FanDuel MLB Daily Lineups: Tuesday July 3

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

Yesterday, our top FanDuel MLB Main slate pitcher was Robbie Ray ($9,400). While Ray pitched another five innings and had an awesome seven strikeouts, he also gave up six runs. Ouch. We’ve had several pitcher picks, recently, who had a rough start, but continued to pitch well most of the game. 18 FanDuel MLB points is not what we’re targeting for a pitcher with that price-tag.

A common trend lately, is winning lineups in both cash and GPP with cheaper pitcher plays. Last night, some of the best lineups utilized value and up-side from a Luis Castillo ($7,100) pick. Castillo always has high K-upside, but can get crushed sometimes. In 6.2 innings, he only gave up one run, earned the quality start, and fanned six batters. 39 FanDuel MLB points was a great play with just a couple decent offensive plays.

Our Reds stack did fairly well, especially if you had Scott Schebler ($3,600) in your lineup. Schebler was in our example lineup, and he gave us a home run, double, and 27.7 FanDuel MLB points. But the Indians stack worked out nicely as well, depending on who you grabbed.

If you had value in your lineup you could afford Francisco Lindor ($4,500) and/or Jose Ramirez ($4,700). Of the two, Lindor had a monster night with 58.1 FanDuel MLB points, thanks to two home runs and seven RBIS. Ramirez added another 21 points to the lineup.

Today, there are three games beginning between 2:20pm and 6:05pm allowing FanDuel MLB to create an ‘Early Only’ slate. While the slate is interesting, we’re fading due to the lack of options. Instead, we’ll focus this column on the more robust Main slate tonight.

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: For the most part, it appears PPD isn’t likely tonight. However, there are some delay risks with the Orioles and Phillies in Philadelphia, and the Braves and Yankees in New York. Especially if you’re playing the pitching in those games, keep an eye on the weather updates as we approach lock.

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

FanDuel MLB: Top Pitcher Main Slate

Clayton Kershaw ($10,600) and Zach Greinke ($10,100) are, in theory, the top to pitchers of this slate. However, we know Kershaw is struggling this season, and is recovering from an injury. Clayton hasn’t thrown for more than six innings since April 20th. Greinke has been solid, but against RHP’s, the Cardinals offense is on fire over the last month. We’re fading both.

Zach Eflin ($9,100) is intriguing against the Orioles, but we’ve noticed a lot of offensive pop in Citizens Bank Park this week. Something is wrong with Dallas Keuchel ($8,900) this year, and Clayton Richard ($8,700) is over priced pitching to an efficient A’s offense in Oakland.

This story is leading us to a similar result from last night. We’re fading the more expensive pitching plays, and will focus on the better mid-salary range and cheap value plays in the SP lineup spot tonight.

First, our favorite pitchers in this slate. Shane Bieber ($8,200) is emerging as a legit fantasy baseball option at the starting pitcher spot. Likewise, Jack Flaherty ($8,000) had some dominate outings this season.

Of the two, Bieber is the more consistent FanDuel MLB points return and has the better match up. But Flaherty has a 31.9% K-rate over the last month, higher than any other starter on the mound today. Also, Jack is getting a sub-par D-Backs offense holding an 81 wRC+, tied with the Padres for third worst against RHP’s. The D-Backs also have a high 24.4% K-rate against RHP’s, making Flaherty the higher upside play of the night.

We’re getting good value from both Bieber and Flaherty, and will stack some big offense bats. But a cheaper option, and great for GPP, is Ryan Yarbrough ($6,100). In his last start, against the Astros, Yarbrough lasted 6.1 innings, giving up only one earned run and had four strikeouts.

Ryan’s metrics are riddled with mid-relief appearances, so it’s tough to jump to any conclusions about his season. But against the Marlins, Yarbrough has solid 30 to 40 FanDuel MLB point potential, with 40+ upside.

FanDuel MLB: Top Hitting Stacks Main Slate

We’ve focused on him a few times, and we’ll continue to focus on him tonight. Alex Cobb, starting for the Orioles in Philly tonight, is one of our favorite pitchers to target for offensive stacks. Not only does Cobb have a horrendous 6.75 ERA and1.69 WHIP, but he’s giving up nearly two home runs per game over the last month.

Believe it or not, we should actually see additional negative regression from Cobbs performance, and it wouldn’t be surprising if that continued tonight. Alex is pitching in Citizen Bank Park on a hot not against the Phillies.

We may need to grab and affordable bat like Scott Kingery ($2,400) to get everything into our lineup that we want tonight. But we can still afford lefties Odubel Herrera ($3,800) and Nick Williams ($2,500) against the right-handed hurler. Also, with higher home run potential tonight, we’ll likely plug in Rhys Hoskins ($3,900) to complete our Philly stack.

Probably to no one’s surprise, the Rockies and Giants have a 12 run over-under tonight. Each team has sub-par pitching on the mound, with high home run potential in Coors Field. Several of these players may be chalky, but Brandon Belt ($3,700), Joe Panik ($3,500), and Nolan Arenado ($5,000) each have the potential to have a big night.

Another set of players to throw into the mix, especially if you’re trying to limit the Coors Field chalk in your lineup, are the Astros. Yes, Austin Bibens-Dirkx hasn’t given up a home run yet this season. But he’s only pitched in four starts, for a total of 22.2 innings this year. The Astros bats stay hot in Texas, and with injures, there’s plenty of value in that lineup.

FanDuel MLB: Summary and Example Lineup

Well, we know the Coors Field stacks are in play tonight. Per usual, they’re all expensive options, but grabbing a couple of hot Rockies or Giants bats will help you at least be on par with other FanDuel MLB players for cash games.

Another big stack we like tonight, is the Phillies against Cobb and the Orioles. We like the weather conditions, we like the ballpark, the line up has power, and the pitcher is terrible. This is the perfect recipe for a high run total. Also, the Astros offense could slip under the radar tonight.

With that summary in mind, here’s a look at a sample lineup for the MAIN FanDuel MLB slate on Tuesday, July 3rd 2018:

FanDuel MLB Main Slate Sample Lineup: 

P               Jack Flaherty ($8,000)

C/1B        Brandon Belt ($3,700)

2B             Joe Panik ($3,500)

3B             Nolan Arenado ($5,000)

SS             Scott Kingery ($2,400)

OF             Odubel Herrera ($3,800)

OF             Tony Kemp ($2,200)

OF             Nick Williams ($2,500)

UTIL          Rhys Hoskins ($3,900)

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!