FanDuel MLB: Picks and Pivots for August 24
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!
First off – WELCOME BACK NY! NY is now back up and running in DFS and I welcome all New Yorkers back to FanDuel and DraftKings.
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Wednesday’s schedule is a split slate with 4 games on the early FanDuel slate starting at 2:10PM EST and another 10 games on the main FanDuel slate 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 | 256.4 | $ 8,619 | 25% | 75% | $ 3,298 | 7.33 |
| 5 Day | 273.3 | $ 8,817 | 25% | 75% | $ 3,273 | 7.81 |
| Prev Day | 280.9 | $ 10,000 | 29% | 71% | $ 3,125 | 8.03 |
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 is the top pitching option on Wednesday's Slate?
For only a 10 game slate, the Wednesday Main Starting Pitching Options are absolutely LOADED up top with 8 pitchers topping the $9k price point. These are some of my favorite slates to play as you can be assured of diluted ownership from a pitching standpoint with so many top arms to choose from.
With Jose Fernandez, Yu Darvish, Zack Greinke, Jacob deGrom & Johnny Cueto on the hill Wednesday, who would you guess is averaging the most points per start over the last month?
Did you guess Rick Porcello?
Rick Porcello ($9,700) continues to fly under the radar as a legit Cy Young candidate and has been a DFS stud this season! Porcello is averaging 45 points per game over the last month and what is most impressive is the consistency in which he does it!
Over his last 10 starts, Porcello has hit 30 points in every single game and eclipsed 40 points in 8 of those 10 while winning 9 of his last decisions for the Red Sox.
Porcello consistently delivers length in his starts which puts him in line for the win and with exceptional command, limits base runners while delivering a solid 21% K rate.
Porcello is facing off against a Tampa Bay team that he has faced 3 times this season and put up 45, 51 and 51 FanDuel points against.
I am happy to let other players chase the “name” pitchers on this slate and roll with one of the best pitchers that nobody is talking about (at least not as much as they should be).
Next: Top Hitting Options
With so many great pitchers going Wednesday, not unexpectedly we will struggle to find a ton of offenses spots to target but that doesn’t mean we cannot build a high upside lineup!
Texas Rangers versus Tim Adleman: With 8 teams on the main slate projected to score between 4.5 and 4.9 runs, there is no clear-cut stacking option but getting exposure to the Rangers bats in a highly favorable match-up is my cornerstone play.
Adleman has the highest SIERA of any SP on the main slate and has a mediocre 17% K rate with a bloated 11% walk rate which leads to a lot of base runners and potential for crooked numbers!
Left-handed hitters in a short sample size have crushed Adleman this year putting up a .304 average with 7 ER in 11 IP while hitting 3 home runs.
The Rangers bats are easily affordable and with such a deep and balanced line-up they make for a great cash game building block or tournament stack.
Rougned Odor ($3,500) should continue to hit in the middle of the order and can be easily paired with Carlos Beltran ($3,400) for a reasonable price with massive upside.
Carlos Gomez ($2,400) has joined the Rangers and initial reports are that he will join the team Thursday but keep an eye on the lineup in case he breaks in with the team one day earlier!
Next: Top Lineup
Below you will find my initial lineup for Wednesday’s Main FanDuel MLB slate including notes/comments on my roster construction.
Pitcher: Rick Porcello ($9,700)
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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!