FanDuel MLB: Picks and Pivots for Friday September 16

FanDuel MLB: Picks and Pivots for September 16

Welcome to the Friday 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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Friday’s MLB schedule kicks off with a 2:20PM EST start with a lone afternoon game in Wrigley Field however the Main Slate begins at 7:05PM EST with 14 games to choose from!

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	255.6	$ 8,634	25%	75%	$ 3,296	7.30
5 Day	246.2	$ 8,200	23%	77%	$ 3,350	7.03
Prev Day	248.0	$ 11,000	31%	69%	$ 3,000	7.09

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 Friday's Slate?

FanDUel MLB — Sep 11, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Chris Sale (49) throws against the Kansas City Royals during the first inning at U.S. Cellular Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

The Friday slate is absolutely loaded with top end arms including Max Scherzer, Chris Sale, Corey Kluber, Chris Archer and Felix Hernandez. When approaching slates like this, my general recommendation is to pay up into the elite tier as it is unlikely that all the aces falter and playing the fade actually pays off.

Max Scherzer ($11,000) at Atlanta: Over the last month, Scherzer has been absolutely on fire, averaging 50.4 FanDuel points per game. Scherzer gets perhaps the best match-up on the board against the Braves and comes into the game as the largest favorite on the board (-235).

The Nationals ace has the second highest K rate on any starter in baseball so the strikeout upside is clearly there if you are selecting Scherzer. The only trepidation I have is that in the previous two meetings with Atlanta, Scherzer only had 11 K’s and put up 42 and 37 points which would be pedestrian totals at such an elevated price.

Chris Sale ($10,800) at Kansas City: Over the last month, Sale has been absolutely on fire, averaging 50.4 FanDuel points per game(sound familiar?) Take everything else I wrote for Scherzer now and flip it upside down!

Sale is a slight road favorite (-114) and faces a tough Kansas City offense however in his last start against the Royals he racked up 12 strikeouts in a no decision while putting up 54 FanDuel points.

So where do we land? My recommendation is to split your exposure between these two pitchers on the evening. With only a $200 price difference it is easy to build the same base lineup and simply pivot back and forth between Sale and Scherzer.

Next: Top Hitting Options

With a game in Coors Field and a total of 12 runs, we should absolutely look to get exposure to this game. My favorite play is Nolan Arenado ($3,800) as he is at home facing a left-handed pitcher and frankly feels under priced and I intend to slot him into every one of my lineups!

Miguel Cabrera ($3,400) has one of the most impressive BvP lines of the night, going 21 for 42 (.500) with 5 home runs against Corey Kluber.

The Mets may go overlooked on this slate, but I will look to attack Jose Berrios who has given up a 40.8% hard contact to right-handed batters on the season and that rate spikes to 44% when he is on the road. Yoenis Cespedes ($4,100) may be passed over at this price, but with the reverse splits that Berrios has exhibited, I will look to target a big night from the Mets slugger.

Lastly, do not overlook the right-handed bats of the Blue Jays as Jered Weaver has given up a 40.5% hard contact rate and .378 wOBA to RHB this season which puts an under priced Jose Bautista ($3,600) squarely in play.

Next: Top FanDuel Lineup

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

Pitcher: Max Scherzer ($11,000) or Chris Sale ($10,800)

More from FanSided

Catcher: Rene Rivera ($2,200) Rivera has essentially passed d’Arnaud as the every day catcher and makes for a solid punt play

First Base: Miguel Cabrera ($3,400)

Second Base: Dee Gordon ($2,500) The price is creeping up has Gordon has hits in 7 straight games

Third Base: Nolan Arenado ($3,800)

Shortstop: Andrelton Simmons ($2,200) No shortstop has averaged more points per game over the last two weeks

Outfield: Yoenis Cespedes ($4,100)

Outfield: Jose Bautista ($3,600)

Outfield: Jurickson Profar ($2,200)

Next: DFS Strategy - Take Your Game to the Next Level

Best of luck tonight gamers!