FanDuel MLB: Picks and Pivots for June 8
Welcome to the Thursday 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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Thursday’s games start at 2:05PM EST kicking off an all-day FanDuel slate but the main slate begins at 7:05PM EST with an abbreviated 7 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 | 252.7 | $ 8,515 | 24% | 76% | $ 3,311 | 7.22 |
| 5 Day | 277.6 | $ 8,250 | 24% | 76% | $ 3,344 | 7.93 |
| Prev Day | 231.4 | $ 8,000 | 23% | 77% | $ 3,375 | 6.61 |
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 Thursday?
Well, Yuck. Hopefully you like offense gamers because the starting pitching options across all 9 games leave a lot to be desired and it will be a challenge to settle on the right arm in FanDuel MLB contests.
Adam Wainwright ($8,000) at Cincinnati: With no standout options on the slate, when selecting my starting pitcher I want to keep it simple – find a pitcher with a high probability of getting the 12 point FanDuel win. Chasing the win is always a difficult dance to engage in, but with Wainwright as the largest favorite going up against a suspect Reds pitching staff that is getting hit hard, I am happy to pay for the safety of Wainwright.
Wainwright has been a steady 30+ point producer over the course of the season, and has put up back to back 7 inning performances and averaging just shy of 40 points per game.
Tom Koehler ($6,600) at Minnesota: With so many spots to target offense tonight, dropping down at SP will allow you to load up on high-end hitters and Koehler makes for an interesting pivot off Wainwright who I expect will be highly popular.
Koehler has averaged 27.4 points per start over the last month and has pitched very well without getting the help from his ball club, notching a win in only 1 of those 5 starts.
The Twins are one of the lowest scoring teams in all of baseball and with Koehler’s “safe” floor, he has the ability with a win to easily be the top scoring pitcher on the slate.
Pitching Summary: My advice here is simple, build your batting lineup with your key targets and fit the starting pitcher in after the fact. Wainwright makes for the safer cash game play as the top favorite but I will look to pivot to Koehler in tournaments and utilize the additional savings to build my lineup.
Next: Who are the top hitters on Thursday?
For all the mediocre pitching options we are faced with Thursday, we get the benefit of multiple high upside hitting environments including the highest projected scoring game in Coors Field.
Rockies/Pirates in Coors Field: With an over/under of 11.5, getting exposure to the game in Coors will be critical but game selection here will be a big factor as the 5:10PM EST start limits you to the all-day slate if you want to play here.
With another high scoring affair starting at 2PM in Houston/Texas, I will be looking to play the all-day slate primarily to get as much exposure here as possible.
Nolan Arenado ($4,500) at home versus LHP Jeff Locke is the top hitting target on the day and makes for a must play at 3B as he has been averaging over 14 points per game over the last 2 weeks. Trevor Story ($3,600) sits at a very reasonable price point and gets the platoon advantage making for a great mini-stack with Arenado.
Andrew McCutchen ($3,900) & Gregory Polanco ($4,100) get a match-up with Chad Bettis who has been hit hard by hitters from both sides of the plate including 9 home runs to right handers in only 41 IP. Polanco has been on a tear over the last two weeks, putting up over 14 points per game and should be poised for another big outing Thursday afternoon.
Jose Altuve ($4,100) versus LHP Martin Perez: The other early game on Thursday gives us an additional opportunity for high offensive production as the Rangers and Astros square off.
Any time Altuve gets to face a LHP he becomes almost a must play and I expect with most looking to spend their hitting budget in the early slate in Colorado that Altuve will be overlooked and allow us to grab him at a lower than expected ownership.
Hitting Summary: Simply load up on the early bats as there is no matchup in the evening as juicy as Colorado, however there are a few spots you can target hitters in the main slate including the Yankees bats against RHP Jhoulys Chacin.
Next: Top FanDuel MLB Lineup
Below you will find my initial lineup for Thursday’s All-Day FanDuel MLB slate including notes/comments on my roster construction.
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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!