FanDuel MLB Daily Lineups: Thursday July 5

Welcome back to the FanDuel MLB Daily Lineups column. This is the Thursday, July 5th 2018 edition. We’re a fantasy baseball column focused on helping you build a DFS MLB optimal lineup for each slate.

Yesterday’s frustrating FanDuel MLB results could be summed up by stating there was only one total run scored in Coors Field. While Tyler Anderson has been solid on the road this season, he typically struggles in Coors.

But the Giants bats stayed cold all game, allowing Anderson to pitch eight innings of scoreless baseball, earn the quality start (QS) and win, along with nine strikeouts. In fact, Tyler had a total of 61 FanDuel MLB points. With a low salary of $6K, Anderson was easily the best play of the day.

One of our favorite pitchers last night, Rich Hill, was a decent value but nowhere near Anderson’s value. Hill lasted five innings, gave us five K’s and the win, for 30 FanDueul MLB points. The Reds bats stayed hot, and among our stacks recommended for they day, they were the best. But paying up for Rockies bats hurt us big!

Tonight, we have a whittled down MLB schedule. Every game is played after 7pm EDT and starts before 10:15pm EDT. There are only eight games, so FanDuel MLB is providing just one ‘Main’ slate to focus on tonight. Another interesting point to consider, tonight is the beginning of many new series.

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: The Washington, D.C. area has experienced some surprise storms in each of the last two evenings. However, it currently seems unlikely we’ll see a third-straight day of that, with most of the rain occurring tomorrow morning. So the Marlins and Nationals should be OK to play tonight.

Unfortunately, it seems the Tigers and Rangers do at least have some possibility of a delay in Detroit. Most of the weather-related impacts should leave the area just before first pitch, but there’s still a chance they could linger into the start of the game, causing a delay. For pitching, that is a problem. But for offensive stacking, we should be OK.

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

FanDuel MLB: Top Pitcher Main Slate

When I opened my FanDuel MLB app, and went to the pitcher position, my jaw dropped. What an odd slate we have tonight! The pitching talent after Justin Verlander ($12,200) basically falls off a cliff.

I’m willing to bet many FanDuel MLB players will immediately be drawn to picking Johnny Cueto ($8,300). I mean, why wouldn’t you initially think that? Cueto has a 40.6 FanDuel MLB point average, and he’s facing the Cardinals on his home field. But there are some HUGE holes with this play.

For starters, the Cardinals struggle against LHPs, and have been absolutely destroying right-handed pitching over the last month. Also, Cueto has yet to throw more than five innings since his injury in late April. So expecting Johnny to throw more than five innings tonight is incredibly unrealistic. At best, we’re getting a 20-30 FanDuel MLB point play from Cueto.

So what are some other options with all of this potential value on the board? Well, the answer is there really aren’t any. Max Fried ($5,900) is tempting because he’s a decent left-handed pitcher with solid metrics this season. And we know the Brewers have a tendency to pile up strikeouts each game. However, the Brewers problem is against RHP’s, not lefties like Max. In this scenario, their K-rate plummets. So, no thanks.

Marco Gonzales ($7,300) is quietly having a good season. But again, this isn’t the best scenario. Gonzales did have seven K’s when he faced the Angels in mid-June, but he also gave up three runs and only lasted five innings for 27 FanDuel MLB points. And, the Angels do not fan to lefties often this year. So, another pass.

Unfortunately, as we look at every pitcher tonight, we keep coming back to a very expensive Justin Verlander for all formats. It may seem odd to have someone like Verlander at the pitcher spot for GPP, but this is one of those nights were you have to have the same baseline as everyone else to even compete.

Justin has 144 K’s in just 118.2 innings. His ERA is a low 2.12 with a very low 0.86 WHIP. The odds of Verlander getting a win against the White Sox in Houston are high. And, Justin has gone six or more innings in 16 of his 18 starts.

Oh, and did I mention the White Sox have a 25% K-rate against RHP’s this season, fifth worst in baseball? Plug Justin into your pitcher spot and don’t think about it again. The hardest part about tonight’s slate, is finding the right stacks you can afford.

FanDuel MLB: Top Hitting Stacks Main Slate

When we look at the over/under and projected run totals, the Astros obviously have the highest potential, roughly five runs tonight. However, the Stros have expensive bats, and frankly with their injuries and Springer’s cold streak, they’re not an attractive offense to stack. We have better options.

The Nationals offense is also projected to have a good night against Pablo Lopez and the Marlins. Weather conditions work in a hitters favor in D.C. tonight, and the team just had a players-only meeting after getting swept by the Red Sox yesterday. Still, there’s plenty of risk with the Nats. Their bats are cold and they still have some hefty price tags on their best options.

The biggest over/under tonight is 9.5 runs. And that game is in Detroit, between the Tigers and the Rangers. Again, there are some show and thunderstorm risks to consider for this game, so you need to keep an eye on the weather.

But, with Tigers lefty Matt Boyd facing Rangers righty Yovani Gallardo, we have a good situation for both lineups. Ironically, the Rangers have a ton of lefties in their lineup, but they’r hitting southpaws better than most teams in baseball, 11th best wRC+. Meanwhile, the Tigers are doing well against righties like Gallardo. So the O/U isn’t surprising. Also, they’re mostly affordable players.

FanDuel MLB: Summary and Example Lineup

We racked our brains trying to find an alternative solution to Justin Verlander tonight. Marco Gonzales and Max Fried are each intriguing value plays. But, ultimately, Justin should clearly create a wide gap in points with his match up against the White Sox tonight. So we’re paying up for Verlander, and fading the trend of the week.

The Nationals bats could finally come to life against Lopez and the Marlins tonight. But they have been cold, some are still expensive, and we it’s hard to know if their losing to streak will end soon. Instead, we’re more excited about the offensive potential in Detroit, and plan to stack the Rangers and Tigers tonight.

With that summary in mind, here’s a look at a sample lineup for the MAIN FanDuel MLB slate on Thursday, July 5th 2018:

FanDuel MLB Main Slate Sample Lineup: 

P                Justin Verlander ($12,200)

C/1B         John Hicks ($2,600) 

2B             Jurickson Profar ($3,300)

3B             Jeimer Candelario ($3,200)

SS              Yairo Munoz ($2,200)

OF             Delino DeShields ($2,900)

OF             Nicholas Castellanos ($3,900)

OF             JaCoby Jones ($2,400)

UTIL          Ronald Guzman ($2,200)

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!