FanDuel MLB Daily Lineups: Thursday August 30

Welcome back to the FanDuel MLB Daily Lineups column. This is the Thursday, August 30th 2018 Main Slate edition. We’re a fantasy baseball column focused on helping you build a DFS MLB optimal lineup for each slate.

For different reasons, we had another great FanDuel MLB night with cash game plays and didn’t do well with GPP. However, unlike Tuesday, on Wednesday night we tried using a similar lineup in both formats.

Fortunately, cash game wins were easier last night with lower scores. In fact, in almost every cash game, even the top scores were below 200 FanDuel MLB points. That worked to our favor because the Yankees offensive stack fell flat.

However, even though C.C. Sabathia gave up three earned runs, that was the cap we were hoping for. He pitched long enough to earn the quality start, too, and fanned six in six for a total of 31 FanDuel MLB points. That’s not tremendous, but it’s a solid base to build offense on for winning cash games.

Like I said, the Yankees fell flat, but the ten runs from the Orioles offense really made that stack look great. Adam Jones and Trey Mancini, alone, had over 60 FanDuel MLB points, each smashing a home run and they drove in a combined six RBI’s. Along with Jonathan Villar and a modest nine points from Wilson Ramos, we made enough money to have more to play with today.

With only ten games played this Thursday, and only two of those games played this afternoon, we’re again only focusing on the Main FanDuel MLB slate.

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, the weather around much of the baseball country is actually nearly fall-like, with 60’s and 70’s in many of the game locations. The one exception is in the eastern part of the U.S., especially in Atlanta.

With a chance for thunderstorms to pop up this evening, there is a solid shot at a delay during the game between the Cubs and Braves outside of Atlanta. This likely doesn’t have a big impact on your DFS MLB lineups, but it’s worth considering if you’re trying to decide between the Cubs or Braves and another offensive stack, or pitcher.

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

FanDuel MLB: Top Pitcher Main Slate

If you’re looking at season-long stats, you’re probably thinking Justin Verlander ($11,200) is a great cash game play at pitcher tonight. Before you go there, consider the following. While Justin has a solid 2.98 xFIP, his ERA in the last month is 5.33. Also, he has a 34.5% strikeout rate, but he’s giving up three home runs per nine innings in the last month.

So, I don’t think it’s worth paying up for Verlander tonight, in any format. Mike Foltynewicz ($10,600) has great stats over the last month, but his match ups were also ideal. So it’s questionable whether Folty is moving back into his awesome early season form.

The Cubs will be a tougher challenge, and I’m worried about paying over $10K for an arm getting me only 20 to 30 FanDuel MLB points.

Both J.A. Happ ($10,100) and Rick Porcello ($9,400) have great match ups, and they’re a better option over Verlander and Foltynewicz. But I can’t shake off one of my favorite DFS MLB optimal lineup picks over the last month.

German Marquez ($9,000) has, almost quietly, produced some dominate pitching metrics since early July. In his last six straight starts, Marquez has at least seven or more strikeouts in five games. Failing only to reach that mark against the Braves on August 19th.

But even in that start, Marquez only gave up two earned runs in seven innings, earning the quality start and win for 40 FanDuel MLB points. Still not convinced? In the last month, German has a 3.00 xFIP, nearly matching Verlander’s.

But Marquez is only giving up 0.26 home runs per nine innings and has an awesome 30.1% K-rate in the last month. With the Padres consistently in the top 15 for highest K-rate against RHP’s this season, and pitching in a pitcher-friendly ball park, I’m using Marquez as my pitcher in all formats tonight.

FanDuel MLB: Top Hitting Stacks Main Slate

We have several offensive stacking options for tonight’s FanDuel MLB Main slate. Unfortunately, they’re mostly all very expensive. With Marquez locked in as our pitching in all of our lineups, that’s going to be challenging to figure out.

Because of the cost issue, we’re going to dig for a few value pieces in our offense tonight. As we mentioned earlier, Verlander is giving up a lot of home runs lately, and has struggled to keep his ERA down in the last 30 days.

So, we’re going to grab Kole Calhoun ($2,400) and Andrelton Simmons ($2,800) to hopefully get some pop, runs, and ultimately good value out of two picks and make our other lineup components affordable.

With those spots filled, there are three pitchers we’re targeting tonight; Francisco Liriano, Wade LeBlanc, and Andrew Heaney. That means our three favorite offensive stacking targets are the Yankees, Oakland Athletics, and Astros.

Of that group, I’m worried about the Yankees stack after their lack of offense last night. However, the A’s and Astros stack is very exciting. Those two teams are fighting it out for first place in their division right now. Of the two, though, given the cost of the Astros lineup, I’m likely stacking four A’s and going with two Stros.

FanDuel MLB: Summary and Example Lineup

We have some great pitching options on the board tonight, like Verlander, Happ, and Porcello. But we will continue to right Marquez as long as his high K-rate, low ERA, and dominating pitching continues. German is more expensive today, but we can still make it work with our offensive stacking targets.

Looking at the starting pitchers on the mound, the Yankees, Athletics, and Astros our the three favorite offensive stacking targets. Of that group, we like the A’s and Astros the most. However, they’re both somewhat expensive.

For affordability, we’re going to find two Angels against Verlander, who’s giving up a lot of runs and home runs lately. Sure, this adds risk to this lineup, but we need some risk to afford our top picks tonight.

With that summary in mind, here’s a look at a sample GPP lineup for the Main FanDuel MLB slate on Thursday, August 30th 2018:

FanDuel MLB Main Sample Lineup: 

P                German Marquez ($9,000)

C/1B         Yuli Gurriel ($2,900)

2B             Jed Lowrie ($4,000)

3B             Matt Chapman ($3,600)

SS             Andrelton Simmons ($2,800)

OF             Nick Martini ($3,000)

OF             Stephen Piscotty ($2,900)

OF             Kole Calhoun ($2,400)

UTIL          Jose Altuve ($4,300)

Remaining Salary: $100

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!