FanDuel MLB Daily Lineups: Thursday April 5

Welcome to FanDuel MLB Daily Lineups for Thursday, April 5th 2018. We’re a fantasy baseball column focused on helping you build a DFS MLB optimal lineup for each slate.

Yesterday yielded mixed results for our FanDuel MLB recommendations. We faded Carlos Martinez in the main slate after he struggled against the Mets during his first outing. But Martinez piled up ten K’s against the Brewers, in Milwaukee, during 8.1 innings. Carlos also snagged the shutout win and quality start for 65 FanDuel MLB points. Martinez was low-owned as well.

But with four strikeouts, only one earned run Sean Manaea ($8,300), was a solid top play recommendation for the Main slate. Sean got the win, quality start, and eight innings pitched for 43 FanDuel MLB points.

The White Sox were a quality stack with Jose Abreu and Matt Davidson eacah hitting bombs. But the Mariners were shut-down with only one run. While the M’s had some solid on base percentage, their lack of run production hurt us.

Switching gears for Thursday we have, yet again, an Early Only, All-Day, and Main slate to review. Again, we’ll review the top pitchers from the Early and Main slates and favor one over the other for an All-Day slate. With some of the top MLB pitching talent on the mound tonight, we likely have some chalky picks again.

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 a storm system passing off the east coast, and not much precipitation behind it, we’re not expecting and delays or cancellations today. However, keep in mind a good part of the north and east cost is quite cold. This type of weather will favor pitchers over hitters, in the north and east coast.

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

The bulk of pitching talent today will be in the All-Day or Early only slate. For the All-Day, Jacob deGrom ($9,700) and Stephen Strasburg ($10,100) are the two best pitchers on the mound all day today. Either is a top pick, but with the Nats hosting their opening day in D.C. today, we’d give the advantage to Strasburg.

For the Early slate, David Price ($9,000) is the most expensive pitcher. Jordan Zimmermann ($7,700) had a great start to the season after a horrendous 2017. James Paxton ($8,800) is one of the better pitchers for this slate, and he looked very good last year.

However, Paxton had some injury concerns in 2017, and had a poor start to this season against the Indians. Facing a solid Twins offense in Minnesota isn’t a great way to bounce back, so we’re still fading Paxton, for now. But, James is a decent GPP play. For that reason, we don’t like Kyle Gibson ($6,900), even after his tremendous first start.

Zimmermann has a decent match up against the White Sox and he’s one of the best values at the pitcher position for this slate, but all signs point us back to Price. David may be a bit chalky for this slate, as he’s already piled up 46 FanDuel MLB points against the Rays this season, but for that reason, we like using Price as our pitching, locking in 40+ points and finding the right offensive stacks to land over 150 FanDuel MLB points.

FanDuel MLB: Top Pitcher Main Slate

With a chalky play for the Early Only slate, we’re trying to avoid the chalk for the Main slate, but we doubt we can do it. The pitching options for the Main slate are ugly. Robbie Ray ($9,600) is the most expensive pitcher, and has the highest upside.

But while Ray has an awesome 32.8% K-rate, he also has an ugly 10.7% walk-rate. His WHIP is low, 1.18, but he’s giving up 1.4 home runs per nine innings. So while Ray is tempting, the risk aligned with picking Ray for such a high price seems like a rip off.

Jon Lester ($8,900) had a terrible start to the season in Miami. Lester has a better pitching environment in Milwaukee, but over the last couple of years, Jon’s streaky play makes him risky when he’s performing poorly.

Brent Suter ($6,500) had a rough ERA to start the season, 5.40, but he had four strikeouts and a low 1.2 WHIP (considering the high ERA) in five innings pitched for a win. However, Suter has one of the better offensive lineups against him tonight, so he’s not the best play.

So, with the Orioles struggling and in New York tonight, we’re right back to the chalky play of the day, Masahiro Tanaka ($9,300). In Tanaka’s 26.1% K-Rate isn’t as impressive as Rays, but he had eight strikeouts against the Blue Jays. Masahiro is giving up a terrible 1.76 home runs per nine innings, but he’s only given up three hits in six innings pitched so far this season. Also, Masahiro’s WHIP is a palpable 1.22 since early last season. He’s the best bet for 40+ FanDuel MLB points, and not too expensive.

FanDuel MLB: Top Hitting Stacks Early Only Slate

Two pitchers we’re targeting for offensive stacks in the early slate are Marlins Caleb Smith and the White Sox James Shields. So for offensive stacks, we like reasonably priced Phillies and Tigers. While there’s plenty of value within these lineups, there’s also some expensive top picks creating a balanced offensive lineup which is affordable with Price as our pitcher.

Caleb Smith has a decent 23.9% K-rate, but he’s walking hitters at a horrendous 11.9% rate. Smith also has a terrible 1.58 WHIP, and is giving up just under two home runs per nine innings. That makes a top play like Rhys Hoskins ($3,700).

With at least one hit in all five starts this season, Hoskins is on fire with eight hits in just 17 at-bats, and three doubles and a home run. Rhys also has two stolen bases, three RBI’s, and two runs. We’re also going to grab another top-prospect of the Phillies, Scott Kingery ($2,500) at the shortstop spot, after getting last night off. And we complete our Phillies stack with Cesar Hernandez ($2,800) at the 2B position, and Aaron Altherr ($2,400) in the outfield.

For the Tigers stack, we’ll snag Miguel Cabrera ($3,900) whose off to another hall-of-fame type of start, averaging just over 15 FanDuel MLB points per game. Cabrera works best in the 1B/C position. And we’re stacking Cabrera with Nicholas Castellanos ($3,900) in the outfield, and Jeimer Candelario ($2,900) in Nick’s old spot on third base.

Finally, to bring the lineup together and meet the minimum three-team requirement, we have plenty of cash left over. Yonny Chirinos is pitching for the Rays today, and we like Xander Bogaerts ($3,400) in the five-spot of the Red Sox lineup against Chirinos. We’ll likely use Bogaerts in a Utility position.

 FanDuel MLB: Top Hitting Stacks Main Slate

For the Main slate, we’re targeting Orioles pitcher Andrew Cashner and Reds hurler Homer Bailey. While Cashner has a low 0.94 home runs per nine innings, Andrew is only striking batters out at a low 12.5% rate and has a 9.1% walk rate. Cashner also has a 1.33 WHIP. Andrew is a better pitcher than his reputation gives him credit for, but the Yankees lineup should spray the ball all over the field today, and pile up runs. So we’re stacking the Bronx Bombers today.

They’re expensive, but we can still afford to have Gary Sanchez ($3,100) in a C/1B spot, along with red-hot Didi Gregorius ($4,000) at shortstop, Giancarlo Stanton ($4,500) in the outfield, and Brett Gardner ($3,100) likely leading off in the lineup.

We stacked the Nationals against Bailey last week, and he had a surprisingly decent start to the season, throwing six innings and getting three K’s with a low 1.17 WHIP and 1.50 ERA. However, we’re not expecting that success to last long this season, and the Pirates are at home and have a hot offense this spring.

For the Pirates stack, Colin Moran ($2,600) has been lower down in the lineup, bot offensively very productive already this season. Moran is a solid value play at third base. Corey Dickerson ($2,500) has enormous fantasy value potential, but had a slow start so far, making him very affordable tonight. And Josh Bell ($3,400) is off to a great start, and fits perfectly in our utility spot.

Finally, to pull the lineup together, and again meet the three-team minimum requirement of FanDuel MLB, we’re going to assume Ben Zobrist ($2,400) gets a start tonight. It’s a risky play, and you may have to flip to another $2.5K or below pick at second base, but Zobrist has been hot to start the season, and Madden recently mentioned he’s likely going to see more time in the lineup from now on, so we expect him on the field today.

FanDuel MLB: Summary and Example Lineup

For the All-Day slate, we like Stephen Strasburg, David Price, or Masahiro Tanaka at the pitcher spot. We’d probably go with Stasburg first, which such a high ceiling for FanDuel MLB points against the Mets on Opening Day. But you’ll need to pull together some affordable stacks, may keeping some expensive guys in your lineup like Didi Gregorius and Giancarlo Stanton, but taking risks with Ben Zobrist, Scott Kingery, Corey Dickerson, and Aaron Altherr.

With that summary in mind, here’s a look at the sample lineups for Early Only and Main FanDuel MLB slates on Thursday, April 5th:

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

P          David Price ($9,400)                                              P          Masahiro Tanaka ($9,300)

C/1B   Miguel Cabrera ($3,900)                                      C/1B   Gary Sanchez ($3,100)

2B       Cesar Hernandez ($2,800)                                   2B        Ben Zobrist ($2,400)

3B       Jeimer Candelario ($2,900)                                  3B        Colin Moran ($2,600)

SS       Scott Kingery ($2,500)                                          SS         Didi Gregorius ($4,000)

OF      Rhys Hoskins ($3,700)                                           OF        Giancarlo Stanton ($4,500)

OF      Nicholas Castellanos ($3,900)                             OF        Brett Gardner ($3,100)

OF      Aaron Altherr ($2,400)                                           OF        Corey Dickerson ($2,500)

UTIL   Xander Bogaerts ($3,400)                                    UTIL     Josh Bell ($3,400)

Remaining Salary: $100                                                    Remaining Salary: $100

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.

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