FanDuel MLB Daily Lineups: Thursday June 21

Welcome to the FanDuel MLB Daily Lineups column for Thursday, June 21st 2018. The 2018 Summer Solstice edition. We’re a fantasy baseball column focused on helping you build a DFS MLB optimal lineup for each slate.

In a bizarre way, yesterday’s slate worked out, even with Seth Lugo in the lineup. The Nats lineup was flat, run-wise, but Anthony Rendon still gave us 12 FanDuel MLB points with a double, single, and walk. Still, we were expecting more double-digit results from that stack.

Lugo gave up three earned runs in three innings, but he had five strikeouts for 15 FanDuel MLB points. It would’ve been interesting to see if he was able to climb over 30 points if they left him in, but honestly we were happy with the 15 points after we saw Nolan Arenado tear into a hanging-curve ball.

But a few thing saved us and we were able to come out of both GPP and Cash games with money. While the Nats didn’t score runs, every one of the plays we focused on gave us at least some points.

The Astros only put up five runs, but Jose Altuve‘s two home runs and 43.4 FanDuel MLB points gave us a huge boost. Finally, we messed around with the utility spot a lot, once lineups came out, and landed on Dominic Smith ($3,000) hitting in the fifth spot for the Mets in Coors. Dom has a great swing, and he was a home run short of a full cycle. With his additional 24.4 FanDuel MLB points, we had a decent Wednesday night.

There’s another split FanDuel MLB slate for Thursday. However, we’re fading the Early Only option. There are four games with four expensive pitchers, and not much of a focus on who’s stack could do best. It just doesn’t look like a fun slate. So, we’ll focus only on the Main slate tonight, with seven games and 14 starting pitchers on the mound.

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: Unfortunately weather could have a huge impact on the outcome of our lineups. The Nationals and Orioles have some rain risk, but we expect they’ll play and those risks are low. The bigger concerns are in Chicago and Cincinnati.

As we write this article, it’s raining at Great American Ballpark, and it appears it will rain and storm in that area all day. There could be a break in the action, just in time for the game and throughout most of the game. So there’s hope the Reds and Cubs will play today, but also concern. The A’s and White Sox have an identical concern.

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

FanDuel MLB: Top Pitcher Main Slate

Excuse me for coughing, I just inhaled a ton of chalk looking at the pitchers tonight. Most of this week we’ve tried to avoid paying up for the chalky options. Mostly because they weren’t necessarily worth it, and we had nearly as good options with a cheaper price. Or, we felt we could make up for it with the offensive stacks.

Tonight, it’s very hard to fade Max Scherzer ($12,200). Before you look at Tyler Skaggs ($9,000) and Tyson Ross‘ ($7,400) low ERA and xFIPs around 3.5, compare their K-rates to Mad Max. Scherzer has a 13.59 K/9 inning rate, or a 39% strikeout rate. Skaggs has a decent 25.9% rate, but we’re talking a 14% difference. That is a material difference in FanDuel MLB points folks!

For a cheaper option, Skaggs has the better match up, and is in Los Angeles today. Skaggs threw for eight strikeoutsin his last two games, but that is also his max for the season. The Blue Jays have already seen Tyler this year, getting six hits and three earned on Skaggs, through five innings. As a result, Tyler had a measly 24 FanDuel MLB points.

Ross is dirt-cheap for someone throwing for K’s 24% of the time and with a lower (compared to others in this slate) 3.51 ERA. Ross also has a decent 1.20 WHIP and is only giving up 0.88 home runs per nine innings. But the Giants offense has been hot lately, and while Ross is a decent pitcher, he’s nowhere close to Scherzer.

The other options on the starting pitchers list have a lot of earned run risk, and just don’t have enough strikeout and high inning upside to consider fading Scherzer. Believe me, I tried to do it, but it’s just not worth. Play Mad Max in all your lineups tonight, eat the chalk, and focus your energy on finding the best bats.

FanDuel MLB: Top Hitting Stacks Main Slate

As we said while considering the starting pitcher options, finding the right offensive stack will be key. We tried to narrow the stacks down to two affordable options. But, we ended up finding two affordable stacks, with another mini-stack mixed in.

Madison Bumgarner isn’t exactly the kind of pitcher we like to target an offense stack against. However, Bum has been off to a rough start since returning from a long DL stint. With a high 4.67 ERA, Madison is giving up 1.56 home runs per nine innings, second highest of all starting pitchers tonight.

The Giants are hosting the Padres in AT&T Park tonight, and the Padres lineup is quite affordable. Jose Pirela ($2,700) will likely be back in the lineup, and Christian Villanueva ($2,800) has some pop. Hunter Renfroe ($2,600) continues to be a cheap clean-up bat, and Eric Hosmer ($3,500) is an efficient pay-up option at first base.

We’d consider the Padres your core stack for the night. From there, we need to be creative. We see two options leading us to two mini-stacks (two players from each team) to finish our offensive lineup. First, the Brewers have Brent Suter on the mound tonight. He’s a solid pitcher, but with a 4.30 ERA and 1.43 home runs per nine, the Cardinals are a decent stack consideration.

Dexter Fowler ($2,800) and Yairo Munoz ($2,600) are likely on the bottom part of the Cards lineup, but they also each have solid chances at double-digits tonight. Also, this mini-stack allows us to take advantage of salary left over for a Kole Calhoun ($2,400) value play, and Ian Kinsler ($3,400) utility spot grab.

Since returning to the Angles lineup, Calhoun’s approach at the plate appears to be different, and it’s having a positive impact. Kole is now 3-for-7 with a home run and two runs in his last two games. If he keeps this up, we’re getting a value steal tonight.

FanDuel MLB: Summary and Example Lineup

We dug around the metrics while looking at the list of starting pitchers tonight, trying to avoid paying up for Scherzer. We have been somewhat successful grabbing value pitchers this week, but tonight that’s not an option. We’re playing Mad Max in all of our formats tonight.

From there, the offensive stacking is difficult. We like the Padres as a core stack against Bumgarner and the Giants tonight. But it’s a risky call. Also, we think a mini-stack of the Cards and Halos give us the value we need to afford the better Padres bats, and plug an efficient scorer in the utility spot.

With that summary in mind, here’s a look at a sample lineup for the MAIN FanDuel MLB slate on Thursday, June 21st 2018:

FanDuel MLB Main Slate Sample Lineup:

P              Max Scherzer ($12,200)

C/1B       Eric Hosmer ($3,500)

2B            Jose Pirela ($2,700)

3B            Christian Villanueva ($2,800)

SS             Yairo Munoz ($2,600)

OF            Hunter Renfroe ($2,600)

OF            Dexter Fowler ($2,800)

OF            Kole Calhoun ($2,400)

UTIL        Ian Kinsler ($3,400)

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 Game by Game Breakdown

Best of luck in your FanDuel MLB contests and stay tuned to Fantasy CPR for all your DFS news and analysis across MLB, PGA, and World Cup this summer!