FanDuel MLB Daily Lineups: June 25th Main Slates

We’re back took a complete look at the Main slate for FanDuel MLB Daily Lineups. We’ll walk through the best plays to develop your DFS MLB optimal lineups for Tuesday, June 25th 2019.

It’s summer and family vacation time for my clan, so I finally have some time to sit down and study a FanDuel MLB DFS Fantasy Baseball slate. Even better, I have enough time to lay out my thoughts for a somewhat challenging slate.

We have lots of great pitchers to consider, but their match-ups aren’t always ideal. Also, the top pitchers of this slate are quite expensive, so if our top offensive stacks are also expensive, then we’ll have a value challenge on our hands.

Fortunately, I do think it’s feasible to pay up for top pitching talent. We need to evaluate wether it’s worth it. Also, I don’t think we’re giving up many points to obtain the top pitcher play. Our value stack and offensive picks are actually likely some of the better point plays of this 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:  There shouldn’t be many, if any, games impacted by weather on Tuesday night. However, there is the possibility for some showers and/or thunderstorms between 6pm and 10pm in Boston. That could put some of your Red Sox and White Sox plays at risk.

But, for the most part, you’re likely OK. Just keep those plays in mind closer to lock, and keep your eye on the Boston weather…just. in. case.

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

FanDuel MLB: Top Pitching Main Slate

As mentioned earlier, there are many top pitching plays in this slate. But, many of those picks are quite expensive. Gerrit Cole ($11,500) has to top overall metrics. With a 38.2% strikeout rate this season and very low 2.55 xFIP, Cole is easily the best overall pitcher.

The problem I have with playing Cole in your lineup, is the match-up. The Pirates aren’t exactly the most dynamic offensive, but they do have a solid 92 wRC+. So they’re nearly a mid-level offensive team. But, that shouldn’t be enough to fade Cole, right?

Well, here’s the rub. Typically, even with the best pitchers, you want to pay up for a top pitching play when they’re facing at least a mid-level or lower K-rate team. Unfortunately, the Pirates have a very low 20.8% K-rate. That’s actually the 6th best (lowest) strikeout rate in baseball.

So, if we don’t have any better plays, Cole isn’t exactly worth the high salary amount on Tuesday night. Max Scherzer ($12,200) could be a great play, but we’re paying even more for a pitcher whose metrics are worst than Cole’s.

So, for a time, I put Max in my back pocket and spent the rest of the morning looking at better options. Also, my strategy is typically to find the best player with the lowest price at the pitcher position.

However, as you look at each match-up for each of the top pitchers, I realize I can’t shake Scherzer. Max has a 3.02 xFIP, second best of all starting pitchers in this slate. And with a 33.8% K-rate, Scherzer also has the second best strikeout rate in this slate.

Even better, Mad Max and the Nats travel to Miami to face a Marlins offense who’s 75 wRC+ is second worst in major league baseball and 23.7% K-rate is 11th worst in baseball. So we’re getting a top tier pitcher against one of the worst offenses in baseball.

Oh, and Max, his broke nose and black eye had quite a good outing last time on the mound. So, I think it’s worth paying up for Max on Tuesday night…as long as we can find the right offensive value.

FanDuel MLB: Top Hitting Stacks Main Slate

One fo the key metrics I look at for MLB DFS is the home run per nine inning rate from pitchers. Adbert Alzolay of the Cubs has one of the highest of this slate, 2.25 per nine innings, but he also only has one outing.

Alzolay didn’t have a bad result either, obtaining a win, so I’m not sold that he’ll give up a bunch of home runs to the Braves in Chicago on Tuesday. Fortunately, Andrew Heaney has given up an even greater amount, 2.49 per nine, and faces a sneaky low salaried Cincinnati Reds offense in Anaheim on Tuesday night.

I’ve used the Reds several times this season, given their solid offense and low FanDuel MLB salary, especially when playing expensive pitchers, with great results. I’m going that route again this Tuesday night.

The heart of the Reds lineup is heating up lately too, but they’re still cheap. We can get Joey Votto ($3,000), Eugenio Suarez ($3,100), and Yasiel Puig ($3,300) are all below $3.4K on Tuesday night. Also, we could see someone dirt cheap like Phil Ervin ($2,100) hitting fifth, according to FanDuel’s lineup projection.

Jack Flaherty is a solid starting pitcher, but he’s giving up 1.67 home runs per nine innings this season, which is forth most in this slate. Also, another sneaky team for MLB DFS is the Oakland Athletics (A’s) offense.

From that offense, there are several top hitting plays. But a few of them are a little too expensive for our lineup. So, I’m going to go with a cheaper Jurickson Profar ($2,900) at the 2B position to afford a more expensive but very fantasy baseball productive Marcus Semien ($3,400) at the SS position.

And to fill out our lineup, I’m going with two random hot veteran plays from Dexter Fowler ($2,600) and Ian Kinsler ($2,400). I like how they’re each swinging the bat, their match-ups, and the value for this slate, but you could flip around the players around this salary range and mix and match based on the same philosophy, and likely do well.

FanDuel MLB: Summary and Example Lineup for June 25th 2019

There are several great pitching plays for this slate. In theory, Gerrit Cole is the best pitcher on the mound tonight. He could be worth the salary. But, given the match-ups, I think Max Scherzer is more likely to have the best night and we think we can find some stacks allowing us to afford Max.

The best offensive stacking value is likely coming from the Reds and A’s on Tuesday night. We can get some of their top offensive points affordably. We’re also going to snag a couple of veterans to fill out our lineup, who’s salary is likely too cheap for this slate. Currently, the two I like the most are Kinsler and Fowler.

With that summary in mind, here’s a look at sample lineups for the Main FanDuel MLB slate for Tuesday, June 25th 2019:

Main

P                Max Scherzer ($12,200)

C/1B         Joey Votto ($3,000)

2B              Jurickson Profar ($2,900)

3B              Eugenio Suarez ($3,100)

SS              Marcus Semien ($3,400)

OF              Yasiel Puig ($3,300)

OF              Phil Ervin ($2,100)

OF              Dexter Fowler ($2,600)

UTIL          Ian Kinsler ($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!