FanDuel MLB Daily Lineups: Sunday April 8 Main Slate

Welcome back to the FanDuel MLB Daily Lineups column. This is the Sunday, April 8th 2018 edition. We’re a fantasy baseball column focused on helping you build a DFS MLB optimal lineup for each slate.

For Sunday, we’re focused only on the MAIN SLATE in this article. As of Saturday night, it’s FanDuel MLB’s only play and holds ten of the days game, all starting at 2:15pm ET or earlier. There will likely be Afternoon Only and Late options, but this article is only focused on the primary ‘Main’ slate on Sunday, April 8th.

Maintaining the theme for the week, we had hits and misses in each of the FanDuel MLB slates on Saturday. In the Early Only slate, we had a solid pitching play with Sonny Gray lasting six innings, fanning four hitters, getting a quality start, and the win. But Gray also gave up three runs so his total points was minimized to 31, lower than we anticipated.

The Nats and Mets ended in a low-scoring 3-2 result, not what we were expecting. So stacking some of the Nats didn’t work. Michael A. Taylor did have a run and stolen base for 9.2 FanDuel MLB points, but we were still disappointed.

However, the Yankees offense unloaded on the Orioles, creating eight runs, and Aaron Judge, Tyler Austin, Brett Gardner, and Didi Gregorius were all fantastic plays averaging nearly 20 FanDuel MLB points per player.

For the Main slate, Mike Minor was an incredible value play at pitcher. We were worried about the risk, but leaned on his stats even as a reliever and it paid off. Minor only gave up one run, lasted six innings, and qualified for the QS and win, along with seven strike outs. In total, Mike had 46 FanDuel MLB points, exceeding our expectations.

If you followed me on Twitter yesterday @mattymcmatt17 you know we flipped one of our picks to Joey Gallo. It turned out to be a great play, as Gallo produced 25.4 FanDuel MLB points on a reasonable $3,100 salary. Joey had a single and two walks with two runs and two RBI’s.

But, the Astros game ended 1-0 in extra innings and playing Josh Reddick wasn’t what we were hoping. Also, while the Braves and Rockies went into extras, they didn’t score nearly as many points as we had hoped during the regular nine innings. So while we’re cashing in a few plays, we fell short of what we were expecting for the Main slate.

Still some of the right plays from our targeted lineups work. Remember, 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 any 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.

Weather Note: There are some snow shower concerns in Minnesota tomorrow, but it appears there won’t be enough precipitation to impact play. Also, while there will be chilly conditions for most of the norther part of the country, we don’t expect any delays or postponements for the games starting before 3pm ET.

With those risks aside, let’s get to the top pitching options…

FanDuel MLB: Top Pitcher

Full disclosure, we don’t love any of the starting pitchers for the Main slate on Sunday, but we also don’t hate many either. There are a lot of 30 to 40 FanDuel MLB point shots to take with these starting pitchers, but that means a lower ceiling, but higher floor.

Charlie Morton ($9,100) has one of the better match ups, and we expect Charlie to have another four to six strikeouts while giving up four to five batters to the base path. The Padres offense has been holding their own in Houston, but they were quiet last night. So Morton is a solid 30 to 40 FanDuel MLB point play, but he’s also very expensive compared to the other starting pitchers.

Jameson Taillon ($8,600) was one of our favorite plays during his first start of the season. Taillon  pitched a gem of a game with nine K’s in 5.1 innings. However, Jameson wasn’t able to qualify for the quality start, even with the win.

Still, he gave us an awesome 43 FanDuel LB points with a modest salary. Taillon is a tab more expensive today against the Reds. The match up is good, but he’s facing Tyler Mahle for the Reds who also had a great first outing. We’d rather find a pitcher who has a better shot at winning.

Jake Arrieta ($8,900) seems too expensive, Jose Quintana ($8,500) will likely bounce back in Milwaukee, but he has a tough Chase Anderson ($7,800) pitching to the Cubs, for the Brewers. Luke Weavere ($7,700) and Taijuan Walker ($7,700) both look attractive, but again they’re facing each other.

So, while we cringe at 11.8% walk rate Mike Clevinger ($8,200) carries from early last season, he seems like the best play for the FanDuel MLB main slate this Sunday. While Mike has such a high walk rate, he’s only giving up 0.92 home runs per nine innings and actually has a solid 1.24 WHIP.

Given his walk rate, Clevinger’s WHIP may seem odd, but hitters have a very low .209 batting average against Mike since early last season. Clevinger already pitched one game this season, against the Angels. Mike lasted 5.1 innings and gave up four hits and two walks, but had five K’s and took the win for 37 FanDuel MLB points. We think Clevinger gets over the 40 point mark against this Royals offensive lineup.

FanDuel MLB: Top Hitting Stacks

Like the Main slate on Saturday night, we’re focused on three offensive stacks for the Main slate on Sunday afternoon. One of the stacks jumping out at us is the Home Runs per nine innings. Trevor Richards has a solid xFIP, but that’s mostly as a reliever. With a 2.08 WHIP and over two home runs per nine innings, we believe the hot Phillies offense will continue to rip the ball on Sunday afternoon.

We’re mostly focused on the Phillies outfield for our lineup. Aaron Altherr ($2,300) is dirt cheap, and bounced back yesterday with a home run, four RBI’s, two runs and a walk for 35.4 FanDuel MLB points. It’s not reasonable to assume Altherr has another 30+ points, but we do believe he’ll have another double-digit point game.

Similar to Altherr, Odubel Herrera ($2,300) was quite to start the season but appears to be heating up. In the Marlin series in Philadelphia, Odubel now has five hits in just eight at bats. Herrera also has a double, RBI, three runs, a walk, and a steal averaging around 20 FanDuel MLB points-per-game during that time. And we finish with an obvious Phillies play in the OF or Utility spot, Rhys Hoskins ($4,300).

Marco Martinez and Mike Fiers have nearly as terrible home runs per nine and WHIP as Richards. For that reason, we also favor stacking the White Sox and Twins. From those lineups, we like Jose Abreu ($3,900), top prospect Yoan Moncada ($3,100), and Avisail Garcia ($3,100) from the White Sox.

From the Twins, our two favorite picks are Eduardo Escobar ($3,300) at shortstop, and red-hot Miguel Sano ($4,400) at the third base spot. If you’re able to make it work, Brian Dozier ($4,500) is also a great play with this slate, although he’s the most expensive Twin on the board. When the Twins lineup is available, look for some other value plays within the top six hitters.

FanDuel MLB: Summary and Example Lineup

While we love Mike Clevinger as our top pitching pick, keep in mind that Charlie Morton and Jameson Taillon are also considered very good plays. We believe Clevinger’s ceiling is highest and his value gives us the better offensive stacking options.

Also, for the offensive stacks, make sure you check the lineups throughout the morning, Sunday, and identify the top value. We’ll tweet our thoughts as the lineups drop, but we’re focused on the Phillies, White Sox, and Twins. We also have some obvious favorites from each of the lineups, and most of the players status won’t change.

Here’s a look at what a lineup could look like, considering our focus for the Sunday FanDuel MLB MAIN Slate Sample Lineup:

P          Mike Clevinger ($8,200)                                          

C/1B   Jose Abreu ($3,900)                            

2B       Yoan Moncada ($3,100)                               

3B       Miguel Sano ($4,400)                               

SS        Eduardo Escobar ($3,300)                                    

OF       Avisail Garcia ($3,100)                                 

OF       Aaron Altherr ($2,300)                                     

OF       Odubel Herrera ($2,300)                                            

UTIL    Rhys Hoskins ($4,300)                                          

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.

Next: MLB DFS Picks and Pivots

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!