FanDuel MLB Daily Lineups: Sunday June 3

Welcome back to the FanDuel MLB Daily Lineups column. This is the Sunday, June 3rd 2018 edition. We’re a fantasy baseball column focused on helping you build a DFS MLB optimal lineup for each slate.

Yesterday’s Early Only FanDuel MLB lineup suggests worked out well for cash games, but missed the target in some of the GPP plays. Chad Kuhl wasn’t overwhelming, but we were hoping he’d get 30 to 40 FanDuel MLB points, and he gave us 31. Kuhl gave up two runs, but he earned the quality start and fanned five in six innings.

Juan Soto had another tremendous game for the Nats, going yard against the Braves. Sota ended the game with three hits, two runs and his RBI from the home run. The 27.9 FanDuel MLB points helped us make it into the cash game winnings, on a low 2-5% ownership.

For the Main slate, Jacob deGrom had an awesome 61 FanDuel MLB points, so he was worth the pricey $10,600 salary. Our Padres offense did well, with eight runs in the game. The Padres had plenty of value. But the Reds and Phillies fell flat last night. The best way to win the slate was to stack the Rockies and Padres bats with a pitcher like Greinke or deGrom. We were close!

Typical for a Sunday, most of the MLB games are scheduled in the afternoon. There are two games in the evening, and several starting in the late afternoon, splitting the day up a bit. We’re going to focus on column solely on the Main slate for Sunday. This slate includes only game starting after 1pm, and before 2:30pm EDT.

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: Here we go again! The Yankees and Orioles were able to get the game in yesterday, but for the third time in four days, there is significant risk of postponement today. It’s dry in Baltimore at the time of writing this article, but it appears the rain/storm risk increases significantly as we approach game time. We’re fading this one again!

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

 FanDuel MLB: Top Pitcher Main Slate

To summarize pitching for this slate, Jeremy Hellickson ($6,600) has the best xFIP, 3.34, of any starting pitcher. But we’re not promoting Hellickson in a humid SunTrust Ballpark against a hot Braves offense. Unfortunately, finding the right pitcher today will include risk for the FanDuel MLB Main slate.

When I first looked at the list of pitchers, I saw Mike Clevinger ($9,100) at the top of the list, and shrugged. Clevinger has a history of having a high K-rate but also a high walk rate. However, this season, his K rate has dipped down to only 21%, while his walk rate also dipped to 8%.

Also, with a 1.19 WHIP and 0.5 home runs per nine, Clevinger has become a safer pitcher to consider this season. That’s probably why we keep overlooking Mike. But today may actually be a solid time to consider Clevinger.

In his last five starts, Clevinger faced the Astros twice, the Yankees once, the Royals and the White Sox. His 48 FanDuel MLB point result against the White Sox isn’t that surprising. What is surprising, is the ten K’s he piled up against the Yankees, in New York, before he also found a way to get five on a low K-rate Royals team, and six against the Astros.

In fact, looking at his game-by-game match ups, it occurred to me that Clevinger is likely going to progress from here. We should see his K-rate continue to climb. If he can maintain his low hardball rate, he could become one of the better DFS MLB pitching options over the next two months, starting today.

At first, the Twins in Minneapolis didn’t seem like an ideal match up. They have a decent 92 wRC+ against RHP’s. But, they’re 21st in MLB against righties, and are fanning over 22% of the time with this type of match up. Paying up, modestly, for Clevinger is worth it today.

That all being said, this is also the type of slate where grabbing a value pick at pitcher could work out well. Our favorite value pick at pitcher, one who likely gets overlooked, is Dylan Covey ($6,000).

The 26-year-old White Sox right-handed pitcher has little data population, but appears to be decent with the right mach up. Facing the Brewers today is ideal, their 24.2% K-rate against RHP’s is 8th worth in baseball. This could be a sneaky great value play today.

 FanDuel MLB: Top Hitting Stacks Main Slate

Remember how we didn’t like Hellickson because of the match up and weather conditions? Well, stacking the Braves isn’t a terrible idea today, but Jeremy is still one of the better pitchers on the mound today. So we’re not completely bought into that idea.

However, we are still interested in the game. Anibal Sanchez has only hurled 18 innings this season. So we have minimum data to use for today. However, we do know Sanchez is starting the season with a 1.33 WHIP and is giving up 1.5 home runs per nine innings.

Max Scherzer pinch hit last night for the Nationals and actually had an impact on the game with that at-bat. We can’t grab Scherzer for lineup, but the Nats bats ended that game heating up after looking very cold for a good part of the very long game.

With some big hitters like Bryce Harper ($5,100) and Trea Turner ($4,200) in the lineup, we can afford them with value plays like Juan Soto ($3,000) or Wilmer Difo ($2,700). Turner had a rough, 0-for-7, day yesterday after maintaining a long hitting streak. We expect Turner to bounce back, as he’s still due for positive regression. And Soto continues to be very undervalued in the DFS MLB world.

Another more affordable stack is the Royals against Daniel Gossett in Kansas City. Mike Moustakas ($4,300) is expensive, but he’s more affordable than Harper and could be just as effective. Also Salvador Perez ($3,300) and Jorge Soler ($3,500) typically hit fourth and fifth in the lineup and provide a lot of pop in a home run match up scenario here.

FanDuel MLB: Summary and Example Lineup

We played a cheap Jose Bautista ($2,600) in our lineup yesterday, hitting cleanup for the Mets. Bautistia had a walk and double giving up a decent nine points. We’re expecting Jose to hit in a similar spot against today, with lefty Jon Lester on the mound.

So with either Clevinger or Covey in your lineup at pitcher, you have plenty of cash to grab some of the top bats from the Royals and Nationals. Also, Jose Bautista is a very affordable points pick with double-digit potential. With Covey you can play all of the top bats, including Harper. With Clevinger, you’ll likely need to make a choice between Harper and Moustakas.

With that summary in mind, here’s a look at a sample lineup for the MAIN FanDuel MLB slate on Sunday, June 3rd:

FanDuel MLB Main Slate Sample Lineup:

P              Mike Clevinger ($9,100)

C/1B       Salvador Perez ($3,300)

2B            Wilmer Difo ($2,700)

3B           Mike Moustakas ($4,300)

SS            Alcides Escobar ($2,200)

OF           Juan Soto ($3,00)

OF           Jorge Soler ($3,500)

OF           Jose Bautista ($2,600)

UTIL        Trea Turner ($4,200)

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 summery!