FanDuel MLB Daily Lineups: Monday August 27

Welcome to the FanDuel MLB Daily Lineups column for Monday, August 27th. We’re a fantasy baseball column focused on helping you build a DFS MLB optimal lineup for each slate.

We’re getting back into the swing of things, pardon the pun, for FanDuel MLB Daily Lineups this week. We should have an article for you, each day, into this weekend. Starting with today’s slate makes that easy, as there’s only seven games on the MLB schedule.

Main slates on night’s like tonight can be fun to play, as your options are limited and the odds of hitting the right players increase. We have plenty of top pitching talent on the mound tonight, but there’s also some value at the pitching position. Also, there is some obvious, and not so obvious, offensive plays we can stack on Monday night.

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: Even for late August, the weather across much of Baseball Country has been tremendous over the last week, until yesterday. Things are heating up, literally, and storms are expected to play back into DFS MLB soon.

However, that doesn’t start today. For the most part, every game tonight has ideal baseball playing weather conditions. No games are expected to be postponed or delayed. However, there is one major exception we’ll have to keep in mind for offensive stacks. The wind will be blowing about 15-20 mph in Wrigley Field tonight. Mostly to left field. Oh, and Jon Lester is pitching.

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

FanDuel MLB: Top Pitcher Main Slate

Looking at the pitching metrics for tonight’s starting pitchers, at least over the last 30 days, the top pitcher is obvious. Patrick Corbin ($11,100) is expensive for a reason. In the last month, Corbin has logged a 31.8% K-rate, while sporting a 2.28 xFIP. That is easily the lowest xFIP of all the starting pitchers tonight, in the last month.

Considering you also have starters like Gerrit Cole ($10,800), Noah Syndergaard ($9,900), and Stephen Strasburg ($9,400), that’s quite impressive. So, if I can’t find another great pitching option at a cheaper price, I’m likely going with Patrick. Corbin is especially juicy in cash games.

But, as you scan the list of starters tonight, there are some other attractive options. Before you jump to Zach Eflin ($7,800) because he’s cheap and playing a cold Nationals offense, keep in mind they just piled up 15 runs yesterday and Eflin gave up ten hits to the Nats last outing.

Instead, you should scroll back up to Jon Gray ($8,900). Fine, yes, I’ll admit I’ve been on Gray all season. But there’s a reason for that. Jon continues to have a high strikeout rate, a decent 23.1% over the last month. And if Gray could find better control, he could become one of the more dominate pitchers in baseball.

But another attractive point about playing Gray against the Halos tonight is the match up. In the month of August, the Angels have a bad 24.4% K-rate against right-handed pitchers. That’s fifth worst in baseball.

Also, in the last month, Gray has maintained a 3.90 xFIP and 3.15 ERA. If Jon can last beyond six innings, he’ll likely have near ten strikeouts and easily land near 40 to 50 points, even without a win. The value here is just too good to pass up. I’m going with Gray in cash and GPP FanDuel MLB plays.

FanDuel MLB: Top Hitting Stacks Main Slate

I’m a bit of a weather buff, having studied Meteorology at Millersville University for over two years, before switching to a business focused major. So, naturally, I look at the MLB weather forecasts every morning. Man, this morning’s weather was interesting.

After realizing the weather was in great shape to avoid delays and postponements, I started looking at wind speed. Really, the only wind impact noticeable was a 15-20 mph wind possible in Chicago, IL today. That includes Wrigley Field.

My next thought was, man, that would be a great play if Jon Lester is pitching against the Mets today. I mean, Lester is clearly going through regression…which one of our Experts, Brian Tulloch, has been calling for months now. So when I looked at the starting pitchers for today and saw Lester in the slate, my face lit up like a Christmas tree.

With Jon being a lefty, we have some interesting match ups to consider. For example, it may be a great time to play Todd Frazier ($2,700), aka Toddfather, in the lineup tonight. Amed Rosario ($2,900) is a cheap option at shortstop, and of course we need to consider the lefty-smasher Wilmer Flores ($3,300).

I went back to the pitching metrics to consider the next best options to stack. Strasburg has been struggling lately, giving up home runs at a high rate, and a bunch of extra base hits to the Phillies in his last outing. So they’re certainly worth a consideration. However, if Stephen finds his groove today, our slate is over. That’s a risky play.

I’d rather pick on Chris Stratton, and stack the Diamondbacks. In the last month, Stratton has a 4.49 xFIP, and horrendous 7.71 ERA. Chris also has a WHIP over 2.00, and is giving up nearly two home runs per nine innings. They’re more expensive, but considering the value we get from the Mets, the D-Backs are an affordable top-play stack tonight.

FanDuel MLB: Summary and Example Lineup

Patrick Corbin is the best pitcher in this slate, and a smart play for FanDuel MLB cash games. But, we’re likely going with the value Jon Gray gives us in all formats. From there, we’re definitely stacking the Mets against a regressing Jon Lester.

The Diamondbacks against Stratton and the Giants in San Francisco is admittedly expensive, but considering all of the value we just obtained, it’s feasible. Also, there’s one more value nugget we’re considering at second base.

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. ($2,600) may not have a lot of time in the ‘bigs’ this season, but he was on fire before hitting the disabled list. Since returning from the DL, Gurriel started three straight games against the Phillies.

Averaging around six FanDuel MLB points per game isn’t that impressive, but he’s facing David Hess and the Orioles in Baltimore tonight. That’s a favorable match up. And we know Lourdes has pop, hitting two home runs and knocking in six RBI’s in a three game series against the White Sox before taking time off with an injury.

With that summary in mind, here’s a look at a sample lineup for the Main FanDuel MLB slate on Monday, August 27th 2018:

FanDuel MLB Main Sample Lineup: 

P                Jon Gray ($8,900)

C/1B         Wilmer Flores ($3,300)

2B             Lourdes Gurriel Jr. ($2,600)

3B             Todd Frazier ($2,700)

SS             Amed Rosario ($2,900)

OF             David Peralta ($4,100)

OF             Michael Conforto ($3,200)

OF             Jon Jay ($2,800)

UTIL          Paul Goldschmidt ($4,500)

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 MLB lineups.  We are not telling you, or selling you, to use this lineup.

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