FanDuel MLB Daily Lineups: March 30

Welcome to FanDuel MLB Daily Lineups for Friday, March 30th 2018. This is a fantasy baseball column focused on helping you build a DFS MLB optimal lineup for each slate.

Yesterday’s offensive stacks worked nicely. In the Main slate, the Yankees crushed the Blue Jays, as expected, 6-1 and Giancarlo Stanton slugged two home runs for 53.6 FanDuel MLB points. We also had Aaron Judge and Brett Gardner in our lineup, and they added another 15.2 and 21.9 points, Gardner added another home run.

Elvis Andrus was a value plug into the shortstop position, and he gave us two hits including a double, a walk, and a run for 15.2 FanDuel MLB points. And while the Royals stack wasn’t a dynamic as the Yankees stack, they were the value play between the two and still gave us an additional 31.6 FanDuel MLB points for the three hitters.

Unfortunately, most of our pitching plays didn’t work out. We focused too much on value and not enough on points yesterday. While they did give us the opportunity to stack the better offensive teams, Cubs in the early slate and Yankees in the Main slate, Danny Duffy was sloppy after a great start and ending up giving up five runs in just four innings, although he managed five strikeouts.

Jon Lester‘s start in Miami was baffling, as he struggled in the first three innings with only two K’s and three earned runs in just 3.1 pitched innings. If you follow me on Twitter, @MattyMcMatt17 you hopefully plugged Cardinals Jose Martinez into your lineup. For only $2,000 we got a 5th batting spot who went yard and piled up 31.4 FanDuel MLB points.

But the big play of the day was Matt Davidson ($2,200) who slugged an incredible three home runs for the White Sox, drove in five RBI’s, and piled up 69.3 FanDuel MLB points. Many of the GPP winning lineups had Dadvidson and Stanton in their lineup.

We will review the top pitchers for each slate, and favor one over the other for an All-Day slate. Also, for offensive plays, we generally like to use stacking as a strategy. Stacking is ideal for DFS MLB optimal lineups, as it presents your best opportunity to win with favorable hitting-to-pitcher match ups, and you can benefit from RBI’s and Runs at the same time.

Finally, we’ll summarize our thoughts for the day’s slates, and offer some example lineups you can consider for both the Early and Main slates. But be sure to apply your own input into your lineup. These are general examples based on what we’ve discussed, and you may have additional information to apply to each lineup.

Weather Note: While there were two postponements and several delay postponement scares on Opening Day yesterday, today’s schedule does not appear to have any risk of PPD or delays. However, monitor the weather throughout the day in the case that a weather event pops up before each game. If there is a PPD, your player receives 0 points.

Also, as we progress toward slate locks, you’ll continue to hear updates on player injuries and starting pitchers. So make sure you follow final lineup thoughts throughout the day on our twitter account @FantasyCPR and look for late breaking lineup news.

Now, let’s get to the top pitching options…

FanDuel MLB: Top Pitcher Early Only Slate

If you’re having a deja vu moment reading about the Early Only slate, it’s because we just talked about both of these games yesterday, one for the early and another for the Main slates. Each game was then postponed and, for the most part, the starting pitchers remained in tact.

The Pirates and Tigers start the day for baseball in Detroit. Right-hander Ivan Nova ($7,700) will face a Tigers lineup who still generally prefers right-handed pitching over southpaws. Nova’s 2017 wasn’t remarkable, as he had a 4.45 SIERA mostly saved by his low 4.5% walk rate. But Ivan gave up nearly 1.5 home runs per nine innings, and had a low 16.7% K-rate. At this price-point, it’s tempting to play Nova, but we don’t recommend it.

We’ll visit our offensive stacks in a moment, but spoiler alert, we’re target Homer Bailey and Jordan Zimmermann who each had a terrible season last year. So, that really leaves us no choice but to plug in a very expensive Max Scherzer ($11,100).

But, that shouldn’t be too disappointing. We’ll find some value in our offensive lineup, and Max has incredible numbers. Over the course of the 2017 season, Scherzer was able to maintain a low 0.99 home run per nine inning rate, 7.1% walk rate, and 0.90 WHIP. And Max’s 34.4% K-rate was one of the highest in baseball last season. So we have a shot at 60 FanDuel MLB points with this play, worth the two or three value snags we need on offense to afford his play.

FanDuel MLB: Top Pitcher Main Slate

Folks, the pitching situation for the FanDuel MLB Main slate is baffling easy, which means it’s also likely very chalky. But we can not find a reason to move away from Alex Wood ($8,400). Yes, Robbie Ray ($9,500) has the highest K-rate of all the pitchers tonight, 32.8%. That makes Ray very attractive, even in Chase Field. But against a solid Rockies lineup in a hitter-friendly park, you’re also paying for a 10.7% walk rate, among the four highest starting on the mound tonight.

We also know Dallas Keuchel ($9,200) bounced back last season and often had a dominating performance, especially earlier in the year. But Keuchel is only giving you a 21.4% K-rate and has a higher-end 8.1% walk rate. The Rangers also have a better offensive edge playing in Texas tonight. While Dallas likely gets you 30+ FanDuel MLB points, we think Wood is the best option.

The big head-scratcher tonight is Wood’s salary. Priced cheaper than Masahiro Tanaka ($8,7000) and David Price ($8,500), Alex had a 3.34 xFIP last season, just behind Keuchel’s 3.32 for the best of any starting pitcher in this slate. Wood had a 53% groundball rate, also second best. And we’re getting a low 6.2% walk rate and solid 24.6% K-rate, higher than Dallas’s rate.

Did we also mention, Wood pitches better in Los Angeles, and faces a struggling Giants offense? So for a mid-salary range price, we’re getting the lowest WHIP, 1.057, second lowest BABIP, 0.267, and a lefty in his home park against a favorable offense. Play Wood in the Main and All-Day slate today, no matter how chalky. Alex could land 50-60 FanDuel MLB points tonight, and gives us plenty of salary to play with for the offensive side of the lineup.

FanDuel MLB: Top Hitting Stacks Early Only Slate

It wasn’t hard to determine our offensive stacks for the Early Only slate today. We’re reviewing the Zimmermann and Bailey targets we just discussed yesterday. However, with no solid value option at pitcher today, we’re going to dig further through the lineup to try to afford Scherzer at the pitching spot.

Before we jump into the stacks, we need to consider a hitter from the Reds or Tigers as we can only snag three Nationals offensive players with one position filled at pitcher. While we’d love to play Joey Votto ($3,700) even against Max, he’s too expensive. Still, if you’re able to afford him, Votto is one of the most efficient hitters in baseball.

Instead, we’re going to grab Jose Iglesias ($2,400) at the shortstop position. While he’s not a slugger, Iglesias has the ability to produce runs against pitching from someone like Nova, and we’re only looking for six to nine points from this play.

For the stacks, starting with the Nationals, we’re going to remain expensive. The Pirates have a lot of affordability in their plays. So at the Cather/1B or first base positions, we like Ryan Zimmerman ($3,300) facing Homer Bailey today. We also love Adam Eaton ($3,100) back in the Nats lineup, and we can’t avoid Bryce Harper ($5,000). Harper is expensive for a reason. In five opening day games of his career, Harper has a home run in each game. He’s also a very high probability for 20+ FanDuel MLB points today.

Finally, the Pirates offer tremendous affordability and production from their lineup. Colin Moran ($2,200) should get the starting nod at third base, and he’s very cheap. The lefty will be deep in the order, likely eight, but he has the ability to produce a solid batting average and some power. Also, Gregory Polanco ($2,200) likely bats third today and is dirt-cheap. Finally, with a right-handed pitcher on the mound today, Josh Bell ($2,800) should be in the lineup, and productive. And Josh Harrison ($2,900) is now one of the best hitters on the team.

FanDuel MLB: Top Hitting Stacks Main Slate

Thanks to the cheap price for Wood, we have plenty of great stacking options on offense. But before we get to the stacks, one value play we liked is 21-year-old budding Braves star Ozzie Albies ($2,900) at second base.

Offering a rare collection of speed and power, Albies already hit his first home run of the season yesterday, and piled up 18.70 FanDuel MLB points. The Phillies have Nick Pivetta on the mound tonight. While Nick has a solid K-rate, he’s walking nearly 10% of his hitters he faces and Nick gave up 1.69 home runs per nine innings last season. We love Albies at 2B again tonight.

Now for the stacks. They’ll be chalky tonight, but we can not ignore the FanDuel MLB point potential from the Yankees and Cubs for the Main slate, and All-Day slate today. We were high on both yesterday, and winning cash games was fairly easy with these stacks in our lineups.

The Yankees get Aaron Sanchez from the Blue Jays today. Sanchez had the worst 2017 xFIP of any starting pitcher tonight, 5.30. Aaron also gave up 1.5 home runs per nine innings, only strike out batters at a 14.4% rate, and walked hitters at a 12% rate, also the worst of any pitcher on the mound today.

So with Sanchez as an Offensive stacking target, we love lead-off Brett Gardner ($2,800) again as a value play in the outfield, and Aaron Hicks ($2,700) likely hitting fifth in the lineup. And you can only play one, but we also love Giancarlo Stanton ($4,600) and Aaron Judge ($4,200) in the outfield or utility positions. We’re likely rolling with Stanton because he’s hot, but Judge is set up well for a bomb tonight.

For the rest of our lineup, we stacking the Cubs against Marlins starting Caleb Smith. Willson Contreras ($3,300) is a great play at the C/1B position, and Addison Russell ($3,100) and Jason Heyward ($2,600) are each affordable plays at the shortstop and outfield positions. Finally, we third base, we can still afford Kris Bryant ($4,400) who had a double, walk, and two runs for 15.4 FanDuel MLB points yesterday.

FanDuel MLB: Summary and Example Lineup

Our two favorite pitchers today are Max Scherzer and Alex Wood. Between the two for an All-Day play, you want Wood because of the enormous value he offers tonight. For offensive stacks, we love the Nats and Pirates early, and Cubs and Yankees late.

For the All-Day play, we recommend mixing the four, including picks like Josh Bell, Ozzie Albies, Anthonty Rendon ($3,500), and Addison Russell in the infield. For the outfield, you have plenty of money to stack the Yankees with Brett Gardner, Aaron Hicks, Giancarlo Stanton, and you can even play Aaron Judge in the Utility spot. Here’s a look at some sample lineups for the Early Only and Main FanDuel MLB slates today:

FanDuel MLB EARLY ONLY Sample Lineup:                 FanDuel MLB MAIN Slate Sample Lineup:

P          Max Scherzer ($11,100)                                       P          Alex Wood ($8,400)

C/1B   Ryan Zimmerman ($3,300)                                 C/1B   Willson Contreras ($3,300)

2B       Josh Harrison ($2,900)                                          2B       Ozzie Albies ($2,900)

3B       Colin Moran ($2,200)                                             3B       Kris Bryant ($4,400)

SS       Jose Iglesias ($2,240)                                            SS        Addison Russell ($3,100)

OF      Bryce Harper ($5,000)                                            OF       Aaron Hicks ($2,700)

OF      Adam Eaton ($3,100)                                             OF        Jason Heyward ($2,600)

OF      Gregory Polanco ($2,200)                                     OF        Brett Gardner ($2,800)

UTIL   Josh Bell ($2,800)                                                    UTIL    Giancarlo Stanton ($4,600)

Remaining Salary: $0                                                        Remaining Salary: $200

Note: This is a recommended lineup after discussing our top options for today. You should use this as a guide, and provide your own input when building FanDuel NHL lineups.  We are not telling you, or selling you, to use this lineup.

Next: DFS MLB Top Hitters in Camden Yards

Best of luck in your FanDuel MLB contests and stay tuned to Fantasy CPR for all your DFS news and analysis across MLB, NBA, NHL, and EPL this spring!