FanDuel MLB Daily Lineups: Saturday April 14
By Matt Rogers
Welcome to FanDuel MLB Daily Lineups for Saturday, April 14th 2018. We’re a fantasy baseball column focused on helping you build a DFS MLB optimal lineup for each slate.
While Gerrit Cole ($10,000) was an expensive and chalky FanDuel MLB pitching option yesterday, he was impossible to ignore. We had some value targets, but especially for cash games, it appeared incredibly difficult to win without Cole in your lineup. And it turns out that was right.
While Gerrit didn’t register a win, he pitched seven innings, giving up only two runs, and earning the quality start. But the big number was strikeouts. After fanning eleven hitters in each of his first two games, including the Rangers, he K’d 14 Rangers in Houston last night. In total, Cole earned 61 FanDuel MLB points, and immediately set you up well for winnings with even a modest offense lineup.
Some of our offensive stacking worked, but some didn’t. The Red Sox were the chalky option against Chris Tillman and the Orioles. Eduardo Nunez ($2,800) was a value target of ours, and he went yard with three RBI’s and a run. In total, Nunez had an awesome 31.7 FanDuel MLB points. With Cole in your lineup, you already had 92.7 points with just two spots filled.
However, two of our other stacking targets failed. The Nationals are hitting the ball hard lately, but failing to put the ball in open space against sub-par pitching in their own park. On a warm night, we expected the Nats bats to pop, but they didn’t failing to register more than a Bryce Harper sac-fly. The Pirates had a similar story in Miami, only scoring two runs. So you either had a great night or a disappointing, just short of winning, result.
For FanDuel MLB this Saturday, we have a full Early Only and Main slate to consider. The All-Day slate brings each of the games together, but is a long day of DFS MLB. We’re going to focus on both the Early Only and Main slates, and try to bring them together at the end for All-Day considerations.
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: Unlike yesterday, while there are weather patterns developing across the country, it appears the timing of most of the weather-related risk will allow for all MLB games to be played without delay or postponement. But keep an eye on all games in the North-Central part of the country like Minnesota, Chicago, or Cincinnati. With weather-related concerns covered, let’s get to the top pitching options…
FanDuel MLB: Top Pitcher Early Only Slate
There are some interesting value plays for the Early Only FanDuel MLB slate on Saturday. Jose Quintana ($8,400) doesn’t immediately jump off the list of pitchers with his 26 FanDUel MLB point-per-game average in two starts this season.
But after starting the season poorly in Miami, Quintana bounced back in Milwaukee fanning six hitters, registering the quality start, and getting the win for 46 FanDuel MLB points. Jose is only giving up 1.03 home runs per nine innings, has a modest 8% walk rate and 1.23 WHIP, and is fanning hitters at a 25.6% K-rate. Quintana is a solid play starting for the Cubs in Chicago this afternoon, but the Braves offense has been dangerous lately, so there’s some risk.
Miles Mikolas ($6,000) is a hot name in Fantasy Baseball after two solid starts this season. Mikolas pitched 5.2 and 6.1 innings, each to the Brewers, and struck out five hitters in both games. However, Miles also gave up four runs per game, even with a win. So while he’s a solid consideration against a terrible Reds offense, there’s risk with this play in Cincinnati as well.
All signs point back to the obvious, chalky, play of the Early only slate, Max Scherzer ($11,500). Yes, he’s an obvious play and you should expect high ownership in cash games, but Scherzer is also the Cole-like play of the day.
Averaging around 40+ FanDuel MLB points-per-game since early last season, and over 50 this season, Scherzer is a solid bet for even 7+ strikeouts in a game where he appears to struggle. You can’t ignore the low 0.89 WHIP along with an incredible 34.5% K-rate. He’s a rare talent at the position, and a must own each time he’s on the rubber.
FanDuel MLB: Top Pitcher Main Slate
We have a similar situation int he Main slate, as we did during the Early only portion of the FanDuel MLB day. Garrett Richards ($8,300) is pitching well to start the season, fanning 19 hitters in just 15 innings, over one batter per game.
While he started the season giving up four runs to the Athletics in Oakland on March 29th, he followed that up with only two runs in a win against the Indians, and one run in Arlington Texas against the Rangers.
The Royals likely won’t put many runs up on Richards as well, as he’s likely to get the win and land around 30 to 40 FanDual MLB points. However, the Royals strike out at a low K-rate, and Richards probably won’t see more than four to five K’s today.
So considering the higher K-rates from guys like Rich Hill ($8,200) or Taijuan Walker ($7,700), Richards seems to be too safe of a play at the pitcher spot. However, Hill and Walker are also facing each other and we don’t like the offensive lineups they each have as well. And with Jakob Junis ($8,100) facing a red-hot Angels offense, the obvious choice today is Jameson Taillon ($9,200).
While Taillon doesn’t have the historical background that Scherzer does, we frankly feel he’s very undervalued today. Facing a struggling Marlins offense, Taillon is bringing his eight strikeouts per game average this season into Miami, with the high likelihood he gets another win and quality start. We’re expecting around 40 to 50 FanDuel MLB points form Jameson, a very good return for only $9.2K of salary.
FanDuel MLB: Top Hitting Stacks Early Only Slate
For offensive stacks during the FanDuel MLB Early Only slate, we’re looking at two pitchers. Francisco Liriano and Miguel Gonzalez are pitching for the Tigers and White Sox, respectively. Each has an xFIP of well over 5.00 since early last season.
Liriano is only giving up 0.98 home runs per nine innings, but also has a low 18.9% K-rate, high 11.9% walk rate, and disgusting 1.55 WHIP. Gonzalez is giving up 1.36 home runs, has a lower 8.1% walk rate but also a low 14.2% K-rate, and a terrible 1.46 WHIP. Between the two, Gonzalez is giving up more home runs and likely yields the greater offensive potential for the day.
So with those two pitchers in mind, as offensive targets, we love the Yankees and Twins today. The Yanks get Liriano on the mound for the Tigers, and the Twins get Gonzalez on the mound for the White Sox.
With an expensive pitcher on the mound for us, we need to find some value from each lineup. Fortunately, the Yankees have been dealing with injuries and Liriano is a lefty. That means Ronald Torreyes ($2,300) and Miguel Andujar ($2,300) are likely to be in the lineup today, already giving us enormous value. They open the door for plays like Tyler Austin ($3,000) and Didi Gregorius ($4,200) to complete the Yankees stack.
From the Twins, while we have more modest salaries, we also have to content with mid-range value. So we like guys like Max Kepler ($2,700), Byron Buxton ($2,800), and Eddie Rosario ($3,000) in the outfield positions. To complete the stack, we love the idea of grabbing a hot Joe Mauer ($3,100) for the C/1B position.
FanDuel MLB: Top Hitting Stacks Main Slate
Our offensive stacking targets for the Main FanDuel MLB slate tonight is probably a bit contrarian. So while we believe it will work for the Cash games as well, GPP is likely a great option for this focus tonight.
We’ve focused on Derek Holland each time he’s on the mound, from an offensive perspective. Holland has struggled significantly since early last season, sporting a 5.62 xFIP, second worst of all pitchers starting on the mound today. Derek has a decent 8.1% walk rate, but terrible 14.2% K-rate. With hitters not fanning at the plate, Holland is giving up 1.36 home runs per nine, and has a horrendous 1.64 WHIP.
For those reasons, we’re actually stacking a value-heavy Padres offense in pitcher friendly San Diego. We’ve noticed, for whatever reason, offenses have had success in San Diego early this season, including the Padres. That means Eric Hosmer ($3,400) and Freddy Galvis ($3,300) are key plays for today. We also think Hunter Renfroe ($2,700) and Jose Pirela ($2,800) are great value plays today.
Our other offensive stack is likely also most radars. We’re favoring the Brewers against Matt Harvey in Citi Field today. Harvey looked like he was ‘back’ after his first start of the season, but followed that up with familiar struggles against the Nationals the following week.
And with the value we get from the Padres stack, it’s easy to afford Lorenzo Cain ($3,300) and Travis Shaw ($3,600) today. We also think there is a value play in Eric Sogard ($2,200) at the 2B position. This leaves us with plenty of money left over for a big play at the utility position, like early hot bat Gregory Polanco ($4,500) against a struggling Trevor Richards.
FanDuel MLB: Summary and Example Lineup
So for the Early Only slate we like Max Scherzer at pitcher, and Jameson Taillon in the Main slate. Pulling the pitchers together for the All-Day slate, we favor Taillon’s value in GPP, but Max is a must play in all cash games, throughout the entire day.
For offensive stacks, we recommend using the value from the Brewers or Padres lineups, along with more expensive picks from the Pirates, Yankees, or Twins. This will allow you to make some big plays, while also bringing in five to ten points from the value options.
With that summary in mind, here’s a look at the sample lineups for Early Only and Main FanDuel MLB slates on Saturday, April 14th:
FanDuel MLB EARLY ONLY Sample Lineup: FanDuel MLB MAIN Slate Sample Lineup:
P Max Scherzer ($11,500) P Jameson Taillon ($9,200)
C/1B Joe Mauer ($3,100) C/1B Eric Hosmer ($3,400)
2B Ronald Torreyes ($2,300) 2B Eric Sogard ($2,200)
3B Miguel Andujar ($2,300) 3B Travis Shaw ($3,600)
SS Didi Gregorius ($4,200) SS Freddy Galvis ($3,300)
OF Eddie Rosario ($3,000) OF Lorenzo Cain ($3,300)
OF Byron Buxton ($2,800) OF Jose Pirela ($2,800)
OF Max Kepler ($2,700) OF Hunter Renfroe ($2,700)
UTIL Tyler Austin ($3,000) UTIL Gregory Polanco ($4,500)
Remaining Salary: $100 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!