FanDuel MLB Daily Lineups: April 12 Main Slate

Welcome BACK to the FanDuel MLB Daily Lineups. We’re a fantasy baseball column focused on helping you build a DFS MLB optimal lineup for each slate. This post is focused on the Main slate for Friday, April 12th 2019.

The success we’ve developed over the last week really played out well for both the Early Only and Main FanDuel MLB slates for Thursday. While we used the more expensive top pitching play in the Early Only, Shane Bieber was still fairly inexpensive for someone who could rack up nearly 50 FanDuel MLB points.

We also finally decided to utilize Chris Davis, given his trolling $500 salary due to his severe, record-setting, lack of hitting this season. With that value, we were easily able to stack A’s and Mariners bats, along with Bieber.

The A’s piled up eight runs, and Khris Davis had yet another two home run game, alone with three RBI’s and two runs for 40.9 FanDuel MLB points. If we can get Davis to face another left-handed struggling pitcher on Friday, we may need to keep going with that run.

The Mariners were also a great play, piling up seven runs. Dee Gordon was only about 5% owned in most formats for FanDuel MLB, which was a great steal for us, given his single, triple, and home run for over 37 points.

We then followed our 170+ Early Only slate result with a 160+ Main slate result, also allowing us to cash in all formats. With less scoring in the evening, our Main slate plays actually gave us a greater 4X return.

We went a little cheaper, and more risky, with Jon Gray on the mound for the Rockies. Gray had six K’s in 6.2 innings, earned the quality start and only gave up one run. Unfortunately the Rockies can’t hit outside of Coors Field, so he didn’t get the points for the win, which would’ve put him over 40 points, as the Rockies lost 0-1 against the Giants in San Francisco.

With plenty of salary and lots of oddly cheap options from the Diamondbacks and Mets, we stacked two teams who piled up a total of 12 runs together. Pete Alonso continued on his red-hot rookie starting pace. And Eduardo Escobar was a $2.7K steal with a home run and over 30 FanDuel MLB points.

At this point in the season, they’re a general trend developing, at least for the Spring. This trend is common each spring and we won’t use it as much in the summer. The basic idea is, find the best cheaper pitching option, and stack the hot-hitting offenses. It isn’t perfect, but it’s working out well most of the time, right now. We may consider to stick with that theme for Friday.

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: The Tigers and Twins game in Minnesota has already been postponed due to basically a Spring Winter Storm.

Also, expect a potential delay, with a slight (20%) chance of postponement in Washington, D.C. for Friday night. There are showers, with the potential for thunderstorms, moving through the area at game time and into the late night hours. I wouldn’t consider Nationals or Pirates starting pitchers safe plays, and I’m even hesitant to play the offense.

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

FanDuel MLB: Top Pitching – Main Slate

I’m going to be straight, right out of the gate (that rhymes, I’m the Dr. Seuss of DFS MLB). Finding the top pitching play for the Friday Main slate, last night, wasn’t that difficult. Once again, we have several top pitching plays, two of which are over $10K.

First of all, I’m not confident the Nationals game starts on time, which makes me worry about Patrick Corbin ($10,000) pitching long enough for decent FanDuel MLB points. Secondly, Carlos Carrasco ($10,500) is off to a terrible start and is facing a Royals team only fanning 20% of the time, fourth lowest in baseball.

So, to be frank…why in the world would you pay $10K for either of these pitchers? The pricing just doesn’t make a lot of sense tonight for pitching.

J.A Happ ($9,400) and the Yankees aren’t off to a great start, the White Sox offense looks decent right now, and frankly, I’m probably more inclined to take the risk with Lucas Giolito ($6,600). He’s struggled with control in the majors, but given the Yankees hitting struggles lately, he’s not a bad GPP option.

Jake Arrieta ($8,800) is a worthy consideration, as long as we can’t find any better plays. But, if you’ve been following these posts since the start of the season, you already know I’m a big fan of Blue Jays rookie starting pitcher Trent Thornton ($7,600).

In his first two starts, against the Tigers in Toronto and the Indians in Cleveland, Thornton has 15 K’s in just 10.2 innings. Even thought he hasn’t pitched long enough for a quality start, yet, he’s still giving you nearly 40 FanDuel MLB points per game thanks to his high K-rate, low walk rate, and low ERA.

One of the first things I look at before I scan the pitching list each day, is the offensive K-rate. Before I even noticed Thornton was pitching on Friday night, I knew the Rays offense, which has a decent .319 wOBA, has a 26.1% K-rate.

It’s not a slam dunk play, because the Rays offense is good, but even if we’re losing some points because of runs, it’s very likely Trent still gives you over 20 FanDuel MLB points with his strikeout numbers. And, given his salary, you have a very good points base to use at the pitching position, and plenty of salary to stack top hitting plays.

FanDuel MLB: Top Hitting Stacks Main Slate

With plenty of cash to burn on the offensive stacks, I’m going to look for top-ten wOBA offenses, so far this MLB season, and compare them to the the pitching match-ups they have, along with the ballparks.

Fortunately, there were two teams who immediately stuck out to me, but frankly there are many and we need to consider some one-off’s. But, before we get there, I also wanted to address the consistent Chris Davis ($500) value play.

With a lefty on the mound for the Red Sox, in Boston, I’m not confident the Orioles will plug the no-hitting Davis into their lineup. However, there are a few reasons I’m still considering using Davis.

First of all, Rodriguez throws gas, and if Davis does play, this is the kind of pitcher you want him to face. Also, at some point in the game, Eduardo is going to come out of the game. I doubt the Red Sox are thinking…but we can’t throw a righty out there just in case Davis suddenly enters the game and starts hitting. However, that’s entirely possible.

So, if he’s in the lineup, I still like the idea of playing him. If he doesn’t start, I still think he’s worth the play because he could pinch-hit (believe it or not). Regardless, given the offensive stacks we have tonight, I also like how much value even this 0 point $500 pick gives us.

OK, that aside, the two teams I’m targeting the most are the Mets against Kyle Wright and the Braves in SunTrust Park and the Dodgers against Corbin Burnes and the Brewers in Los Angeles.

I’m trying to get the best hitting match-ups compared to the arms on the mound. For example, it’s fairly likely Joc Pederson ($3,700) will start his lefty bat against Burnes. Pederson has been on an offensive tear at home, as well. But given Burnes current struggles on the mound, I also don’t mind playing someone like Justin Turner ($3,700), a right-handed hitter.

For the Mets, I’m definitely riding Pete Alonso ($4,200) as long as the rookie continues to slug the baseball. And, we can afford Robinson Cano ($3,500) at 2B, and Michael Conforto ($4,400) in the OF. Amed Rosario ($2,700) is a solid value play coming off a fantastic night in Atlanta, as well.

FanDuel MLB: Summary and Example Lineup for April 12 2019

Once again, I’ve scanned the top pitching plays for FanDuel MLB and I don’t like the return I’m getting for the price. So, I’m likely going with a cheaper play like Giolito for GPP, but also Thornton is my favorite pitcher in all formats.

With plenty of cash to burn for offensive stacking, I’m going to use Chris Davis, at least one more time, to see if I can use his value for some big offensive numbers. Yes, Davis may not start, but I still think there’s a chance we could get some points from a pinch-hitting appearance.

For offensive stacks, I love the idea of playing the Mets in SunTrust Park and the Dodgers on their home turf against a struggling pitcher for the Brewers. We can afford the top plays from this lineup, but we can also find some decent value to make it work.

But, before we close out the lineup, Khris Davis ($4,600) hit two home runs in each of his last two games. Unfortunately for the Rangers, they have lefty Drew Smyly on the mound in Arlington Friday. That bodes well for Davis, a right-handed hitter, who could continue his torrid HR-hitting pace in this slate. He’s worth paying up for that opportunity, again.

With that summary in mind, here’s a look at a sample lineup for the Main FanDuel MLB slate for Friday, April 12th 2019:

Main

P               Trent Thornton ($7,600)

C/1B        Pete Alonso ($4,200)

2B             Robinson Cano ($3,500)

3B             Justin Turner ($3,700)

SS             Amed Rosario ($2,700)

OF             Khris Davis ($4,600)

OF             Michael Conforto ($4,400)

OF             Joc Pederson ($3,700)

UTIL          Chris Davis ($500)

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!