FanDuel MLB Daily Lineups: Monday April 2

Welcome back to the FanDuel MLB Daily Lineups column. This is the Monday, April 2nd 2018 edition. We’re a fantasy baseball column focused on helping you build a DFS MLB optimal lineup for each slate.

Programming Note: While we expected the Yankees and Ray game to be postponed, we were hoping the Mets and Phillies would still play, given they had some time to prep the field. However, the game has now been postponed, and we had to update our FanDuel MLB lineup, away from a Phillies stack, for tonight’s Main slate.

Yesterday, Gerrit Cole pitched an excellent quality start for the Astros, and for only $7,700 of FanDuel MLB salary, you got 61 points in return. Cole had eleven strikeouts in just seven innings, only gave up one run, and took the win.

Grabbing a top pitcher of the day like that often leads to winning Cash and GPP plays for FanDuel. However, 50+ points on a sub-$8K salary is difficult to find, especially as FanDuel’s salaries begin to even out with the point return toward mid season. But we’re going to try to find one or two today.

We have four games starting before 4pm ET today, leading to a fairly big Early Only FanDuel MLB slate. However, the Cubs and Reds play at 4:10pm, and can only be found in the All-Day slate. That leaves us with nine games for the Main slate, but plenty for a big night.

For today, we’ll review the top pitchers, 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 only 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: With the possibility of snow or rain in the New York area Monday, the Yankees hosting the Rays is at risk of starting on time, or playing. For that reason, we are likely avoiding picking any players from that game. However, it currently does not appear any other games will be delayed or postponed today.

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

He may have only had 23.48 FanDuel MLB points-per-game last season, but the later part of the year Jameson Taillon ($8,200) was a bargain top pitcher when on the mound for the Pirates. The 26-year-old Lakeland, Florida pitching product had a very good 3.89 xFIP last season, second only to Charlie Morton among all the pitchers on the mound today.

Taillon had a modest 21.3% K-rate, not quite as good as Jordan Montgomery‘s ($7,300) 22.2%, but Jameson’s 7.8% walk rate is one of the lowest on the mound this afternoon. Taillon’s 1.48 WHIP from last season shows signs of still needing improvement, but Jameson only gave up 0.74 home runs per nine innings, also a good reason to avoid the Twins offense today.

If the Yankees and Rays can play today, Montgomery is also worth a solid consideration. He’s more of a home-run threat than Taillon, but most of the pitchers this afternoon have solid low home-run rates from last year.

But with snow likely in New York, and Taillon having the second lowest xFIP of all starting pitchers, we can’t ignore the potential for around 40 FanDuel MLB points from Taillon today. Also, the salary difference between Jameson and Jordan is less than $1K and we have plenty of cash left over for our offensive stacks.

FanDuel MLB: Top Pitcher Main Slate

If you’re looking purely at K-rate, Mike Clevinger ($7,700) is a lock, with a very high 27.3% K-rate last season. Also, Clevinger ended the 2017 season with an average of well over 40 FanDuel MLB points-per-game with his last five starts over a month’s time.

However, the danger with Mike is the 12% walk rate. But that’s his only issue. Even with a high walk rate, his WHIP was only 1.25, he had a decent 4.05 xFIP, and Clevinger only gave up 0.96 home runs per nine innings. So the Angels are an offensive stack to avoid, and Clevinger is your best shot at a high FanDuel MLB point ceiling tonight. He’s also cheap.

But for our best pitching play in the Main slate, we’re fading the walk risk and going with the best bet, Charlie Morton ($8,500). Morton has been more consistently dominate, and his walk rate is only 8.5%. While Clevinger’s K-rate is impressive, Charlie also has a 26.4% rate, gave up less home runs than Mike, 0.86 per nine, and a lower 1.19 WHIP. So in this case, paying up for Morton makes sense, and like the early slate, we have plenty of salary left over to stack expensive hitting picks.

FanDuel MLB: Top Hitting Stacks Early Only Slate

Francisco Liriano takes the mound for the Tigers, coming off a terrible season with a 5.04 xFIP, 1.63 WHIP, and high 12% walk rate. Liriano only gave up just over one home run per nine innings, but he struggled to keep batters off the base-path each game. With that in mind, we’re stacking the Royals.

Our two favorite Royals are Whit Merrifield ($3,500) at second base and Mike Moustakas ($3,600) playing the hot-corner. They’re likely hitting second and third in the lineup, and are the most productive offensive players on the team. But also, Paulo Orlando ($2,000) is a dirt-cheap 5th batting option from the lineup. Orlando was a sneaky great value several teams last season as well.

The Royals have Jason Hammel on the mound today, and he also struggled last season ending with a 4.92 xFIP. Hammel had a low 6% walk-rate, but also a low 18% K-rate and gave up 1.3 home runs per nine innings, tied for the most on the mound among the early slate starters. So with that in mind, we’re stacking the Tigers as well.

Miguel Cabrera ($3,900) is our favorite pick at the C/1B slot, and with so much value from pitching today, he’s easy to afford. We also like Leonys Martin ($2,600) leading off for the Tigers, and Nicholas Castellanos ($3,800) hitting fourth in the lineup. Castellanos has a hit in each of the three games the Tigers played so far, five total, including a double and triple. He’s very hot!

One problem we have with the Tigers stack today is Jose Iglesias ($2,600) is taking a seat for the day. He would’ve been our fourth pick and the options at the position are very limited for the early slate. So, we’re vearing away from our stacks and grabbing Paul DeJong ($2,600) who’s hot to start the season averaging over 15 FanDuel MLB points per game.

Finally, with a full Tigers stack attempt, and mini-stack from the Royals, we’ll complete our lineup with a mini-stack of the Pirates facing Lance Lynn. With a decent 1.23 WHIP last season, Lynn was a solid starting pitcher, but gave up 1.3 home runs per game and walked batters at over a 10% rate. Starling Marte ($3,600) and Josh Harrison ($3,200) are red-hot for the Pirates right now, and we’re plugging both into our Early slate lineup, facing Lynn.

FanDuel MLB: Top Hitting Stacks Main Slate

With so many terrible pitchers on the mound tonight, targeting just a couple offensive stacks will be overwhelming. However, we can narrow our targets down to two we love, the Houston Astros and Philadelphia Phillies.

The Phillies stack does come with some risk, but the value in that lineup is significant. Matt Harvey had a fantastic pitching career already, but last season was horrendous for Harvey. With a 5.39 xFIP, Matt had a 10.9% walk rate, low 15.6% K-rate, and he gave up over two home runs per nine innings. Harvey’s WHIP was also a terrible 1.69. Harvey’s major league career is hanging on a thread, heading into this season.

With that in mind, it’s hard to ignore the value you get from a cheap Phillies lineup. Rhys Hoskins ($3,900) has carried his impressive season last year, into the spring. In ten at-bats to start the season, Hoskins already has five hits, two doubles, and a home run. Rhys also added a stolen base, two runs, and has three RBI’s. He’s averaging around 20 FanDuel MLB points-per-game, and is facing a home-run pitcher tonight. He’s a must play.

In addition to Hoskins, we also like Aaron Altherr ($2,700) and Odubel Herrera ($2,200) to complete our offensive Phillies-stacked outfield. Between the two, Altherr is the more consistent offensive player, but Herrera is likely hitting third in the Phillies lineup and has a history of going on great offensive streaks, with power. We also like Cesar Hernandez ($2,900).

Thanks to the Phillies value and cheap pitching tonight, we can stack Evan Gattis ($2,900), Jose Altuve ($4,500), Carlos Correa ($4,200), and Alex Bregman ($3,200) all in the same lineup. FanDuel now allows four offensive players, along with a pitcher from the same team, so it’s feasible to have all four with Morton in your lineup.

The only problem we have with this lineup, FanDuel requires a minimum of three teams to be used in your lineup. So, we have to swap someone like Cesar Hernandez out of the lineup, but that offers great potential to get a hot player for a cheap price.

Nick Ahmed ($2,900) is a cheap pick in the Utility spot. Ahmed has a hit in each of the three games he’s played at Chase Field this season, including a double and home run, along with six RBI’s already. He gets Ryu on the mound for the Dodgers tonight, back in Arizona.

Weather Update: With the Mets and Phillies game now postponed, we’re turning our attention to other options for the Phillies stack. Our three favorite outfielders, replacing the Phillies, are bargain-bin value pick Stephen Piscotty ($2,200), assuming he starts for the A’s against Bartolo Colon, David Peralta ($3,100) vs. Ryu in Arizona, and Adam Eaton ($3,400) at SunTrust Park tonight.

FanDuel MLB: Summary and Example Lineup

If you’re playing the All-Day slate, we like Morton of all pitchers on the mound today. But Taillon is still a solid play, and gives you an extra $300 to try to make those Astros work in your lineup. For the offensive stacks, we suggest keeping the Astros in your lineup, and using the Royals, Tigers, Pirates, or Phillies to complete your offense.

And for a third player, consider Nick Ahmed, if you aren’t using a player from one of the other stacks you’re avoiding. With all of those considerations in mind, here’s a look at the sample lineups for Early Only and Main FanDuel MLB slates on Monday, April 2nd:

Programming Note: Given the Mets and Phillies cancellation, we’ve since updated the Main slate lineup to swap in three new OF’s for the Phillies OF stack we considered earlier in the day.

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

P          Jameson Taillon ($8,200)                                    P          Charlie Morton ($8,500)       

C/1B   Miguel Cabrera ($3,900)                                     C/1B   Evan Gattis ($2,900)

2B       Whit Merrifield ($3,500)                                     2B        Jose Altuve ($4,500)

3B       Mike Moustakas ($3,600)                                   3B        Alex Bregman ($3,200)

SS       Paul DeJong ($2,600)                                            SS        Carlos Correa ($4,200)

OF      Nicholas Castellanos ($3,800)                           OF        Stephen Piscotty ($2,200)

OF      Leonys Martin ($2,600)                                        OF        David Peralta ($3,100)

OF      Starling Marte ($3,600)                                        OF       Adam Eaton ($3,400)

UTIL   Josh Harrison ($3,200)                                         UTIL    Nick Ahmed ($2,900)

Remaining Salary: $0                                                      Remaining Salary: $0

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!