FanDuel MLB Daily Lineups: Friday April 13
By Matt Rogers
Welcome back to the FanDuel MLB Daily Lineups column. This is the Friday, April 12th 2018 edition. We’re a fantasy baseball column focused on helping you build a DFS MLB optimal lineup for each slate.
On Thursday, we focused only on the FanDuel MLB Main slate, like we will for Friday, and our top pitching options played out in a slightly different way than we expected. We knew Jose Berrios had the highest ceiling, but he was also the chalky option.
Still, with a win, seven innings pitched in a shutout, and eleven strikeouts, Berrios piled up an incredible 64 FanDuel MLB points and was easily the top pitcher of the slate. Meanwhile, Gio Gonzalez struggled in a loss to the Rockies, but still had seven K’s in just five innings, only giving up two earned runs, for 30 FanDuel MLB points. That may seem like a huge difference compared to Jose, but we were expected 30-40 points from Gio. Berrios just happen to hit his ceiling last night.
We didn’t have Joe Mauer ($2,800) specifically called out in our article, but we did recommend stacking the Twins. Once lineups were released and Goodwin wasn’t in the Nats lineup, one of the moves we made was a swap to Mauer in the utility spot, which gave us 19.5 FanDuel MLB points.
Mike Trout ($5,300) was expensive but hit a home run and gave us an additional 30.9 FanDuel MLB points, and the Angels stack continued to provide awesome results with a 7-1 win over the Royals. We may not be on the Halos tonight, but keep following them for your DFS MLB optimal lineups.
Finally, we also expected a big offensive outcome from the Giants in pitcher-friendly park, and we nailed it. Joe Panik ($2,800) and others in the lineup had a great night as the Giants blanked the Padres 7-0 in San Diego. The Giants offensive stack was a great value for the night.
For FanDuel MLB this Friday, there is an All-Day, Early Only, and Main slate option. The Braves and Cubs game has some weather-related risk, and the Cardinals and Reds game is unappealing for DFS MLB optimal lineups. So our focus will be the 13 games for the Main slate on Friday night.
Before we get there, a reminder to 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 or me @mattymcmatt17 look for late breaking lineup news.
Weather Note: Detroit and Minnesota each have weather-related issues today, making the Yankees, Tigers, Twins, and White Sox risky plays today. There are also some delay/ppd concerns in Kansas City and Chicago, making the Cubs, Braves, Angels, and Royals risky plays as well. Fortunately, most of these teams are off our radar, but we’ll miss the Halos stack tonight. With weather-related concerns covered, let’s get to the top pitching options…
FanDuel MLB: Top Pitcher Main Slate
The top pitcher for the FanDuel MLB Main slate on Friday evening is obvious, so he’ll be chalky. Gerrit Cole ($10,000) has already faced the Rangers in Arlington, Texas and pitched a game in Houston against the Padres. In each game, Cole was able to fan eleven hitters, qualify for a quality start and provide around 60 FanDuel MLB points.
When you look at Gerrit’s advanced metrics, it appears he’s pitching well above his expected results. However, some of that is misleading. Cole was still developing into a starting pitcher for the Pirates last season, and didn’t have as great support around him as he does in Houston, now.
And Cole’s top-prospect expectations appear to be coming to fruition, finally. He’s expensive and chalky, but Cole is very much like a Berrios play from last night. If you have him in your lineup with the right offensive stacks, you’re a lock in cash games and set up well for GPP plays.
If your’e looking to fade the chalk, which isn’t a bad idea tonight, we like to contrarian picks. Andrew Triggs ($8,000) is the only pitcher in baseball to beat the Angels so far this season. And Eduardo Rodriguez ($6,600) will be off many radars until he can prove his injury concerns are behind him.
Between the two value picks, Triggs is a solid bet for 30+ FanDuel MLB points, but Rodriguez has the best match up. The Orioles offense has struggled to star this season, and Eduardo is facing Chris Tillman, who we’ll get to on the next page. In just 3.2 innings, Rodriguez had seven strikeouts, but let seven hitters on base and gave up three runs to the Rays in his first outing.
Eduardo may have a pitch-limit today, but we think he can get closer to five or six innings today, with the possibility of reaching nearly ten K’s. If he can keep the WHIP down, Rodriguez is a VERY cheap way to hit 40 points at the pitcher position.
Triggs salary makes sense today, but he’s still significantly cheaper than Cole. Against the Rangers, Andrew allowed six hitters on base, but only one earned run and Triggs piled up seven K’s. If he had any run support, or lasted another inning, Andrew had the ability to get well over 40 FanDuel MLB points in that match up.
Last weekend, Triggs faced a red-hot Angels lineup, and got the win only giving up two runs in 5.2 innings. Andrew had six strikeouts against the sluggers, and piled up 35 FanDuel MLB points. Triggs is currently one of the most underrated starters in baseball, due mostly to his team affiliation. Even against the Mariners, we think Triggs is a value great play today.
FanDuel MLB: Top Hitting Stacks Main Slate
We mentioned how chalky the Cole play is at pitcher, and we think the Red Sox will be the chalky offensive stack of the FanDuel MLB Main slate as well. With Chris Tillman struggling on the mound, and the Red Sox crushing the ball in Boston lately, it’s an obvious play.
Since early last year, Chris is giving up a disgusting 2.2 home runs per nine innings. With a low 13.4% K-rate, Tillman also has a very high 12% walk rate. Chris has a high 1.94 WHIP, and the worst xFIP of any starting pitcher tonight, 5.99. The fact the Orioles even need to start Tillman, suggests they may not have much pitching depth in their organization, and we wonder how long he’ll stay in this position. So take advantage of this stacking target while you can.
While some Red Sox players will be expensive, like J.D. Martinez for $4,000, there should be some value options in their lineup too, like Jackie Bradley ($2,600), or Eduardo Nunez ($2,800). But, to also help afford the Red Sox, and Cole, tonight, we really like the value the Pirates offensive stack provides.
Dillon Peters has a lower 1.13 home run per nine rate than some of the better offensive targets will see today. But Peters also has a high 12.5% walk rate, low 17.4% K-rate, and carries a very high 1.75 WHIP since early last season. Also, the Pirates bats have been hot lately. So for that reason, we love the the four-man stack of Corey Dickerson ($3,600), Josh Bell ($3,500), Josh Harrison ($3,600), and David Freese ($2,400).
We’ve talked about this group before and we’re looking at them again today. Keep an eye on the lineup, though, because we haven’t seen guys like Harrison or Freese in every day this week. But with the lefty on the mound, Peters, today, we suspect the Pirates will go with this right-heavy type of lineup.
FanDuel MLB: Summary and Example Lineup
We talked about the Red Sox and Pirates as top offensive stacks. But another stack we like tonight is the Nationals. We’re not leaving many offensive positions open with so much focus on the Red Sox and Pirates, but to mix the lineup up, or if you have to make some moves one lineups are posted, consider some of the options from the Nats tonight. Our favorite value play is Michael A. Taylor ($2,500).
While Taylor appears to be starting slow this season, we’ve watched him hit most at-bats in all 13 games he’s played. Taylor is absolutely crushing the baseball, but often right to a defensive player. Last night, Michael had a single that could’ve easily been a double or triple had he hit the gap in the outfield. One of these days, Taylor’s offensive numbers are going to explode, and with the great weather in D.C. today, we think this could be the night.
So we like Cole, Triggs, or Rodriguez at the pitcher positions. Taylor is a nice value play in the offensive part of the lineup. And we’re mostly focused on stacking the Pirates and Red Sox. With that summary in mind, here’s a look at the sample lineup for the Main FanDuel MLB slate on Friday, April 12th:
P Gerrit Cole ($10,000)
C/1B Josh Bell ($3,500)
2B Josh Harrison ($3,600)
3B David Freese ($2,400)
SS Eduardo Nunez ($2,800)
OF Jackie Bradley Jr. ($2,600)
OF Corey Dickerson ($3,600)
OF J.D. Martinez ($4,000)
UTIL Michael A. Taylor ($2,500)
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.
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!