Opening Day picks and lineup for FanDuel, March 29th

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GLENDALE, ARIZONA – MARCH 02: Clayton Kershaw #22 of the Los Angeles Dodgers pitches against the Chicago White Sox on March 2, 2018 at Camelback Ranch in Glendale Arizona. (Photo by Ron Vesely/MLB Photos via Getty Images) /

Early Slate

Sample Lineup –

P – Noah Syndergaard, $10,300

C/1B – Victor Martinez, $27400

2B – Josh Harrison, $2,700

3B – Kris Bryant – $4,300

SS – Jose Reyes, $2,400

OF – Starling Marte, $3,400, Corey Dickerson, $2,600, and Adam Frazier $2,000

Utility – 1B Anthony Rizzo, $4,300

Total – $35,000

Game stacks can be risky because if the Pirates offense doesn’t come through, there can be a lot of low scores in the lineup. A three game slate is inherently risky so this lineup is going to take the pitcher with the highest ceiling, four cheaper players against a bad pitcher, and the two big bats from the Cubs. This is an instance where it can pay off to put a cheap player like Victor Martinez in the C/1B spot to save some money to afford Anthony Rizzo in the Utility spot.

Main Slate

Sample Lineup –

P – Clayton Kershaw, $11,700

C/1B – Evan Gattis, $2,500

2B – Ozzie Albies, $2,800

3B – Maikel Franco, $2,800

SS – Alcides Escobar, $2,300

OF – Byron Buxton, $3,100, Kole Calhoun, $2,500, and Stephen Piscotty, $2,100

Utility – Mike Trout, $4,800 and other options include Bryce Harper, Jose Altuve, Giancarlo Stanton, and Freddie Freeman

Total – $34,600

With the bigger slates, the Utility spot really gets interesting. This lineup can afford Mike Trout and it also gets exposure to specific offenses: Washington, Houston, and Los Angeles. Trout and Calhoun should bat close to each other. There’s always going to be a bounty of options in the Utility slot. The original lineup had Madison Bumgarner in it, but that went up in smoke this past weekend. Kershaw, Trout, Buxton, and Davis will serve as the core and the other players should hopefully do enough to afford the most expensive pitcher on the slate.

Offensive stacks to consider for tournaments include the Chicago White Sox, Houston Astros, the Los Angeles Angels and the New York Yankees. Truthfully, teams like the Astros, Yankees, and Cubs will always be stack options since they should be near the top of the league in many offensive categories. Just wait until we get to Coors Field, as well!

As always, may fortune be on your side and make sure to follow me on Twitter @bucn4life as MLB allows late swap. If there’s a late scratch and/or lineup cards aren’t put in for the late games, this article will always be updated on Twitter ASAP.