FanDuel MLB: Picks and Pivots for July 21

Jul 20, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; San Francisco Giants right fielder Mac Williamson (51) falls into the bullpen after a home run hit by Boston Red Sox first baseman Hanley Ramirez (not pictured) during the second inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports /

FanDuel MLB: Picks and Pivots for July 21

Welcome to the Thursday Main 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.

Follow us on Twitter @FantasyCPR and on Facebook!

Thursday’s Main Slate action kicks off at 7:05PM EST with 7 games on the Main slate to choose from when building your FanDuel MLB rosters!

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	255.5	$ 8,658	25%	75%	$ 3,293	7.30
5 Day	248.5	$ 9,671	28%	72%	$ 3,166	7.10
Prev Day	232.8	$ 10,300	29%	71%	$ 3,088	6.65

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.

Jul 16, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; (editors note: A multiple exposure used for this image) St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Adam Wainwright (50) pitches to a Miami Marlins batter during the eighth inning at Busch Stadium. Wainwright threw a complete game shutout and the Cardinals won 5-0. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports /

Another night and another abbreviated slate which makes picking the right starting pitcher the most critical decision you will make when building your FanDuel MLB rosters on Thursday.

Adam Wainwright ($9,200) at home versus San Diego: After looking through the pitching options on the main slate, Wainwright feels like the clear must play that I will look to build all of my lineups around.

Wainwright takes the hill at home with a fantastic match up against the Padres and is installed as an early massive -220 favorite. Wainwright also gets the benefit of facing a team that strikes out 24.5% of the time against RHP which is the second highest of any team in MLB.

Wainwright is averaging 42.4 points per start over the last month, which is the highest of any pitcher on the Thursday Main slate. Wainwright is coming off back to back 50+ point outings, including a complete game shutout his last start out against the Marlins.

Pitching Summary: Wainwright to me is the clear-cut choice in all formats as he is a heavy favorite against a strikeout prone team which makes him a safe cash game play but also has the upside to be the top scoring pitcher on the slate. Lock in Wainwright on Thursday and look to differentiate elsewhere – I am happy to let others get cute at SP and I’ll take the Cardinals ace!

Next: Top Hitting Targets

Jul 20, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Red Sox first baseman Hanley Ramirez (13) hits his second home run of the game during the third inning against the San Francisco Giants at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports /

For a short slate, Thursday offers multiple top offensive spots to target as we get to pick on a variety of hittable pitchers in favorable ballparks when building our rosters.

Coors Field: Let’s start here – we have a game in Coors between the Braves and Rockies and not surprisingly we have seen the prices for these hitters adjusted accordingly. I struggle to pay inflated prices for the Braves hitters, although Freddie Freeman ($3,900) sits at a reasonable price considering the ballpark boost against RHP Chad Bettis.

Charlie Blackmon ($4,300) & Carlos Gonzalez ($4,200) get to face off with RHP Mike Foltynewicz who has struggled in his career against LHB, surrendering a .303 average and 18 HR’s in only at bats. On a shorter slate, I like the idea of stacking the top Rockies LHB as they have the potential to win you any contest on their own.

Red Sox against RHP Tyler Duffey: The Red Sox offense is one of the best in baseball and playing in Fenway puts them as a top play in any format. Xander Bogaerts ($3,600) continues to be reasonably priced considering his prime spot in the Rod Sox lineup and makes a safe cash game play at a tough to fill SS spot.

Hanley Ramirez ($2,900) put on an absolute show Wednesday night in Fenway as he crushed two home runs and it provides us with an interesting opportunity to capitalize on a sub 3k price point.

Keep in mine that gamers may go overboard with ownership after his big game so a strategic tournament fade may be a worthwhile approach on Thursday night!

Next: Top FanDuel MLB Lineup

Jul 18, 2016; Seattle, WA, USA; Chicago White Sox third baseman Todd Frazier (21) is greeted by left fielder Melky Cabrera (53) after hitting a two-run homer against the Seattle Mariners during the fourth inning at Safeco Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports /

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

Pitcher:

More from FanSided

Catcher: Jarrod Saltalamacchia ($2,300)

First Base: Hanley Ramirez ($2,900)

Second Base: Greg Garcia ($2,200) Garcia continues to bat lead-off against RHP and makes for a top punt play at 2B

Third Base: Todd Frazier ($3,700) Do not sleep on the White Sox bats who get to face MIke Pelfrey on Thursday. Frazier has homered in 3 straight games and is my top 3B play!

Shortstop: Xander Bogaerts ($3,600)

Outfield: Charlie Blackmon ($4,300)

Outfield: Carlos Gonzalez ($4,200)

Outfield: Melky Cabrera ($2,600) Adding to my White Sox mini-stack, the Melkman has back to back 25+ point outings and is a great value play on this slate

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!