FanDuel MLB Daily Lineups: Wednesday August 29

Welcome to the FanDuel MLB Daily Lineups column for Wednesday, August 29th 2018. We’re a fantasy baseball column focused on helping you build a DFS MLB optimal lineup for each slate.

Yesterday was a tale of two completely different stories for FanDuel MLB Cash and GPP plays. The GPP focused players didn’t quite work out as planning, although it wasn’t far off from a winning lineup, depending on who you stacked in your offense. But the cash game lineup worked out nicely.

Brian Johnson was our cheap play facing a horrendous Marlins offense against lefties in August. Johnson only gave up one earned run, but also left the game after 4.1 innings and only had three strikeouts. I wasn’t a complete waste of a pick, because the right offensive stacks can pile on top of the cheap 19 FanDuel MLB points we got at pitcher.

But the GPP offensive stacks only worked if you had the right Dodgers in your lineup, and you had a great utility spot pick. The Yankees were able to get to five runs, but most of their more expensive bats weren’t productive.

While the Dodgers piled up eight runs, again, their expensive bats were just so-so last night. Ultimately, we only reached the 100 point mark in our GPP lines. That’s not nearly enough for wins.

The cash game was a better story. Points-wise, Lance Lynn only fared marginally better than Johnson. Lynn lasted 5.2 innings, gave up three earned, and fanned five. That was enough for just 23 FanDuel MLB points.

But man-oh-man did the offensive stacks work. The Reds clobbered their way to nine runs, and cheaper guys like Scooter Gannett ($3,500) and Jose Peraza ($2,900) gave us a combined 70+ FanDuel MLB points. Throwing in the Red Sox/Marlins mix helped as well, especially with J.T. Realmuto ($3,300) crushing a home run for over 25 points.

I wished we used the cash game for all slates, because we mostly landed in the 180 to 200 FanDuel MLB point range with that lineup. Still, we won money and have plenty more to play the main slate tonight for Wednesday, August 29th. That’s the slate we’re focused on in this post.

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: While the weather is hot and humid on the east coast, it’s mostly great weather for baseball’s Main 7pm EDT scheduled games. The exceptions are in Cincinnati and Cleveland.

The Reds and Brewers have some shower risk throughout the game, but the main concern is closer to the end of the game when thunderstorm chances increase significantly. This could end the game and cut off some fantasy points. However, it’s more likely they finish on time.

The bigger concern is the Twins and Indians even playing tonight. A delay is certainly possible with thunderstorms likely in the area tonight, but a postponement is a possibility depending on how wide-spread and frequent the thunderstorms are in Cleveland tonight. If you’re playing these lineups, keep an eye on the game. But I recommend fading for now.

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

FanDuel MLB: Top Pitcher Main Slate

Last night, there was a long list of great pitchers on the mound with fantastic pitching metrics over the last month. Tonight, is different. The upside from these pitchers is many aren’t giving up a lot of home runs each outing. That’ll be a problem we need to deal with for offensive stacks. But there’s still some bad pitching we need to avoid.

Zack Godley ($9,000) isn’t the most expensive pitcher in the Main FanDuel MLB slate, which is odd. Against right-handed pitcher’s in August, the Giants have a horrendous 60 wRC+, the worst in baseball, and a high 23.3% K-rate, eighth highest in baseball against RHP’s in August.

Meanwhile, the right-handed D-backs hurler has a very low 2.91 xFIP in the last 30 days, clearly the best in this slate, and an awesome 28.7% strikeout rate. So, for $300 less than Dereck Rodriguez ($9,300), you’re getting the best pitcher in this slate with the best match up.

The only problem is, Godley is facing Rodriguez, who’s also pitching well lately. Still, Zack is the best pitching option today, and a great option in cash games. But, I also suspect Godley will be heavily owned.

I’m going with another option for all slates, instead, C.C. Sabathia ($8,200). For the most part, I’ve avoided Sabathia all season. He’s had a rough start. But lately, C.C. has been on fire! Of all starting pitchers on the mound tonight, Sabathia has the second lowest xFIP, 3.37, and the highest K-rate at 32.6%.

Also, Sabathia has the best pitching match up for strikeout points. So why is he so cheap? Well, there’s risk with this play. The White Sox have a very high 29% K-rate against lefties in the last month. But, they also have a very good 124 wRC+. So in short, the White Sox are scoring a lot of efficient runs while also somehow striking out at a very high rate. That’s odd.

But, I’ll take a few runs, hopefully under three, for the eight to twelve strikeouts we could get form Sabathia against the White Sox. In fact, on August 7th Sabathia started against the White Sox, only lasted 5.2 innings and gave up a run, but fanned 12 hitters for 50 FanDuel MLB points.

I suspect C.C. will last at least five innings and get at least over eight K’s. The big question mark is earned runs. If he can keep the runs below three, we’re going to get well over 40 points on a modest price at the pitcher spot. That’s good, because some of our offense will require cash!

FanDuel MLB: Top Hitting Stacks Main Slate

As we already discussed, the majority of these starting pitchers tonight are not giving up a many home runs in the last month. In fact, no starting pitcher in the Main FanDuel MLB slate tonight is giving up 1.5 or more home runs per nine innings.

However, we do have several pitchers giving up a lot of runs lately, and that’s where we’ll focus our attention tonight. Two guys immediately jump off the page, Reynaldo Lopez and Ryan Borucki.

Lopez is giving up over five earned runs per outing in the last month, and Borucki is giving up around six per start. So who are they facing? Well, we already discussed how the White Sox are facing the Yankees in New York, so stacking them against Lopez is ideal but expensive tonight.

Fortunately, the Orioles are a very affordable option, hosting Borucki and the Blue Jays in Camden Yards tonight. The tough part of the Orioles lineup is finding any hitters worth even paying for, but there are a few.

Adam Jones ($3,200) has quietly been consistently productive all season. Against this pitching tonight, he’s a solid play for over ten FanDuel MLB points. With Jones, I’m hoping 23-year-old Cedric Mullins ($3,000) is back in the lineup tonight, and I’ll finish my O’s stack with Jonathan Villar ($3,200), and Trey Mancini ($2,800).

That modest stack allows us to still have money to play expensive Yanks like Aaron Hicks ($3,900), Gleyber Torres ($4,000), and Andujar Miguel ($4,000). But if we’re going with Sabathia and a Yankees offensive stack, we’ll need to add another team in the lineup. With a struggling Gio Gonzalez on the mound in Philly tonight, the Phillies are another strong offensive team in play tonight.

FanDuel MLB: Summary and Example Lineup

While we love Godley, easily the best pitcher with the best match up, the value from Sabathia is hard to ignore. We’re likely using C.C. as our pitcher in all FanDuel MLB plays for the Main slate tonight.

With Sabathia in our lineup, we love the Yankees and Orioles offensive stacks the most. The Yankees are expensive, but even the best hitters from the O’s lineup make them affordable. However, we’ll need at least one player, if not a mini-stack, from another team tonight.

As a Nationals fan, it hurts me to say this, but Wilson Ramos ($2,700) is a great revenge play. The Phillies catcher is hitting .313 this season with 15 home runs and 62 RBI’s. Last night, Ramos got a shot at his old team, hitting just once and still getting a double while knocking in an RBI. It’s likely Ramos starts tonight, and stays hot against a struggling Gio on the mound. He’s definitely my favorite C/1B pick tonight.

With that summary in mind, here’s a look at a sample GPP lineup for the Main FanDuel MLB slate on Wednesday, August 28th 2018:

FanDuel MLB Main Sample Lineup: 

P                C.C. Sabathia ($8,200)

C/1B         Wilson Ramos ($2,700)

2B             Jonathan Villar ($3,200)

3B             Miguel Andujar ($4,000)

SS             Gleyber Torres ($4,000)

OF             Adam Jones ($3,200)

OF             Trey Mancini ($2,800)

OF             Aaron Hicks ($3,900)

UTIL          Cedric Mullins ($3,000)

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!