we know what McCann is capable of doing in Yankee Stadium and he gives us very cheap home run exposure.

Cardinals versus RHP Alfredo Simon: One of the other clear spots to target on Wednesday will be the Cardinal bats going up DFS favorite Alfredo Simon!

Simon has been hit even harder than Weaver this season, surrendering a 2.3 HR/9 and giving up over a .300 average to hitters from both sides of the plate.

Matt Carpenter ($4,000) is an elite play in this match-up and has been swinging a hot bat, averaging over 12 points per game over the last two weeks. Jhonny Peralta ($2,000) is my favorite value play of the night, as he returned to the lineup Tuesday and was slotted into the 5th spot in the lineup. At a minimum price, Peralta is the best value on the slate however be aware he was highly owned Tuesday on his return so a strategic fade may also be warranted in large field tournaments.

Hitting Summary: With so many elite arms, the few remaining games will be highly targeted so I recommend spreading your exposure across the key games and employing a variety of mini stacks to differentiate your lineup.

Next: Top FanDuel MLB Lineup

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

Pitcher: Noah Syndergaard ($10,600)

More from FanSided

Catcher: Brian McCann ($3,100)

First Base: Prince Fielder ($2,600) Fielder is near his season low price but gets a matchup against Doug Fister who he is 3 for 5 with a home run against and makes for an easy bargain play.

Second Base: Jurickson Profar ($3,100) Profar has been tremendous over the last 2 weeks, averaging 13.6 points per game and exceeding 4x value!

Third Base: Matt Carpenter ($4,000)

Shortstop: Jhonny Peralta ($2,000)

Outfield: Carlos Beltran ($3,900)

Outfield: Matt Holliday ($3,200)

Outfield: Ben Revere ($2,500)

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!