FanDuel MLB: Picks and Pivots for August 30

Aug 25, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals starting pitcher Max Scherzer (31) pitches during the fourth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports FanDuel MLB /

FanDuel MLB: Picks and Pivots for August 30

Welcome to the Tuesday 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!

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Tuesday’s Main Slate kicks off at 7:05PM EST with 15 games to choose from when building your FanDuel 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	256.2	$ 8,624	25%	75%	$ 3,297	7.32
5 Day	250.7	$ 9,033	26%	74%	$ 3,246	7.16
Prev Day	243.8	$ 9,700	28%	72%	$ 3,163	6.97

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 Tuesday's Slate?

Aug 25, 2016; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Drew Pomeranz (31) is congratulated by teammates at the dugout at the end of the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /

When narrowing down my choices for a starting pitcher on any given slate, I typically boil it down to a relatively simple formula. I want to find a pitcher with a high strikeout rate who Vegas strongly projects for a win against a team with a high strikeout rate and who has been in good form in their recent starts. This is not rocket science by any means but the approach is meant to give players multiple paths towards fantasy points as you can accrue strikeouts while still being in good position for the all important FanDuel win.

Drew Pomeranz ($9,000) at home versus Tampa Bay frankly was not a pick that initially stood out to me as their were more prominent names at the top of the salary spectrum and I had frankly moved on from Pomeranz after his initial struggles in Boston.

However, I took a closer look at Pomeranz who has really turned it around recently for Boston, pitching to a 2.40 ERA in his last 5 starts against difficult competition in Detroit, Cleveland, New York and Seattle.

In his last start against Tampa Bay, Pomeranz had arguably his best start for Boston as he racked up 11 strikeouts while only walking one batter in a tough luck loss that netted him 45 FanDuel points.

Today, Pomeranz gets to face that same Rays team again and DFS players should take notice as Pomeranz quickly checks all my boxes.

Comes into today’s game pitching his best baseball since the trade
Fourth highest Vegas favorite (-170)
Third highest strikeout rate among all today’s SP (25.5%), behind Max Scherzer and Rich Hill (in Colorado)
Faces a team with the highest strikeout rate of any team on the slate (25.7%) against LHP

So in rostering Pomeranz we get one of the four highest projected favorites, a top three strikeout arm in the single best match up for strikeouts yet there are seven pitchers priced higher than him!

Pomeranz is in a great spot today not only to contend for the top point total among SP but is one of the best point per dollar plays at only $9K. With so many top arms going tonight, paying up is my recommended strategy but drop down to Pomeranz who may get overlooked tonight!

Next: Top Hitting Options

Aug 29, 2016; Anaheim, CA, USA; Los Angeles Angels designated hitter Albert Pujols (5) is congratulated by first baseman C.J. Cron (24) after hitting a solo home run in the first inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports /

Tuesday night gives us another chance to target Coors Field with both teams projected to score over five runs but similar to Monday night’s slate, we have four other team with similarly high projections that allow us to pivot off the popular Coors bats.

Angels versus RHP Tim Adleman: One of the highest projected run scoring teams on the slate, the Los Angeles Angels, get a solid match up with Tim Adleman and the Reds dreadful pitching staff.

Adleman has struggled in a small sample size this year giving up 10 ER and 5 HR in only 13.1 IP to LHB. The Angels may be a bit over looked on this slate but I would give strong consideration to C.J. Cron ($3,100) & Kole Calhoun ($3,000).

As the cleanup hitter for LA, Cron gets the favorable position of being surrounded by Mike Trout and Albert Pujols and in his last two games has gone 6 for 8 with 1 HR and racked up 52 FanDuel Points.

Calhoun, batting lead-off, is a great way to get additional exposure to this at a value price and I expect the Angels will be completely overlooked in this game as DFS players look to some of the other high upside spots first!

Next: FanDuel MLB Lineup

Aug 21, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado (28) hits a three run home run in the first inning against the Chicago Cubs at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports /

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

Pitcher:

More from FanSided

Catcher: Nick Hundley ($3,000) Hundley has hit safely in 7 of his last 8 games and after Monday’s home run has 3 in his last 6

First Base: C.J. Cron ($3,100)

Second Base: DJ LeMahieu ($3,800) The Rockies 2B is an absolute hitting machine and gets the platoon advantage against LHP Rich Hill

Third Base: Nolan Arenado ($4,300) Nolan at home against a LHP. Yes, please.

Shortstop: Francisco Lindor ($3,400) Another of the top projected scoring teams, Lindor and the Indians make for a potentially overlooked target on this slate

Outfield: Kole Calhoun ($3,000)

Outfield: Tyler Collins ($2,200) With Cameron Maybin headed for an MRI, Collins may find himself back at the top of the Tigers lineup, the highest projected scoring team on the slate and would make for a top value play.

Outfield: Justin Upton ($3,200) Upton has now homered in 5 of his last 8 and gives us exposure to one of the best offenses on the day and arguably their hottest hitter!

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!