FanDuel MLB Daily Lineups: May 14th Main Late Swap

Welcome back for another FanDuel MLB Daily Lineups post. This is 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 May 14th 2019.

It’s been a few days since we’ve been able to post our FanDuel MLB plays. Saturday’s plays had some mixed results, depending on which side of the advice you picked for your lineups. Tuesday’s slate is one of the more exciting plays we’ve had in a while, with several top pitcher plays along with some juice offensive stacks to snag.

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 is a weather system, which impacted many games over the past couple of days, finally leaving the East Coast of the United States. That system may impact the game in the Bronx, but it should leave the Main FanDuel MLB slate alone. So, we’re all clear to play any game we’d like tonight!

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

FanDuel MLB: Top Pitching Main Slate

This is one of those great slates where you have a plethora of great starting pitchers on the mound. That’s great, because it will stretch the ownership percentages thin over tournaments and cash games. So, it will be easier to differentiate your lineup, but also build multiple winning lineups with different starting pitchers for both Cash and GPP plays.

That being said, by far my favorite pitcher for the Tuesday Main slate is Caleb Smith ($10,700). Formerly a pitcher I’d pick on for offensive stacks, the Marlins left-handed hurler is consistently mowing down hitters this season, currently with a 34.8% K-rate.

That’s the highest of all starting pitchers on the mound Tuesday. Considering who some of the other starting pitchers are, like Chris Sale ($11,400) and Clayton Kershaw ($10,200), that’s an impressive feat. Although, Sale and Kershaw, each showing signs of emerging to dominance again lately, have struggled this season.

Another big reason to like Smith is the match-up. While the Rays have done some great things from the batters-box early this season, protecting the plate against LHP’s isn’t one of them. The Rays currently have a 30.6% K-rate against lefties, the worst in baseball.

Considering Caleb has no less than six K’s per game, as high as 11 against the Cubs in his last outing, and he’s thrown six-straight quality starts, there’s a very good chance you’re getting 45 to 55 points out of this play on Tuesday night.

If you’re going to pivot off Smith, I’d avoid making the obvious move to Sale or Kershaw. That’s going to be the lazy pivot of the Tuesday night Main slate for pitcher-plays. Oddly, the next best play could be Charlie Morton ($9,800) against the Marlins, in Miami.

Morton has a 30.4% K-rate this season, nearly as high as Smith’s and third highest of all starting pitchers for this slate. And like Caleb, Charlie has a great match-up. The Marlins are fanning at a 27.1% rate against right-handed pitchers this season, also the worst in baseball. So, avoid hitters at all costs in Miami on Tuesday, and play either one of the pitchers for 40+ FanDuel MLB points.

FanDuel MLB: Top Hitting Stacks Main Slate

One of the key metrics I look at, before I consider which stacks I like the most, is home runs per nine innings. It’s not always a perfect metric, but if you can find a pitcher who’s struggling with a high HR/9 rate, facing hitters on the other side of the plate who are hot or heating up, you’re likely to pile up points for that slate.

Ryan Carpenter is giving up the most, 3.6 per nine innings, of all starting pitchers for the Tuesday Main FanDuel MLB slate. However, it’s unlikely Carp will face the Astros lineup that long. You can also scratch off Nick Vincent as a long-man on the mound.

Two pitchers who do jump out to me are Mike Foltynewicz and Mike Leake. Of the two, Folty is really having a rough year. Foltynewicz is giving up 2.7 home runs per nine innings, has a 1.44 WHIP, 5.94 ERA, and horrendous 6.33 xFIP. In fact, he’s clearly one of the worst starting pitchers in this slate, so far this season.

Fortunately for us, Folty is facing a hot Cardinals offense. While I like how Jose Martinez ($3,600) is swinging the bat right now, and I’ll have him in my lineup as part of this stack, I’m mostly focused on the lefties of this lineup. Kolten Wong ($3,100) and Matt Carpenter ($3,500) stick out the most, now implanted in all lineups and in all formats.

Next, I’m looking at the Athletics lineup. They may be on the road in Seattle, but they’re facing right-handed pitcher Mike Leake, who’s also struggling this season. His 4.37 ERA isn’t horrendous, and while bad, his 4.68 xFIP isn’t terrible. But Leake is also giving up over two home runs per nine innings.

That bodes well for A’s bats on the left side of the play, like red-hot Matt Olson ($3,000) at the 1B position. But I’ll consider some right-handed hitting value from Stephen Piscotty ($2,800) and Marcus Semien ($3,400) as well. And we’ve used Ramon Laureano ($2,500) as a value play all season. Laureano is fast, and when on base immediately gives you a solid shot at double-digit points.

FanDuel MLB: Summary and Example Lineups for May 14th 2019

Sales re-emergence is tempting to pounce on for Tuesday, as is a potential sneaky play with Kershaw (something I thought I’d never write). But, I think Caleb Smith and Charlie Morton are the best pitching plays of the Tuesday FanDuel MLB Main slate.

Both Morton and Smith have a great match-up with a high K-rate. So, we should fade offense in that game, at all costs, and pick the pitcher which best fits into our lineup. If you can afford it, I think Smith is actually the better play, but Morton is a safe big points play as well.

There are several interesting offensive stacking options, but I like the Cardinals against Foltynewicz and the A’s against Leake. They’re not cheap, but there’s several mid-salary range plays and some value plays we can snag. However, we may need to dig for a sneaky home-run play from someone like Justin Bour to make this lineup affordable.

With that summary in mind, here’s a look at a sample lineups for the Main FanDuel MLB slate for Tuesday, May 14th 2019:

Main

P               Caleb Smith ($10,700)

C/1B        Matt Olson ($3,000)

2B             Kolten Wong ($3,100)

3B             Matt Carpenter ($3,500)

SS              Marcus Semien ($3,400)

OF             Ramon Laureano ($2,500)

OF             Jose Martinez ($3,600)

OF             Stephen Piscotty ($2,800)

UTIL          Justin Bour ($2,400)

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!