FanDuel MLB Daily Lineups: Tuesday May 8

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

Stephen Strasburg ($10,000) gave up three earned runs last night, in San Diego, but still earned the win, quality start, and fanned five hitters. Also, lasting seven innings added another 21 FanDuel MLB points. So while our top pitcher didn’t have a fantastic night, only 37 points, he was one of the better options, just not  a great value.

Still, we nailed some of the offensive stacking picks for the night. The Mets offense has been dreadful over the last week, but their bats came alive as soon as the Reds put Homer Bailey on the mound in the Great American Ball Park. Michael Conforto and Jay Bruce each had a home run, and Adrian Gonzalez was a steal for the night with two home runs on a very modest salary.

We even received great 15.5 FanDuel MLB point value from our Amed Rosario ($2,300) pick at the short stop position. Our Tigers stack worked out nicely as well, with Leonys Martin clobbering a home run for 34.4 FanDuel MLB points.

But our best stack of the night was our mini-Phillies stack. Hopefully you read the last page of last night’s article where we recommended playing Odubel Herrera ($3,100) and Maikel Franco ($3,300). Each has a hot bat right now and Herrera exploded with a walk, two home runs, five RBI’s, three runs, and 54.1 points on a relatively cheap salary for the FanDuel MLB point return.

We’ll try to replicate those results for the Tuesday Main slate. We’re back to a full 15 game MLB schedule, so all 30 teams are on the field today. Only one game is played early, with the Twins facing the Cardinals in St. Louis at 1:15pm EDT. So the only way to grab every team’s lineup, is to play an All-Day slate. However, we’re going to fed the Twins and Cards today, and focus only on the Main slate.

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: Fortunately, there’s very little to talk about for weather today. We have no delay or postponement potential. And the weather is mostly outstanding for each of the games across the country tonight. So, with weather-related considerations addressed, let’s get to the top pitching options…

FanDuel MLB: Top Pitcher Main Slate

Unlikely Monday, we have many great pitcher picks to consider tonight. Corey Kluber ($11,400) is an obvious great play, as the dominating hurler continues to demonstrate incredible command with his pitches, boasts a 0.79 WHIP in 52.1 innings, and maintains a solid 27.5% K-rate. Kluber’s 3.0 xFIP is the best of any starting pitcher on the mound tonight, and his 4.7% walk rate is awesome. The only problem with playing Kluber, is that we could have as good (or in some cases potentially better) options on the mound for a cheaper salary tonight.

Luis Severino ($10,100) also continues to have a tremendous year, but the Red Sox are one of the toughest teams he’ll face this season, and he already gave up five earned runs in five innings against the BoSox earlier in the season. So we’re fading Severino and prefer Kluber as a top pitcher between the two.

But, one of our favorite starting pitchers from last year is re-emerging as a dominating force on the mound. James Paxton ($9,500) has been battling back from an injury last season, and was off to a modest start in 2018. But in his last two starts, against good Athletics and Indians offenses, Paxton piled up an incredible 26 strikeouts in just 13 innings. That’s an average of two K’s per inning!

The Blue Jays have done OK against lefties like Paxton, but they’re still fanning at a 20% rate. If the Mariners let James throw for up to seven innings like he did against the A’s last week, he could have another 60 to 80 FanDuel MLB point night, and is the best value on the board. We are even considering Paxton over Kluber for cash games.

Blake Snell ($8,500) is a solid value pick tonight against the Braves, but we think the Braves offense provides too much risk in Tampa, Florida. Instead, our favorite value pick is actually Sean Newcomb ($7,900). This is the second time this season we’ve recommended Newcomb as a value pick. Newcomb is averaging over 35 FanDuel MLB points per game, with a high K rate, but also reached 55 points against the Mets in New York and the Rockies in Coors Field this season.

The Rays continue to have a higher than average K-rate, and with Newcomb pitching six to seven innings per game, we think 40 to 50 FanDuel MLB points from Sean is a good bet on a very modest FanDual MLB salary. So, we like Paxton the most in cash games, and Newcomb is our favorite GPP play at pitcher tonight.

FanDuel MLB: Top Hitting Stacks Main Slate

There are many great pitcher spots to tackle tonight, but frankly there is also many great offensive stacks to consider tonight. Tuesday appears to be unique, because while we have some shut-down starting pitchers on the mound, we also have horrendous hurlers giving up multiple home runs per game. This is ideal for DFS MLB optimal lineups!

They may not be offensive stacks you’re immediately think of grabbing for your lineups, but the Rangers and Reds each have ideal offensive match ups tonight. The Mets will have Jason Vargas on the mound again tonight, in a hitter-friendly ballpark.

Vargas has only started two games this season, but boy is he off to a terrible start. Jason is currently on pace to give up 8.6 home runs per nine innings, has a dreadful 3.12 WHIP, and a 5.93 xFIP, one of the worst of all starters tonight. Reds sluggers like Joey Votto ($4,300) and Eugenio Suarez ($3,900) are obvious targets for your lineup, but there’s plenty of cheap value like Scooter Gennett ($2,800) as well, which you’ll need if you’re going with Paxton as your pitcher in the cash games.

With Elvis Andrus and Adrian Beltre each on the DL, the Rangers have an incredibly young lineup again tonight, but they’re also dripping with talent. Jurickson Profar ($2,500) has been somewhat disapointing as a prospect so far, but he’s likely leading off for a Rangers offense who should have a great night against Mike Fiers and the Tigers. You also have great home run potential from sluggers like Joey Gallo ($3,500) and Nomar Mazara ($3,100). Target the sluggers from each lineup, but also grab the Rangers and Reds value so you can still plug in a great utility pick.

FanDuel MLB: Summary and Example Lineup

Before we recap the lineup, we have one more nugget to consider tonight. Mark Trumbo ($2,700) was pulled off the disabled list by the Orioles at the end of April, and he started the month of May in the starting lineup. In just six starts, Trumbo already has three two-hit games.

While Mark has no home runs yet this season, he’s hitting the ball hard and has power. Danny Duffy is off to a terrible start to this season, with a 5.63 ERA and 1.5 WHIP. But Duffy is also giving up over two home runs per nine innings. This seems like a great opportunity for Trumbo to knock one against the warehouse in Camden Yards. With such a cheap salary, Trumbo is a great pick in the OF or utility FanDuel MLB lineup spots.

With Trumbo in our lineup, we’re going to grab either James Paxton or Sean Newcomb at the pitcher spot. We’ll use Paxton for Cash plays and Newcomb for our GPP plays. For offensive stacks, we’re going with the Reds and Rangers, grabbing great value with low ownership, and plenty of home run potential.

With that summary in mind, here’s a look a sample lineup for Main FanDuel MLB slate on Tuesday, May 8th:

FanDuel MLB MAIN Slate Sample Lineup:

P          James Paxton ($9,500)

C/1B   Joey Votto ($4,300)

2B       Scooter Gennett ($2,800)

3B       Eugenio Suarez ($3,900)

SS        Jurickson Profar ($2,500)

OF       Nomar Mazara ($3,100)

OF       Joey Gallo ($3,500)

OF       Billy Hamilton ($2,600)

UTIL    Mark Trumbo ($2,700)

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!