FanDuel MLB Daily Lineups: Saturday April 7

Welcome to FanDuel MLB Daily Lineups for Saturday, April 7th 2018. We’re a fantasy baseball column focused on helping you build a DFS MLB optimal lineup for each slate.

Yesterday’s Early and Main FanDuel MLB slates played out nicely. For the Early slate, we didn’t nail GPP’s, but won all of our cash games. For the Main slate, we won money in both GPP and the Main slate using the guidance we described.

Our pitching picks had modest results. Carlos Corrasco took the win, again, with a quality start and four strikeouts. Carlos gave up two runs, but he pitched in six innings and gave up 34 FanDuel MLB points. The Braves stacked worked out nicely, as they piled up eight runs on the Rockies in Denver. Dansby Swanson had a double, triple, and since, with three RBI’s and a run for 31.7 FanDuel MLB points on a cheap $2,700 salary.

Freddie Freeman, Preston Tucker, and Ryan Flaherty averaged around 15+ FanDuel MLB points for each play as well. The Indians weren’t quite as productive, but we eventually swapped Michael Brantley into the outfield for another ten FanDuel MLB points.

In the Main slate, Lance McCullers Jr. had 30 FanDuel MLB points, and the Angels and Blue Jays piled up a total of 21 runs. The addition of Corey Dickerson added another awesome 31.4 FanDuel MLB points to the lineup, for an easy win in most of our plays, even with Lance coming up shorter than we expected.

For Saturday, we’ll try to replicate our success from Friday. But keep in mind, we may think specific players are the best fit, but within that offensive stack there may be better options. And, as the day progresses, we all get better information, especially lineup orders. If there is a better value, say a player sitting in the third or fifth spot today with a cheap salary, pounce on it!

Never take a DFS MLB optimal lineup as ‘bible’ for your personal lineup each day. Use the suggestions as guidance. Also, make sure you follow final lineup thoughts throughout the day on our twitter account @FantasyCPR and look for late breaking lineup news.

Also, for Saturday, FanDuel MLB offers an Early Only and Main slate, along with an All-Day slate. They’ll likely also offer an Afternoon Only slate, as there are a handful of games which are in the All-Day slate, but neither the Early Only or Main slate. For this article, we’re not considering the Afternoon Only slate.

Weather Note: We’re not expecting any postponements today, but there is a possibility of a delay in Washington, D.C. and Denver Colorado, putting the Nationals, Mets, Braves, and Rockies at risk. But a delay is more likely than a postponement. With those risks aside, let’s get to the top pitching options…

FanDuel MLB: Top Pitcher Early Only Slate

Zack Greinke ($9,500) is definitely the best pitcher on the mound for the early FanDuel MLB slate this afternoon. Greinke has the best xFIP of all pitchers on the mound today, 3.30, a very good 27.2% K-rate, and a low 5.5% walk rate.

Zack already has an awesome 41 FanDuel MLB points against the Rockies in a hitter-friendly environment this season. Greinke gave up five hits, but no walks, only one earned run, K’ed nine hitters in just 5.2 innings. If you can afford him, he’s a great play today.

However, when you look at our offensive stacks for the day, you’ll realize Greinke is likely too expensive. He seriously limits some of the top plays of the early only slate on Saturday, likely leading to a lower FanDuel MLB point today.

With that in mind, we continue to look for a better, more affordable, option. Jose Berrios ($9,000) already has an incredible 55 FanDuel MLB point result under his belt this season. But Berrios was pitching well above his metrics over the past 12 months. So we think he’s over-priced for this slate, especially against the Mariners.

Rick Porcello ($8,300) is a modest, but affordable, play against a strikeout-friendly offensive lineup in the Rays. And Gio Gonzalez ($8,500) had another great start to the season and faces some holes int he Mets lineup. However, we think we can get more points than Porcello likely offers today, and Gio has a few people in the Mets lineup who have a great history against him.

So, we keep coming back to the match up Sonny Gray ($8,800) has against the Orioles in New York. Gray isn’t a bargain, but he’s not too expensive either. The Orioles lineup is struggling at the start of this season, and the Yankees will have a pitcher-friendly environment in New York today.

Against the Blue Jays, Gray struggled to keep hitters off the base-path, allowing seven hits and three walks. But, he also had eight K’s and only gave up one earned run. Today, Sonny’s FanDuel MLB point total should climb over 40 FanDuel MLB points with another high K number, but less hits and walks. Gray also has a better shot at a quality start and win today.

FanDuel MLB: Top Pitcher Main Slate

The very obvious, and chalky, play of the Main slate is Gerrit Cole ($9,100). The talented young right-hander is on the mound again after fanning eleven Rangers last week, giving up only two hits and three walks for a quality start and win. Cole piled up an incredible 61 FanDuel MLB points against the Rangers.

Today, the Astros face the Padres, who arguably have a worst offensive lineup than the Rangers. But the Padres do have some hot hands in Houston today. Also, it’s unlikely Cole will replicate the same success in two straight starts. While Gerrit has a solid pitching history, his start last week was way behind his metrics.

Marcus Stroman ($7,900) gets the Rangers today, and is a solid play for a decent price. Andrew Triggs ($7,500) is also appealing, but he has a hot Angels lineup at the plate today. Instead, we can’t ignore the value Mike Minor ($6,100) offers on the mound today.

Minor is cheap for a reason. He has incredible metrics, but most of his pitching history has been in relief. Still, Minor is only giving up 0.55 home runs per nine innings, has a great 28.4% K-rate, low 7.3% walk rate, and rock-solid 1.02 WHIP.

We’re getting all of that for only $6.1K. The Blue Jays lineup has some decent results so far this season, but they’ve been inconsistent. So we’re going to roll the dice with this value pick at pitcher today, and save a ton of salary for some awesome offensive stacks tonight.

FanDuel MLB: Top Hitting Stacks Early Only Slate

Looking at the pitching match ups in the early slate, it becomes immediately obvious who to target for best offensive stacks. Chris Tillman is on the mound for the Orioles, and since early last season, Chris has giving up 2.32 home runs per nine innings, has a low 13.5% K-rate, high 11.8% walk rate, and horrendous 1.93 WHIP. So, we have to stack the Yankees this afternoon.

As we mentioned earlier, we knew we needed some salary for offense, and this is one of the biggest reasons. With Gray already at pitcher, we can still use four more slots on offense for the Yankees.

So we’re going to grab expensive but highly productive Didi Gregorius ($4,400) at shortstop and Aaron Judge ($4,900) in the outfield. Each have a high probability for a home run today. For value, we’ll go with lead off hitter Brett Gardner ($3,000) and first baseman Tyler Austin ($3,100) either at the first base or utility position.

For the second offensive stack of the day, we’re targeting Mets pitcher Steven Matz. Since early last season, Matz has given up 1.78 home runs per nine innings, and has a high 1.54 WHIP. Because we’re spending so much on the Yankees, we’ll need better value from the Nationals.

Fortunately, the Nats are still plugging Ryan Zimmerman ($2,600) in the cleanup spot today, and while he’s slumping to start the season, he’s likely to get hot eventually and this is the right match up for that hot-streak to start. Also, Howie Kendrick ($2,500) is hitting 5th with Murphy still dealing with an injury, and Michael A. Taylor ($2,600) is a home run and stolen base threat, ideal for DFS MLB optimal lineups.

With all but one slot filled with only two teams, we have to consider a third-team option. Flipping through the options, we keep coming back to the White Sox red-hot third-baseman, Yolmer Sanchez ($3,100). In six games, Sanchez is hitting .400 with one home run, a stolen base, three runs, and seven RBI’s. Michael Fulmer pitched a solid game in his first outing, but Sanchez  has been highly productive regardless of whose on the mound right now.

 FanDuel MLB: Top Hitting Stacks Main Slate

For the main slate, we like three offensive stacks. With Chad Bettis and Anibal Sanchez each on the mound in Denver, the Braves and Rockies are a tremendous stacking opportunity. Yes, it’ll be cold in Denver today. But it was cold yesterday and we saw a decent amount of offensive production. Our Braves stack yesterday worked well, and we think the Rockies will add to the scoring today.

With that in mind, we love rookie Ozzie Albies ($3,700) at the second base position, and Ryan Flaherty ($3,500) again at the 3B spot. Dansby Swanson ($3,000) has been on fire lately, and is a great and affordable play at shortstop. While we’d love to pay up for Freddie Freeman ($5,100), Preston Tucker ($3,500) is a more affordable option in the outfield, and that gives up more money left over for the Rockies stack.

From the Rockies, we like Chris Iannetta ($3,100) at the C/1B spot, especially given his value. You could pay up at this position, but Chris is providing nearly ten FanDuel MLB points per game on a consistent basis. Also, Carlos Gonzalez ($3,300) is heating up and affordable in the outfield. Finally, with plenty of salary on the table, we’re plugging Charlie Blackmon ($5,300) into the Utility spot.

With Bryan Mitchell on the mound for the Padres, we also can’t ignore an Astros stack. Because we like the Rockies and Braves the most, we’re mostly going with them in this lineup, but we’re also going to get a taste of the Stros offense with Josh Reddick ($3,500) in an outfield spot. However, you can also swap in other great plays like Jose Altuve ($4,700), Alex Bregman ($4,000), or George Springer ($4,400) if you swap out expensive plays like Freeman or Blackmon.

FanDuel MLB: Summary and Example Lineup

For the All-Day slate, we provide you with expensive, affordable, and dirt-cheap options at the pitcher spot. Who you pick for the pitching spot will determine how to play the rest of your lineup. If you decide to go with Minor, whose an especially great play for GPP’s, you can afford any of the expensive offensive stacks like the Yankees, Astros, Braves, or Rockies.

If you go with someone like Greinke, Cole, or Gray, you’re going to need to find value, in some of the cheaper plays from the Nationals or the cheaper side of the Astros lineup. You can also grab some pitchers we weren’t able to talk about, like Yu Darvish ($8,900) or Traver Bauer ($8,600) and do something similar to the Early Only slate.

With that summary in mind, here’s a look at the sample lineups for Early Only and Main FanDuel MLB slates on Saturday, April 7th:

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

P          Sonny Gray ($8,800)                                              P          Mike Minor ($6,100)

C/1B   Ryan Zimmerman ($2,600)                                 C/1B   Chris Iannetta ($3,100)

2B        Howie Kendrick ($2,500)                                     2B        Ozzie Albies ($3,700)

3B        Yolmer Sanchez ($3,100)                                     3B        Ryan Flaherty ($3,500)

SS        Didi Gregorius ($4,400)                                        SS         Dansby Swanson ($3,000)

OF       Michael A. Taylor ($2,600)                                    OF        Preston Tucker ($3,000)

OF       Brett Gardner ($3,000)                                          OF        Carlos Gonzalez ($3,300)

OF       Aaron Judge ($4,900)                                             OF        Josh Reddick ($3,500)

UTIL    Tyler Austin ($3,100)                                             UTIL     Charlie Blackmon ($5,300)

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: DraftKings NBA Picks

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!