FanDuel MLB Daily Lineups: April 5 Early & Main Slates

Welcome to the FanDuel MLB Daily Lineups article for another big Split Slate. We’re a fantasy baseball column focused on helping you build a DFS MLB optimal lineup for each slate.

The MLB schedule at the start of the season is always a little funky, compared to the rest of the season (especially when we get to the summer months). So, we’ve had many split slates for FanDuel MLB this week, with several games starting in the afternoon, while others beginning in the evening hours.

While we don’t quite have games as early this Friday, we still have a split slate with three games beginning before the typical 7pm ET start time, on a typical Friday night. So, we’re going to break this post up into an Early Only and Main slate focus, again.

Hopefully we can continue to replicate the success we’ve had with the Early Only slates over the past two days. Yesterday, we decided Stephen Strasburg was the better of the two strong-arm starters in Citi Field, and boy did that work out well. Stras had 57 FanDuel MLB points, and focusing offense on the Nats vs. the Mets was a better play, as the Nationals won 4-0.

We also grabbed Alex Gordon and Nico Goodrum from the Royals and Tigers game in Detroit. I was worried about the cold weather, but each hitter had been hot lately, and that continued yesterday with the two piling up 56.9 FanDuel MLB points. We also had Adalberto Mondesi, and unfortunately he was a waste of his hefty salary.

So, we took our cash and focused on the Main slate from there. Oddly, we didn’t pile up many points, but I was still able to return 2x thanks mostly to cash games. In a baffling evening, we only had around 115 FanDuel MLB points with the example lineup, but it was still good enough.

That won’t happen often. Ender Inciarte was one of many Braves who piled up runs against the Cubs in Atlanta, and Joey Gallo‘s bomb really helped us.

The Rangers and Braves were definitely the right stacking focus, and I could’ve garnered great amounts of points if I picked the right players from those lineups, likely leading to more of a 4x to 5x night from GPP winnings. Fortunately, we  have some solid thoughts for Friday night, as well, to keep the cash-train rolling!

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: We appear to be OK for the Early Only slates. However, the developing coastal storm, which impacted the game in Atlanta last night, will very likely cause some delays and/or a postponement in Philadelphia. So, keep in mind the Twins and Phillies are weather-related risky plays for the Main slate tonight.

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

FanDuel MLB: Top Pitchers Early Only Slate

While John Flaherty ($9,500) and Tyler Glasnow ($8,800) arguably have the most talent on the mound for the Early Only slate today, neither is my favorite starting pitcher. Flaherty should, theoretically, have a better match up on the home field, in Saint Louis, but the Padres offense has been solid in San Diego so far.

Likely wise, Glasnow has a decent match-up and could develop around 30 FanDuel MLB points, but if I’m paying that much salary for that return, it’s not worth it. I’ll get into why in a second. But also, I think Dereck Rodriguez ($8,100) has the best match-up of the slate.

Starting for the Giants in San Francisco, Dereck, son of Pudge Rodriguez, is facing a Rays offense that currently has a 31.2% K-rate this season. Given the Rays propensity for strikeouts over the last several years, that isn’t terribly shocking.

But, that makes someone like Rodriguez a good play. In his first outing, he kept the Padres down to only four hits and two earned runs, yielding a win and 21 points. Against the Rays, I believe Dereck could hit the six inning mark, add points for a quality start, but also add another five, or so, K’s to his point compilation.

So, of the eight starting pitchers for the Early Only slate, Rodriguez has the best possibility of producing the most FanDuel MLB points.

But, don’t plug him into your lineups just yet! Before you grab the best pitcher of this slate, we must keep something in mind. Today, is a Coors Field Day!!!

FanDuel obviously understands the impact of Coors Field, light air density and possibility for greater home runs and runs, and therefore inflates the salaries of anyone hitting baseballs in the vicinity.

The problem with Rodriguez, or really any of the top pitching plays, is they seriously limit your ability to stack the Dodgers and Rockies offenses in Coors. For that reason, I’m now looking at the best value pick of the pitcher position, so I have salary left to ‘stack Coors.’

Fortunately, of this group I do like Nick Margevicius ($6,600). Yes, this is a risky play. The Cardinals have a solid .328 wOBA to start the season, so far, but they also have a 29.4% K-rate, 5th highest in baseball. So even if Nick is giving up some runs, he should be able to earn most of those points back, and exceed the losses, with a high K-rate.

Also, I’m much more interested in generating points from offense in this slate, than I typically would in most other slates.

FanDuel MLB: Top Pitchers Main Slate

For a different reason, I ended up grabbing a cheaper pitcher for the Main FanDuel slate as well. First of all, Nick Pivetta ($9,100) and Jake Odorizzi ($8,100) are risky plays considering the amount of rain showers they’re expecting in Philly over the next 12 hours.

I especially do not like sweating out starting pitchers, when there’s a likelihood for a delay, which usually reduces their innings. So, they’re off my list.

Collin McHugh ($8,600) is tempting in Houston, but the Athletics 17.8% K-rate is unappealing. And, the A’s are an efficiency machine, which is a scary match-up for a pitcher you need to pile up K’s for, and reduce walks and runs.

Shane Bieber ($8,900) is also tempting with the Blue Jays wOBA currently at a very low .270. However, the Blue Jays 23.5% K-rate isn’t even in the top 50% of worst rates in baseball right now. So, again, we can likely do better.

In fact, as I scanned through the list of starting pitchers, by salary, I realized we had a lot of similar lack-luster options, until I landed on a pick I never thought I’d consider. First of all, before I drop the name, consider this.

The Indians are off to a dreadful start, with Francisco Lindor off the field and Jose Ramirez leaving the game early last night. Their current wOBA is a laughable .225, and their K-rate is just below the Rays, at 31.1% for second worst in baseball.

When that context, I then looked back at Trent Thornton‘s ($7,400) last outing for the Blue Jays and he suddenly looks significantly more appealing. Thornton only threw for five innings against the Tigers in his first start, but he only gave up two hits, had no walks, and piled up eight K’s against team with a 30.1% K-rate.

So, especially if he can get to that sixth inning, Thornton could possibly become the best FanDuel MLB pitcher of the main slate. Which, honestly, is a surprise to me. 30 to 40 points seems quite achievable, but we have a solid shot at 40 to 50 points with this play as well, and plenty of salary left over to grab some big offensive plays.

FanDuel MLB: Top Hitting Stacks Early Only Slate

Well, if you read the pitching play for this slate, our offensive focus is fairly obvious. At least at a high-level. But, even with Margevicius’ low $6.6K salary, it will be difficult to load up your offense with only Dodgers and Rockies. Also, which of the two should you focus on the most, when needed?

First of all, the Dodgers are the best play here, and they will be chalky. Don’t fade the chalk! This is the type of slate where you can win or lose simple just based on the chalk fade. And with the Dodgers in Coors, it would be beyond shocking if they didn’t have a great offensive afternoon.

Currently with a .405 wOBA, the Dodgers are bringing the best offense in baseball (so far) to a field most well known for offense. In some way, shape, or form, you need to get at least four Dodgers in your lineup.

I’m likely at least starting with Kiké Hernández ($4,500) at second base, with the right-handed hitter facing a lefty, and while he’s hitting .435 with three bombs already, and six RBI’s along with seven runs.

I suspect Austin Barnes ($3,400) will start at catching, again with a lefty on the mound for the Rockies. Also, Justin Turner ($4,700) and Corey Seager ($3,800) have a great history in this field. They may not be the top offensive plays from this lineup in the first week, but they still could be the top offensive plays of the Early Only slate.

From the Rockies, I’m grabbing a dirt-cheap Raimel Tapia ($2,500) first, for value. Tapia is very likely playing in the outfield today thanks to his left-handed bat facing a right-handed Kenta Maeda.

That allows me to play someone like David Dahl ($4,200), who also could have a huge offensive afternoon, but for the Rockies. I don’t quite have enough salary to keep stacking the rest of the Rockies lineup, unless I focus on them over the Dodgers (which I’m not doing).

So, from there I’m looking for some sub-$3K plays who could get me double-digit points and allow me to afford the Coors Field stacking in the rest of my lineup.

Two plays I love, to stay hot today, are Giants lefty Steven Duggar ($2,600) against Glasnow, and Rays OF Kevin Kiermaier ($2,700), also a lefty, against Rodriguez. Yes, I like Dereck on the mound, but that doesn’t mean Kiermaier doesn’t have a good day against the right-handed pitcher.

FanDuel MLB: Top Hitting Stacks Main Slate

With Thornton in my lineup at pitcher, I have more salary than I’m used to for a Main FanDuel MLB slate this year and I’m looking to spend it on some big hot bats with great match-ups. Fortunately, this slate is filled with those set-ups.

While I liked the start Brandon Woodruff had to the season for the Brewers, it was mostly his match-up and second half ending I was focused on. Against the Cubs, I’m not drooling over the 3.60 ERA and 1.4 WHIP in just five innings. While the Cubs are struggling to win games, it’s not due to their offense.

Through the first week of the MLB season, the Cubs now have a .388 wOBA, the second best in baseball only behind the Dodgers. And with plenty of salary to use, and after watching them hit back-to-back home runs against the Braves in Atlanta last night, I’m plugging Anthony Rizzo ($4,400) and Javier Baez ($4,500) into many of my lineups.

Speaking of the Braves, they also have a juicy match-up in SunTrust Park against Pablo Lopez and the Marlins. And, again, I have plenty of cash to spend on Ozzie Albies ($4,000) or Freddie Freeman ($4,500).

If I can find enough value, Mike Trout ($5,000) is a feasible play as well against Lance Lynn, who started the season with a 11.12 ERA and 2.00 WHIP after 5.2 innings. Trout has been a consistently good, no surprise there, fantasy baseball player since the start of the season, but his bomb in Anaheim on Opening Night for the ball team makes him even more appealing, with this match-up.

So, what about value? Yes, even with the money we saved at pitcher, if we want to spend so much FanDuel MLB salary on all of these top fantasy baseball plays, we’ll need to plug in some value to make it affordable. But, that only makes sense if we can find guys who are worth the play.

Fortunately, this slate has plenty of offensive value too! Ramon Laureano ($2,400) continues to heat up for the A’s, while Mark Zagunis ($2,200) should stay in the Cubs lineup today with his impressive start to the season.

Also in Anaheim, Ronald Guzman ($2,400) is quietly hitting home runs again for the Rangers. If Guzman keeps up the pace he’s developing, he’ll become more expensive rapidly. Guzman is a value play rookie I had pegged to watch last season, and he struggled in the second half. However, he has a high ceiling for fantasy baseball…so keep an eye on him even if you’re not convinced for Friday night.

Finally, I played around with the third base options, originally hoping to use Asdrubal Cabrera ($3,600). The Rangers do have a solid match-up as well against the Halos. But, for value, I also love Brian Anderson ($2,700) whose in his second MLB season and should be low-owned even though he has a double and three singles in his last 13 at-bats.

FanDuel MLB: Summary and Example Lineup for April 5th 2019

There are solid pitching plays for both the Early Only and Main FanDuel MLB slates on Friday. While I love Dereck Rodriguez for the Early Only, I think Margevicius gives us the best overall change to win that slate, allowing us to focus most of our offense on the Coors Field stack.

So we’re focused mostly on the Dodgers and Rockies in Coors this afternoon, but I’m also going to through a couple one-off’s in the lineup from guys like Duggar and Kiermaier.

For the Main slate, Trent Thornton could be a sneaky top pitching play of the night. That’s a good thing, but I want to spend a ton of FanDuel MLB salary on the Cubs, Braves, and Mike Trout! But we’ll also need some value plays, and fortunately there are plenty of options like Anderson, Laureano, Zagunis, and Guzman.

With that summary in mind, here’s a look at a sample lineup for the Early Only and Main FanDuel MLB slates for Friday, April 5th 2019:

Early Only                                                                             Main

P               Nick Margevicius ($6,600)                            Trent Thornton ($7,400)

C/1B        Austin Barnes ($3,400)                                  Anthony Rizzo ($4,400)

2B             Kiké Hernández ($4,500)                              Ozzie Albies ($4,000)

3B             Justin Turner ($4,700)                                    Brian Anderson ($2,700)

SS             Corey Seager ($3,800)                                    Javier Baez ($4,500)

OF             David Dahl ($4,200)                                        Mike Trout ($5,000)

OF             Raimel Tapia ($2,500)                                    Ramon Laureano ($2,400)

OF             Steven Duggar ($2,600)                                Mark Zagunis ($2,400)

UTIL         Kevin Kiermaier ($2,700)                              Ronald Guzman ($2,400)

Remaining Salary: $0                                                       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!