FanDuel MLB Daily Lineups: Monday May 7

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

After a week-long ten year wedding anniversary trip with my wife, in Costa Rica, I’m finally able to get back into the DFS MLB optimal lineup swing of things for the Monday, Man 7th FanDuel MLB Main slate. While I was only gone for a week, if feels like I’ve missed a lot, but some things haven’t changed.

We didn’t have time to get an article in yesterday, but I still created a lineup for the Sunday main slate. I considered Max Scherzer ($11,600) a must-own in the pitcher spot, and tried to find ways to afford him from there. While Scherzer didn’t get the win, and gave up an earned run in just 6.1 innings (shorter than we hoped he’d last), he still piled up an incredible 15 strikeouts, a record in that amount of innings pitched, and gave us 65 FanDuel MLB points. At one point, 70 to 80 seems possible!

But our offense was mostly disappointing, with the exception of Eddie Rosario ($3,800). Rosario stayed scorching hot with a home run, single and stolen base against the White Sox. But most of Eddies, and the Twins’, offensive production was very late in the game, so we were able to slip into cash earnings for the cash game plays late in the slate. So while the Twins and Indians stack wasn’t as ideal as hoped, it worked out nicely with Scherzer’s incredible K total.

Monday’s MLB schedule is more subdued, with only seven games on the slate, or 14 starting pitchers to consider. That will really narrow down our pitching options, especially tonight. While we have some top hurlers on the mound, most are in the middle or back of the rotation, or are getting a chance to start their first game of the season. That will present challenges and opportunities.

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: Since returning to the US this weekend, and compared to the following weekend, I’ve already noticed a massive change in the weather across the country. Today is not an exception. Every game has ideal weather conditions today, sunny with temperatures mostly in the low 60’s to low 70’s. Texas is the only exception, with the potential for 80 to 90 degree temps tonight. The baseball could be flying in Arlington, Texas tonight!

So, with weather-related considerations addressed, let’s get to the top pitching options…

FanDuel MLB: Top Pitcher Main Slate

This FanDuel MLB slate is a messy one for pitchers. There is a trap door with virtually every pick you make tonight. So assume some risk with each option and move on. For example, while Dallas Keuchel ($8,800) has a decent 1.23 WHIP, 3.89 ERA, and overall 3.75 xFIP, he’s also giving up 1.67 home runs per nine innings and is facing the Athletics in Oakland. The A’s may not sound like a difficult offense, but they have one of the best WAR’s in baseball, in the early part of this season.

Dallas is affordable, but you’re lucky if you land in the 30 to 40 FanDuel MLB point range. Zach Eflin ($6,600) hasn’t show us enough history to know what he’s capable of against a hot Giants offense tonight. Leaving Michael Fulmer ($8,300) and Kyle Hendricks ($7,900) as the only two starting pitchers we’d consider outside of San Diego tonight.

But both Fulmer and Hendricks have sub-20% K rates, and Kyle is giving up nearly two home runs per nine innings. All of this makes the match-up in San Diego ideal for pitcher picks. PetCo Park is a pitcher-friendly environment, and both Tyson Ross ($7,700) and Stephen Strasburg ($10,000) are fanning hitters above 27% of the time.

The one issue with Strasburg has been home runs. Stephen is giving up over 1.5 home runs per nine innings, and his ERA is nearly 3.5 as a result. Still, with a low 1.05 WHIP and 3.01 xFIP, Strasburg is a clear favorite for this slate and a reason he’s the most expensive option. For cash games, we’re playing the Nats hurler. But for GPP, we prefer taking on more risk with Ross against a confusing Nationals lineup, right now.

FanDuel MLB: Top Hitting Stacks Main Slate

Homer Bailey is an interesting option at the pitcher spot tonight because Mets lineup has been struggling, and he’s capable of a 40 FanDuel MLB night against teams in the NL East, like the Phillies. In early April, Bailey fanned seven Phillies hitters and only gave up one earned run in six innings.

However, we’re not buying it. Homer has a low 13% K rate, and while he has a reasonable 1.25 WHIP, he’s giving up almost two home runs per nine innings and nearly five runs per start. In fact, we’re expecting Bailey and the Reds to give the Mets an opportunity for their bats to come back to life in a hitter-friendly Great American Ball Park. So, we’re stacking the Mets at some level of between two to four hitters in our lineup.

We had to talk ourselves into stacking the Mets, but stacking the Tigers is an easier sell. The Rangers continue to allow Matt Moore to take the mound, and he continues to stink. Sporting a 6.12 xFIP, easily the worst of any starter on the mound tonight, in a sub-par slate, Moore has an astronomical 1.91 WHIP.

Yes, Matt is only giving up 1.23 home runs per nine innings, but hitters have a .339 batting average against the starter. That is incredibly bad! In fact, Moore has been so poor this season, if you get a running on base against him at any point in the game, there is a very good chance he’s scoring. A better chance than any other starter tonight. So for that reason, we stacking the Tigers and Mets tonight on offense.

FanDuel MLB: Summary and Example Lineup

Before we do a quick review of our likes and dislikes tonight, we are considering one more team for offense, the Phillies. Jeff Samardzija has a low 0.66 home runs per nine innings rate this season, but that’s where his stats stop looking so great. Shark also has a horrendous 1.83 WHIP, 5.57 xFIP, and is walking hitters at a 15.4% rate.

So this is a great opportunity to plug Odubel Herrera ($3,100) and Maikel Franco ($3,300) into our lineup and assume each bat stays hot in Philly tonight. We like Franco and Herrera with any combination of two to four Tigers and Mets stacked in the offensive side of the lineup. And at the pitching spot, we’re going with Strasburg for Cash games and Ross for GPP plays on FanDuel MLB tonight.

With that summary in mind, here’s a look a sample lineup for Main FanDuel MLB slates on Monday, May 7th:

FanDuel MLB MAIN Slate Sample Lineup:

P          Stephen Strasburg ($10,000)

C/1B   John Hicks ($2,600)

2B       Asdrubal Cabrera ($4,000)

3B       Todd Frazier ($3,600)

SS       Amed Rosario ($2,300)

OF       Leonys Martin ($3,000)

OF       Delino DeShields ($3,100)

OF       Odubel Herrera ($4,100)

UTIL   Maikel Franco ($3,300)

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: 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!