FanDuel MLB: Picks and Pivots for July 17

Welcome to the Sunday 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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Sunday’s action kicks off at 1:10PM EST with 9 games on the Main slate and another 5 games on the late slate starting at 4:05PM 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	255.9	$ 8,635	25%	75%	$ 3,296	7.31
5 Day	260.6	$ 9,257	26%	74%	$ 3,218	7.45
Prev Day	243.7	$ 8,100	23%	77%	$ 3,363	6.96

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.

Sunday’s slate includes some of the best arms in baseball, as the top end of the starting pitcher choices are absolutely loaded with top end arms. If you want to lock in Max Scherzer ($11,900) and his top price as your SP today I certainly cannot fault you as he has averaged 50 points per game over the last month which is tops among all pitcher’s toeing the rubber on Sunday.

J.A. Happ ($8,800) at Oakland: Looking over the stats from the last month it is clear that Scherzer has been an absolute beast, but would it surprise you that Blue Jays pitcher J.A. Happ has averaged only 3.6 points per game less than Scherzer? Think about it another way, for a whopping 28% discount in price you are only taking a 7% drop in their average production. As Matt Rogers pointed out in today’s FanDuel Economics column, Happ is the premier point per dollar play and with hsi production I could argue he is one of the best plays even in cash games.

In his last two starts before the All-Star Break, Happ struck out 20 batters and put up 55+ FanDuel points in games against the Indians and Tigers, two of the more dangerous offenses in baseball. Happ now gets a road start in the pitcher friendly Oakland Coliseum which makes him a top-tier plat at a price point below all the big name hurlers.

Game Play Note: From a large field tournament perspective, if you are looking to utilize Happ, keep in mind he plays in the 4PM EST slot which puts him in play for only the “Late” slate on FanDuel. As such, I will look to play the All-Day slate to get the benefit of the larger pool of players and target Happ at an even lower ownership percentage.

Next: Top Hitting Options on Sunday

The Sunday all-day slate has multiple spots to target offense with teams like the Nationals, Indians and Dodgers all expected to score 4.8+ runs in their contests which leads to a great strategy of employing multiple mini-stacks.

Yasiel Puig ($2,600) and Justin Turner ($3,500) against LHP Robbie Ray: With one of the most favorable hitting spots in all of baseball, Chase Field makes a great spot to target hitters on Sunday. With a LHP on the mound for Arizona who has given up a .295 average to opposing RHB and surrendered 12 home runs in 70 IP, the Dodgers RHB make a great spot to target.

Justin Turner makes for a great play at 3B as he is averaging 15.9 points per game over the last week, good for 4.5x value! Puig has put up 22+ points in 2 of his last 5 games and makes for a great bargain play with high upside for tournament lineups.

Francisco Lindor ($3,600) & Jason Kipnis ($3,500) against RHP Kyle Gibson: Gibson has surrendered a .309 average to opposing RHB this season and a .509 slugging percentage which puts the Indians LHB as a top spot to target on Sunday.

Lindor and Kipnis are two of my favorite targets in DFS as their ability to contribute across multiple categories makes them a solid foundation play in cash games and their price points are incredibly reasonable when building your middle infield.

Hitting Summary: Today’s offensive targets are spread across multiple games so employing a variety of mini-stacks or one-off plays may be your best bet when attacking the Sunday DFS slate. The Nationals have the highest implied team total on the day and Bryce Harper ($4,100) is the top hitting target and makes for a great one off play.

Next: Top FanDuel MLB Lineup

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

Pitcher: J.A. Happ ($8,800)

More from FanSided

Catcher: Evan Gattis ($2,400) Gattis gets the platoon advantage against a LHP and at a bargain price point can pay off this salary with one swing of the bat.

First Base: Joey Votto ($3,600) First base is loaded at the mid tier price point but targeting Votto at only $3,600 and with a platoon advantage at home, Votto makes for a great cash game play to build your lineups around

Second Base: Jason Kipnis ($3,500)

Third Base: Justin Turner ($3,500)

Shortstop: Francisco Lindor ($3,600)

Outfield: Bryce Harper ($4,100)

Outfield: Yasiel Puig ($2,600)

Outfield: Stephen Piscotty ($2,800) Piscotty gets to face a LHP in Adam Conley and has 20+ points in 4 of his last 6 games

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!