FanDuel MLB Daily Lineups: April 9 Early Only & Main Slate

Welcome to the FanDuel MLB Daily Lineups for a BIG Tuesday split slate. We’re a fantasy baseball column focused on helping you build a DFS MLB optimal lineup for each slate.

While yesterday’s FanDuel MLB Daily Lineups post focused on the Main slate, I did drop some points into the article related to the Early Only slate. For the most part, they didn’t play out well, although I knew, and said, they were risky.

Fortunately, we bounced back well with the Main slate. We started with Eric Lauer pitching for the San Diego Padres against the Giants in San Francisco. This was, by no means, a sexy MLB DFS pick, and that was obvious with the ~1-6% ownership across the many FanDuel MLB formats.

But, that worked out perfectly for us. Lauer was only $7,100 and he fanned eight Giants while earning the win in six innings pitched, even though he gave up five runs. We targeted Lauer mostly because of the match-up, as the Giants offense has been incredibly ineffective, and we knew the Padres offense could help support a potential win for Eric.

That strategy allowed us to use plenty of salary on some big offensive plays. One of our best was Domingo Santana, who stayed hot with two singles, a double, four RBI’s, and one run. The Mariners piled up 13 runs against the Royals, and should continue to be on your daily MLB DFS radar, as their offense currently seems like one of the best in baseball.

I later swapped in Marcell Ozuna, which I realized some of my plays were sitting, which worked out well as he homered in drove in two of four runs for the Cardinals. Dansby Swanson stayed hot for the Braves in Coors Field, and guys like Russell Martin, Kike Hernandez, Ryon Healy, and Juan Soto provided a steady dish of points on top, even though they weren’t big plays.

Tuesday’s slate is similar to Monday’s in that we have a small Early Only slate, followed by a bigger Main slate. But, there are still some teams missing from each slate. Fortunately, the Early Only slate appears easier on Tuesday, while the Main slate provides more of a challenge.

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: There’s another monster storm develop, including Bombogenesis, in the middle part of the U.S. today. However, for today’s Early Only and Main slates, we appear to be safe from that storm. It may be something we need to keep our eye on for the next couple of days though.

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

FanDuel MLB: Top Pitchers Early Only Slate

Corey Kluber ($10,300) seems like the obvious play against the Tigers in Detroit. Although, many MLB DFS players may fade Kluber because of his slow start. He’s given up nine runs in 10.1 innings, facing the Twins in Minnesota and the White Sox at home in Cleveland.

I do think Kluber should have a better outing in Detroit against a lackluster Tigers offense. But, I don’t think Corey will get a lot of help from his offense, which is something we need to consider for this slate.

While Chris Sale ($10,000) sort of bounced back in his second start, he only had one strikeout in six innings. That wasn’t entirely surprising as the Athletics have been a more offensively efficient team than most in MLB over the last couple of years. Still, that tells me something is probably still ‘off’ with Chris right now.

And, while Charlie Morton ($9,400) and Matt Shoemaker ($8,200) are both off to great starts this MLB season, neither is a playing an offense I want to target for pitching, and they’re both pitching away from home. I’ll considering playing one of those two if I can’t find a better fit, but I did.

It feels odd recommending Jordan Zimmermann ($7,400) against the Indians, after the pitching we’ve seen from Zimmermann over the last several years and the offense we’ve seen from the Indians in the same amount of time.

But, two things add up well for this slate. Zimmermann has ten K’s in 13.2 innings. That’s not amazing, but it’s solid. He also only has given up seven hits and one walk. One of those games was against a struggling Blue jays team, but he also earned a quality start against the Yankees.

Jordan only gave up one earned run this season, to the Yankees, and is clearly off to a great start. Meanwhile, he’s facing an Indians offense that resembles the Blue Jays, but worst, to start this season.

Cleveland currently has a 31.3% K-rate, the worst in baseball. They also have a .239 wOBA, second worst in baseball only to the Reds. So, while it may historically seem odd, Zimmermann is the obvious best play for the Early Only slate, and he gives us plenty of cash to spend on offense.

FanDuel MLB: Top Pitchers Main Slate

I’m not as confident with my Main slate plays as I was last night, nor as confident as my Early Only slate plays for Tuesday. When I first starting building my lineup, my favorite pitcher was Jacob deGrom ($12,200), who’s off to a fantastic start, looking very much like a Cy Young Award winner.

If you can find a way to afford deGrom while also building an offense you like, that is definitely the best play of the day. Unfortunately, I haven’t figured out a way to do that, yet. So, I’m most likely going with a cheaper arm. But, revisit the idea when the lineups begin to post and some cheaper plays are hitting in the middle of the batting order.

I don’t like Aaron Nola ($10,200) against the Nats, they crushed him in his first outing against the Nats in Washington. I watched the entire game, and Aaron seemed off most of the time. Something may be wrong there.

It’s a riskier, and still expensive play, but Stephen Strasburg ($10,500) has looked surprisingly efficient in his first two starts against a good Mets offense. The Phillies aren’t an offense I want to target, but Stas has 17 K’s in just 13.2 innings to start this season. Even with a ‘bad’ outing for Stephen, you’ll likely get 30+ FanDuel MLB points.

But, that conclusion, along with several other lackluster pitching match-ups for the Main slate, led me back to the Padres for pitching. The Giants don’t have the highest K-rate in baseball, but their 25.1% is within the top ten worst, and continues to climb.

Also, the Giants .256 wOBA offense makes me comfortable pitching a guy like Joey Lucchesi ($8,600). He may not snag the QS points, but Joey hasn’t given up a run against the Diamondbacks or Giants, who he’s already faced this season, in 10.1 innings.

He’s allowed ten batters on base, but also has 13 K’s and two wins. Like last night, this is another comfortable shot at 35 to 45 points, allowing us to use most of our FanDuel MLB salary on offense, and hopefully climbing well above 150 FanDuel MLB points again.

FanDuel MLB: Top Hitting Stacks Early Only Slate

I love when I can find a pitcher I really like for FanDuel MLB, and he doesn’t limit my spending on offense. That’s a problem we may need to consider for the Main slate, but for the Early Only slate, I’m spending happily on offense, comfortably.

So, who do we target? I don’t necessarily like the idea of grabbing offense against Charlie Morton. He’s an efficient pitcher who keeps the ball on the ground. but, the White Sox have some hot offensive bats, and a mini-stack of Jose Abreu ($3,700) with Yoan Moncada ($3,700) isn’t insane.

Beyond that, I’m mostly focused on the Rays facing Ervin Santana in Chicago, and either the Blue Jays or Red Sox in Boston. Between the Blue Jays and Red Sox, you want to try your best to make the BoSox work more often, but the Blue Jays slow offense does have some value against a struggling Sale for this slate.

For the Rays, pick a guy. I love the value Brandon Lowe ($3,000) could give us at 2B, especially given the terrible options we have. Yandy Diaz ($3,700) is off to a hot start, leading off for the Rays, but Kevin Kiermaier ($3,600) continues to be my favorite play from the Rays, even though he’s not super expensive. His lefty v righty bat will make him a little chalky for this slate.

The Shortstop position is also tricky in this slate, but Freddy Galvis ($2,800) should give us at least some points to pile on top of the bigger plays. I’m comfortable with that, and grabbing any one from the Red Sox lineup I can afford, especially Andrew Benintendi ($3,800), hitting lefty against right-handed Shoemaker.

FanDuel MLB: Top Hitting Stacks Main Slate

I’m not exactly comfortable stacking the Nationals bats against Aaron Nola again, but in Philly this time. However, Anthony Rendon ($4,600) is off to a monster fantasy baseball start to this season and if you can find a way to fit him into your lineup, you always should.

Also, someone as cheap as Yan Gomes ($2,300), who likely starts for the Nats at catcher today, had a great game against Nola last week, and could be a cheap way to get six to nine points from that lineup.

Speaking of the Nats and Phillies, again I’m not necessarily going to stack the Phillies hitters against Strasburg, that’s dangerous, but we do know Odubel Herrera ($2,900) has solid success against the Nats over the last couple of years.

One more ‘one-off’ play I like, mostly because of his salary, is J.D. Davis ($2,900) at home in Citi Field against Kyle Gibson, who’s again looking terrible on the mound.

From there, I’m stacking the Padres for value and the Dodgers because of this incredible offensive start. The problem with the Dodgers is they’ll be chalky, but I’m hoping salary, like Cody Bellinger‘s $5,000 FanDuel MLB salary, will scare off some FanDuel MLB players.

But, we can also find some cheaper plays who should have a good game today, like Corey Seager ($3,100), a lefty facing righty Dakota Hudson, who’s not off to a great start and is now facing the best offense in baseball.

Ian Kinsler ($2,700) is one of the value bats I like from the Padres. Wil Myers ($3,100) versatile offense also should get us some double-digit FanDuel MLB points with a reasonable salary. But, if I can’t afford Rendon, this is one of the times I don’t mind paying up for Manny Machado ($4,300).

FanDuel MLB: Summary and Example Lineups for April 9th 2019

For the Early Only slate, there appears to be several trap plays at pitcher, all of which are very expensive. It feels odd, but I love the idea of pitching Zimmermann against the Indians, who’s offense is off to a horrendous start, and currently has a high K-rate.

From there, I’m stacking mostly Rays and Red Sox bats, but will also use the Blue Jays for some value plays. The 2B and SS position have cheap, but also ‘meh’ kinda guys available. I’m likely looking at the Jays bats there. And don’t be afraid to use a mini-stack of hot White Sox bats as well.

For the Main slate, deGrom is clearly the best pitcher, but his salary creates some massive headaches when trying to fit a good offense into the lineup with Jake. I also like the idea of Strasburg, who’s cheaper, because he’ll pile up K’s.

But, Lucchesi could yield nearly as many points as Strasburg, assuming Stephen gives up some hits and home runs to a good Phillies offense. So, I’d rather snag Joey and focus on my offense assuming we’ll get a comfortable 30 to 40 points from that pitching play.

With plenty of salary to use, I’m playing either Rendon or Machado at third base, and I may even pay up for Bellinger in my Main slate lineup. I’m mostly looking to stack the Dodgers and Padres, but I also like some one-off plays from the Nationals, Phillies, and Mets.

With that summary in mind, here’s a look at a sample lineup for the Early Only and Main FanDuel MLB slates for Tuesday, April 9th 2019:

Early Only                                                                             Main

P                Jordan Zimmermann ($7,400)                    Joey Lucchesi ($8,600)

C/1B         Jose Abreu ($3,700)                                       Yan Gomes ($2,300)

2B             Brandon Lowe ($3,000)                                Ian Kinsler ($2,700)

3B             Yandy Diaz ($3,700)                                       Manny Machado ($4,300)

SS             Freddy Galvis ($2,800)                                  Corey Seager ($3,100)

OF             Kevin Kiermaier ($3,600)                             Cody Bellinger ($5,000)

OF             Andrew Benintendi ($3,800)                       Wil Myers ($3,100)

OF             Tommy Pham ($3,200)                                  Odubel Herrera ($2,900)

UTIL          Yoan Moncada ($3,700)                                J.D. Davis ($2,900)

Remaining Salary: $100                                                  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!