bpender

Chris Durell
Welcome to another Hump Day edition of our daily fantasy baseball picks. Another Wednesday, another split slate with five early games(four on DraftKings) and 10 games on the main slate that starts at 7:00 p.m. ET. Both slates are packed with terrific pitching options with Madison Bumgarner and Jose Fernandez leading the way. Let’s take a look at a few top pitchers and stacking options for the day.

PITCHERS

Madison Bumgarner FD 10700 DK 13400
Opponent – SD (Perdomo) Park – @SF
FD – 46.68 DK – 30.62

The line has dropped a little overnight but the Giants still sit as huge -280 favorites today and sits as the top pitching option of the entire slate. Despite the up and down second half, MadBum has still pitched to a 3.69 xFIP with an elite 10.29 K/9 rate. He gets a golden matchup today against the Padres who rank in the bottom of the league in team wOBA(.319) with a league leading 25.5% K rate against left handed pitching.

Yordano Ventura FD 8700 DK 6600
Opponent – OAK (Manaea) Park – @KC
FD – 31.27 DK – 20.49

On the evening slate there are a few different ways to go with pitching. You can pay up for the elite arm of Jose Fernandez against the Braves but if you want to get some of the top stacks on your lineup you will have to find some value. Enter Yordano Ventura who isn’t going to provide much upside in the way of strikeouts(6.64 K/9) facing the A’s who only K 18.8% vs. right handed pitching. While the A’s don’t strikeout a ton, they do rank 28th in wOBA(.302) and 27th in wRC+(89) against rightie. Ventura has been pitching well since the start of August allowing three or fewer earned runs in seven of his eight starts with a 2.79 ERA and elite 54.3% ground ball rate. His best value is on FanDuel where the win is more important than the strikeouts and the Royals are early -145 strikeouts.

STACKS

Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Jeff Hoffman (Rockies)
Park – Chase Field

The Diamondbacks have been red hot lately, scoring 23 runs over their last two games and rank 3rd in wOBA(.391) and 4th in wRC+(132) over the last seven days. They come into tonight’s game with the Rockies as -140 favorites and projected for close to six total runs. Considering their last couple games and the pitching matchup against Jeff Hoffman that number seems a little low.  After struggling in the minors(4.02 ERA) for most of the season Hoffman made the jump to the big leagues in late August. He In his first four starts he has given up five home runs and walked more batters(10) than he has struck out(8). That is not a recipe for success in any level of baseball. Look for the D Backs to jump all over Hoffman and the league’s 2nd worst bullpen tonight.

Seattle Mariners vs. Jhoulys Chacin (Angels)
Park – Angel Stadium of Anaheim

The Mariners got a matchup upgrade overnight as the Angels scratched Tyler Skaggs in favor of Jhoulys Chacin tonight. While the M’s sit middle of the pack against southpaws they rank 6th in wOBA(.330) and 3rd in wRC+(109) against right handed pitching. They have also been red hot over the last seven days with a .385 wOBA and league leading 146 wRC+. Chacin struggled as a starter in the first half and has spent most of the last three months pitching out of the bullpen. The biggest issue is his lack of control(3.75 BB/9) and average K rate(7.43 K/9) which doesn’t make up for the free passes.  You can start you stack at the top of the M’s lineup with value plays in Nori Aoki and Seth Smith and follow that up with some power bats in Nelson Cruz, Kyle Seager and Robinson Cano.

Chris Durell

In this early week article I am going to cover a few highlights from the week before in the “What We Learned” section. I will then preview the Thursday night game from a DFS perspective if you just can’t wait until Sunday. Finally, I will have a look at each position and a few players to think about early in the week before giving you my top QB/WR stacks on Thursday/Friday.

What We Learned

Coming into Week 1, I expected the Saints/Raiders and Lions/Colts games to be the highest scoring and sure enough they didn’t disappoint. Drew Brees went off for 423 passing yards with four touchdowns with the majority of the volume going to Brandon Cooks(6/143/2) and Willie Snead(9/172/1). No matter the matchup these three will be a popular stacking option all year. The Raiders also impressed as Derek Carr threw for 319 yards on 38 attempts with just one touchdown to Amari Cooper(6/137/1) as they rushed three into the endzone with Latavius Murray, Jalen Richards and Jamize Olawale.

Looking at the Lions/Colts game we got pretty much what we expected as both defenses ranked in the bottom of the league last season with not much really expected to change. Andrew Luck led the way throwing for 385 yards and four touchdowns while spreading the ball around to his deep receiving corps. Phillip Dorsett(4/94/) led the way in yards with TY Hilton(6/79) not far behind. It was Donte Moncrief(6/64/1), Dwayne Allen(4/53/1) and Jack Doyle(3/35/2) cleaning up the scores. Jack Doyle??? I am just as surprised as you. What I take from this game is that Andrew Luck will be an elite QB for DFS this year but hard to stack as he loves to spread the ball around.

Another one of the games I paid close attention to this past week was the Divisional game between the Falcons and Buccaneers. Both QB’s had good games with Matt Ryan throwing for 334 yards and two touchdowns while Jameis Winston went off for 281 yards passing and four touchdowns. As we expected it was Mike Evans(5/99/1) leading the way for the Bucs WR’s while Doug Martin was less than impressive with 18 carries for just 62 yards. On the other side of the ball we saw what we had feared coming in with a RB by committee between Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman. Freeman saw 11 carries and four receptions while Coleman has eight carries and five receptions. It is going to be tough to plug either of them in your lineup from week to week until a more clear picture can be painted. Julio Jones, who was not 100% going into the week, looked decent in a limited capacity hauling in four catches for 66 yards and a touchdown.

Those were the three big games I was watching closely last week and here are a few other situations to monitor going forward. The San Diego Chargers appear to have lost Keenan Allen(WR) for the season opening up a ton of DFS value for Philip Rivers who loves to chuck it up. The three that could see the biggest volume jump could be Tyrell WIlliams(WR), Travis Benjamin(WR), Antonio Gates(TE) and even Danny Woodhead from the backfield. The Broncos have a very clear picture in their backfield as CJ Anderson proved in Week 1 against the Panthers as he received 20 carries for 92 yards and a touchdown along with four receptions for 47 yards and a second touchdown. It appears like he can be trusted on a week to week basis from sheer volume alone. A situation to monitor this week will be to see if Adrian Peterson can rebound after a horrible opening week where he rushed 19 times for just 31 yards. Losing Teddy Bridgewater appeared to be very detrimental for the offense as the Titans completely loaded the box. If the Vikings cannot get production out of Sam Bradford moving forward AP could be a fade all season long. Sticking in the same game- we saw the emergence of rookie WR Tajae Sharpe for the Titans who recorded seven catches on 11 targets for 76 yards. A couple other WR’s that stood out, especially from a target standpoint, were Allen Robinson(15 targets-6/72), A.J. Green(13 targets-12/180/1) and Jordan Matthews(14 targets-7/114/1). All three of these players can be relied upon for top targets every week and can be trusted in cash games and come with huge upside for tournaments.

This section turned into a long look at last week and I didn’t even cover half the games. I may consider making a the recap section a stand alone article week to week. Stay tuned!

Thursday Night Football

I personally do not play Thursday night games for Daily Fantasy for a few reasons, but I don’t recommend everyone fall in line with my strategy. First of all, FanDuel has taken away the ability to see ownership after lineup lock. This was a great way to get a look into the Sunday/Monday slate and help project ownership. With this no longer an option I’m just less enticed to take the risk. As we have experienced in the past, the games are less than intriguing and a great example is this week’s matchup between the Jets and Bills.  One of the other things that deters me is the injury situations which are much more muddied this season with the removal of the Probable tag. I do understand if you wanna play TNF games as it seems like a year passes before Sunday morning comes around. My only recommendation to you, if you do choose to play Thursday, would be to limit your bankroll/exposure unless you feel your plan for Sunday is epic and accurate. If you normally play the $3, $5, $9 GPP’s, consider going down to the quarter arcade and $1 buyins. However for those with keen eyes on Sunday, if you feel your info is stronger than the next guy, then the TNF slate will provide you with more of an edge than a loss- as everyone is exposed to the same risks.

As I mentioned the matchup on Thursday this week is not very pretty. It’s a short week which can be an issue for offenses with limited time to get knicked up players healthy and get a gameplan in place. The best target from a DFS standpoint out of this game is the defenses. It is setup to be a smash mouth game that could end up in the 14-13 range by the end. Neither Tyrod Taylor or Ryan Fitzpatrick threw for over 200 yards in Week 1 and both had a QB rating under 80 for the week. The Bills top WR Sammy Watkins appears to be Questionable and would be the top target if he does play. Either way, Lesean McCoy should see a ton of volume in this one as he has no one really pushing him for snaps in the backfield. From the Jets side it is much of the same for Matt Forte who got 22 carries in week 1 for 96 while receiving seven targets in the passing game. If Fitzmagic can get back on track Erik Decker and Brandon Marshall would be excellent targets, especially in the redzone.

Week 2 Top Games to Target

In this final section I am going to cover a few games that could be very optimal for daily fantasy fantasy. I will be using the Player Lab tool on the website to look specifically at things like Vegas Totals, Opponent Defense rankings, past performances and most of all future projections.

New York Giants Passing Attack vs. Depleted Saints Secondary

Early in the week my favorite team to target is going to be the Giants passing game going up against the Saints. The Saints give up 486 yards(2nd worst) in Week 1 to the Raiders and it could get worse this week as they have lost their best corner Delvin Breaux for about six weeks with a broken leg. Although Amari Cooper is a great WR he is no Odell beckham Jr. who could absolutely torch De’Vante Harris, PJ Williams or whoever gets the call on Sunday. Unless something dramatic happens you will likely see Eli/OBJ at the top of the target article later in the week and should be a definite pair worth locking in the optimizer.

Atlanta Falcons vs. Oakland Raiders

The nice thing about Week 2 is there are at least four games at this point that are projected for over 48 total points. The Falcons/Raiders is sitting at 49 right now(3rd highest) making it a tremendous target for fantasy this week. Both defenses looked vulnerable in the passing game in Week 1 with the Raiders allowing 419 yards(Last) and the Falcons allowing 281 yards(21st). Both teams limited their opponents to 90 or less run yards so look for a heavy dose of Matt Ryan and Julio Jones and Derek Carr and Amari Cooper to start with. If you are looking for a bit more of a low owned approach you can target Michael Crabtree for the Raiders and for the Falcons I would recommend Tevin Coleman over Devonta Freeman as they share the load in the back field but Coleman comes much cheaper on both sites. Matt Ryan also targeted Jacob Tamme(TE) and Mohamed Sanu(WR) eight times each and both will come with extremely low ownership for deeper tournaments. I see more underowned stacks/pairs with this game and plan on running several different locks in the optimizer with this game more than most.

Thanks for reading this week’s article and stay tuned later in the week for my Favorite Stacking options for the weekend.

Chris Durell

Happy Hump day to all you DFSers out there still grinding away as the MLB season is about to enter it’s final month of the regular season. Before the calendar flips we have one day left in August to crush the competition. Wednesday brings us a split slate with six early and nine evening games. If you are one of those players who normally avoids the early slate I suggest changing your pattern today. There are some terrific pitching options as well as another game in Coors Field. Let’s dig in and take a look at a top pitching option and stacking option from each slate today.

Pitchers

David Phelps FD 6700 DK 8500
Opponent – NYM (Colon) Park – @NYM
FD – 27.61 DK – 18.23

After Phelps’ short outing against the Padres last Friday, it’s no doubt he will be low owned today, creating and interesting scenario. He was pulled after 3.2 innings but wasn’t actually that bad. He fanned 6 and only allowed 2 hits but the guys behind him let him down. Yes he will be low owned, and that’s nice, but the upside is the more interesting part. Since August he has an 11.84 K/9 rate, which is certainly elite, yet is giving free passes in the form of walks at over 3.5 per nine. If he can limit the BB’s today against NYM, he should return solid value for the salary, especially on FanDuel at under $7K.

Corey Kluber FD 10800 DK 11200
Opponent – MIN (Dean) Park – @CLE
FD – 41.23 DK – 26.78

Corey Kluber comes into tonight’s matchup absolutely dealing since the All Star break. He has gone 5-0 in eight starts with a 1.84 ERA and 9.39 K/9 rate. He sits in a terrific spot to build on those numbers tonight as the Indians are gigantic -300 home favorites vs. the struggling Twins who have lost 12 straight games and sit as only one of two teams who have yet to reach the 50 win plateau. After their hot streak earlier in the month they have fallen to the middle of the pack against right handed pitching with a 21.6% strikeout rate. Kluber is an elite option in any format tonight.

Stacks

Boston Red Sox vs.  Drew Smyly (Rays)
Park -Fenway Park
The Rockies /Dodgers game will obviously be the favorite stack for most of today as the projected total sits around 12 runs. I am going to turn my attention away from Coors and lock on Fenway today as the Red Sox are the highest scoring team in the league and projected to score around 5.3 runs today in a great matchup. They will face off against Drew Smyly who’s heavy fly ball rate isn’t ideal in Fenway with the Monster in left. He does have some K upside but the Red Sox have the 6th best K rate(18.9%) against southpaws and rank 3rd in wOBA and wRC+. Dustin Pedroia is again leading off making him a top value in the stack with huge upside provided by Xander Bogaearts and Mookie Betts. You will have to make a decision at 1B today as both David Ortiz and Hanley Ramirez qualify at the position. I side with Hanley who is most likely lower owned and hits left handed pitching slightly better.

St. Louis Cardinals vs. Matt Garza (Brewers)
Park – Miller Park
The Cardinals are an excellent value stack as they get a big upgrade going into Miller Park facing the brewers. They rank 4th in wOBA and 2nd in Isolated Power against right handed pitching and get a matchup vs. a below average pitcher tonight. Matt Garza is coming off his best start of the season pitching 5.1 shutout innings while striking out nine batters. This is definitely not the norm as he sits with an awful 4.77 xFIP and low 5.86 K/9 rate for the season while walking just over 3.5 batters per nine. The top plays for the Cards are Brandon Moss, who is raking in August with eight home runs and 21 RBI, and Matt Carpenter is back hitting leadoff and starting to heat up with hits in seven of his last eight games.  To figure out the rest of the puzzle we will need to see the lineups come out as the Cards shift guys around a ton- which can open up tremendous value if some lower guys in the lineup move up the order.

Happy Tuesday everyone! We have a full 15-game slate on our hands with Scherzer and Coors to talk about. There are other non-coors options to discuss too. So lets dive right into the picks and find that money!

 
Pitchers

Drew Pomeranz FD 9000 DK 11600
Opponent – TB (Odorizzi) Park – @BOS
FD – 36.74 DK – 23.99

We have Scherzer as the chalk play today, but I’m going to give you a couple of other options because he’s gonna set you back $11.2k on FD (ouch) and $13.6k on DK (double ouch) and will be very highly owned. For some cash games he may be your man but for GPPs we need someone cheaper who can at least match his point total. And I believe there are definitely guys that can match him. The first guy that I think can do that is Drew Pomeranz.

Talk about a guy that snuck up on me! This kid is [really] good and is an excellent play today. He’ll be going up against a Rays’ offense that has really struggled against southpaws. They own a .313 wOBA (23rd in MLB) to go along with a whopping 25.7 K% (highest in MLB) against lefties this season. If you’re trying to get away from the "chalk" of the day, Max Scherzer, well don’t look any further! A strikeout prone offense meets a guy that fans 27% of the batters he faces! Pomeranz’ upside is through the roof and I love him for tournaments today. Throw him into the mlb optimizer tonight.

Cole Hamels FD 10300 DK 11500
Opponent – SEA (Paxton) Park – @TEX
FD – 34.06 DK – 22.49

I guess we will stick to theme here and go from one southpaw to another. This time, we will be looking at 32-year-old, Cole Hamels. The veteran is still putting up great numbers and it’s safe to say he has been drinking from the fountain of youth. I feel like he’s been in the league for 40 years and he’s still killing it out there.

Today, Cole draws an appealing matchup against the Mariners. Not only have they struggled against southpaws (21st in wOBA against lefties), but they have also had some trouble at the plate as of late. In their last 14 contests, they own a .300 wOBA (23rd in MLB) along with a .145 ISO (24th in MLB). They have struggled making contact as well as hitting for power, so go ahead and roster Hamels in tournaments today. He will be low owned and has some big upside! Just look at his game log!

Stacks

Atlanta Braves vs. Edwin Jackson(SD)
I know we have Coors on our hands, but here are some very viable fade options. There are plenty of cheaper stacking options that could put more points up than the guys at Coors. Plus, it gives us the ability to pay up for pitching! So lets talk about the Braves!
The Braves’ offense had been completely dead all season long, but not anymore! They have been on a roll as of late and I don’t see the presence of Edwin Jackson on the mound slowing them down.

Jackson is another guy who has been awful on the mound this season and I don’t see it getting any better tonight. This season, he owns 11.2 BB% along with a 5.61 xFIP (Yikes). He gives up way too many free passes, which is part of the reason why his ERA and xFIP are so high. We all love free passes when picking a pitcher to stack against; not only do you get points for walks, but its truly a blast to watch a guy clean the bases to give us a pile of runs and RBI’s. It doesn’t get much better than this, so go ahead and grab some Braves’ hitters tonight.

My top 4 guys to stack: Freddie Freeman, Ender Inciarte, Matt Kemp and Nick Markakis.

Cincinnati Reds vs. Jered Weaver (LAA)
The last team on the list today is the Cincinnati Reds. I know Weaver delivered a quality start in his last outing, but I don’t expect him to do it again today. He’ll be going up against a Reds’ offense that’s hotter than my coffee (.347 wOBA/ 114 wRC+ in last 14 contests), so don’t be surprised if they put on a show tonight.

Not only are the Reds hot, but Weaver hasn’t been spectacular this season. He owns a 5.90 xFIP and opponents own a .307 AVG against him. Now the choice is up to you to decide if Weaver is turning it around. I for one, expect a lot of runs and hits from this Reds’ squad so go ahead and load up on them if you like them as well. In other words, you’re not alone!

My top 4 guys to stack: Joey Votto, Jose Peraza, Scott Schebler and Adam Duvall.

Nick Rodriguez

Happy Monday everyone! We have Coors on today’s slate, but interestingly enough there are plenty of other stacking options to target today. So lets dive right into the picks!

 
Pitchers

Jake Arrieta FD 10900 DK 12300
Opponent – PIT (Cole) Park – @CHC
FD – 40.67 DK – 26.5

Jake Arrieta is pitching at home ladies and gentlemen! He’s a different animal when pitching at home, so go ahead and give him a shot in tournaments.

On the year, Arrieta has been killing it at Wrigley. He’s boasting a 2.18 ERA to go along with a 3.37 xFIP and 29.6 K%. Not only are those numbers mind-blowing, but opponents are also hitting .180 against him (not a typo). Opponents aren’t even hitting .200! I guess it’s safe to say you can never go wrong with this ace when he’s on the bump at Wrigley.

Not only does he have the ballpark in his favor, but he’ll also be going up against the Pirates. Yes, the Pirates are in the playoff hunt, but they have been struggling to get anything going offensively. In their last 14 games, they own a .303 wOBA (24th in MLB) along with a .138 ISO (25th in MLB). They haven’t gotten the bats going and I expect Arrieta to give us another Arrieta outing.

Carlos Martinez FD 9700 DK 10300
Opponent – MIL (Davies) Park – @MIL
FD – 33.46 DK – 21.87

A lot of high priced studs on the mound today, but if you’re looking for a cheaper option, then Martinez is your guy. Martinez and the Cardinals will be taking on the Brewers, who are one of the worst teams in the league against northpaws. The Brewers possess a .311 wOBA (23rd in MLB) and a 25.4 K% (highest in MLB) against right-handed pitchers. Martinez has a ton of upside today, as the Brewers fan a ton, which is why he’s an excellent play in all formats.

Stacks

Toronto Blue Jays vs. Wade Miley (BAL)

The Blue Jays have just been killin’ it as of late! They own a .227 ISO (2nd in MLB) and a .364 wOBA (1st in MLB) in their last 14 contests. They are crushing the baseball and making pitchers look like little leaguers out there, so why wouldn’t you stack this offense in the mlb optimizer? When they are hot, they are hard to stop!

Not only has the baseball looked like a watermelon for this Jays’ squad, but they also draw a beautiful matchup against southpaw Wade Miley. This season, Miley is sporting a 5.51 ERA along with a 1.43 WHIP. He has struggled mightily this season and I expect him to have another rough outing against [Dong]aldson and company.

My top 4 guys to stack: Edwin Encarnacion, Jose Bautista, Josh Donaldson and Melvin Upton.

Washington Nationals vs. Jake Thompson (PHI)

One offense that isn’t as sneaky and I expect big things from are the Nationals. They will be going up against a rookie, who has struggled mightily. He owns a 9.78 ERA in 19 innings of work and a 40% hard contact rate. He’s been hit extremely hard and has not had it go his way, so I’m expecting the Nats’ to put on a show today. Sure, you can argue that Thompson’s sample size is too small, but the Nats’ have been hot (.347 wOBA last 14) and it’s kind of hard not to go against a guy who has given up a hard contact rate of 40%. By all possible measures, the dude looks shaken up.

My top 4 guys to stack: Trea Turner, Bryce Harper, Jason Werth and Daniel Murphy.

Chris Durell

TGIF! Welcome back to another exciting night of daily fantasy baseball. After several days of split slates we have a full 15 game main slate that will get started at 7 PM tonight. Looking at the pitching we have four aces on the mound with a nice mix value options that will help us fill our lineups with some bats in tournaments. Let’s take a look at a couple pitchers and a few stacking options.

Pitchers

Chris Sale FD 10700 DK 11700
Opponent – SEA (Hernandez) Park – @CHW
FD – 35.72 DK – 23.76

This could have easily had the lowest Vegas total of the day with two aces going head to head. I side with Sale in this matchup as the White Sox come in as early -125 home favorites as they have been hot, winning four of their last five games. Chris Sale has been one of the few bright spots for the team this year despite seeing a decline in his K rate overall but appears to have turned it around. In four August starts Sale has only picked up one win, no fault of his own, as he has pitched to a 3.67 xFIP with a 9.71 K/9 rate while walking under two batters per nine. The Mariners rank as one of the best teams when facing right handed pitching but somewhat struggle against southpaws as they rank 18th in wOBA with a 21.1% strikeout rate. Sale is safe in all formats today and may lean as a better GPP option in the mlb optimizer on DK.

David Phelps FD 7000 DK 8700
Opponent – SD (Cosart) Park – @MIA
FD – 31.47 DK – 20.65

Phelps has spent almost the entire season coming out of the bullpen and has been quite impressive with a 3.33 xFIP and 11.43 K.9 rate. The Marlins decided at the start of August to give him a shot in the rotation and could not have asked for better results. In four starts he has a 1.31 ERA which is supported by a low 2.78 xFIP. He has kept his K rate north of 11 K’s per nine while dealing over 50% ground balls. He has now won two straight starts in Cincinnati and Pittsburgh while striking out 17 batters in 11.1 innings pitched. Look for the trend to continue as Phelps gets the top matchup of the day vs. the Padres who rank dead last in wOBA and wRC+ against right handed pitching with a 24.7% strikeout rate. With his upside and low salary he is by far the top PTS/$ play at the position today.

Stacks
Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Brandon Finnegan (Reds)
Park – Chase Field

Chase Field has been a top 5 hitters park all season and will get another matchup with a Vegas total of 10 or greater. I would put my money on the Over today as the Reds come to town and will put lefty Brandon Finnegan on the mound in game one. Even with the positive stretch recently it has been a struggle this season for Finnegan who is pitching to an awful 5.11 xFIP and comes in with a below average K rate(6.73 K/9) and sky high walk rate(4.45 BB/9). Things won’t get any easier today facing the D Backs who rank #1 overall in wOBA and #2 overall in wRC+ against left handed pitching. The top options to stack today in this order are Paul Goldschmidt, Jean Segura, Wellington Castillo, Rickie Weeks and Yasmany Tomas if he is back in the starting lineup tonight.

Toronto Blue Jays vs. Pat Dean (Twins)
Park – Rogers Centre

The Jays are in a terrific spot on Friday night as they will face a weak southpaw in Rogers Centre. Pat Dean has been back and forth between the rotation and bullpen this season as the Twins try and get the rookie comfortable in the majors. His last start came back on June 17th where he only lasted 2.1 innings vs. the Yankees giving up seven earned runs on eight hits while not striking out one batter. In his six starts this season he has disappointed with a 4.83 K/9 rate, below average K rate(6.1 K/9) and high walk rate(3.77 BB/9). The Jays continue to crush left handed pitching and have several hitters who are great stacking options tonight. It starts with the reigning American League MVP Josh Donaldson. After that you can take you pick between Jose Bautista, Troy Tulowitzki, Russell Martin and even Edwin Encarnacion who has has reverse splits but has been red hot and is at the top of most offensive categories.

Chris Durell

Welcome back to another full day of daily fantasy baseball. It’s Hump Day and that means another split slate. The early slate gives us five games (only four on DraftKings) leaving us with a  nice 10 game evening slate that kicks off at 7:00 PM et.  Both slates look very viable today when looking at both pitchers and stacks. Let’s take a look a few top targets for each slate.

Pitchers

Kyle Hendricks FD 9200 DK 12900
Opponent – SD (Clemens) Park – @SD
FD – 37.02 DK – 24.12

If you are playing the early slate, and I highly suggest you do, Kyle Hendricks is your top option. The Cubs are big -250 favorites as they will try to sweep the Padres in Petco today. Hendricks has been good all season for the Cubs and even better lately with a 1.23 ERA in four August starts. He should have no problem cruising through the Padres lineup as they rank dead last in wOBA and second last in wRC+ when facing right handed pitching. Hendricks is safe option for cash games and has shown us the upside to be a viable option in GPP’s as well. I’m confident locking him in the mlb optimizer for several lineups in any contest format.

Zack Greinke FD 10000 DK 9600
Opponent – ATL (Teheran) Park – @ARI
FD – 32.67 DK – 21.66

Jose Fernandez and Yu Darvish both make great high end options on both sites with their respective K upside and matchups. But if you are looking for a viable pivot, take a shot with Zack Greinke. The park(Chase Field) isn’t the most appealing but the matchup is very appealing. He faces the Braves today who rank 29th in wOBA and 30th in wRC+ against right handed pitching. I am taking the Braves latest scoring surge with a grain of salt today as they have been facing the D Backs weaker arms. Outside of a few bad starts, Greinke has been solid this season with an above average K rate(7.84 K/9) and below average walk rate(1.74 BB/9) to go with his 3.67 xFIP. And of course, we know what he is capable of when he turns it on. He is a little over priced on FanDuel but is safe in all formats on DraftKings.

Stacks

Chicago Cubs vs. Paul Clemens (Padres)
Park – Petco Park
The early slate has Cubs written all over it. I mentioned Hendricks above as a top pitcher and the offense sits as a top stacking option as well. The Cubs are big -250 favorites and currently projected to score over five runs today. While Petco is known to be a pitchers park, the offense and the matchup are just too much to ignore. The Cubs will face Paul Clemens who has bounced between the bullpen and rotation this season and has not been very good with a 5.72xFIP and 20% HR/FB rate. He has struggled against both sides of the plate but especially against right handed bats as he is giving up a .434 wOBA and a .655 Slugging Percentage. The Cubs are loaded from top to bottom making almost all their hitters viable as stack options in the mlb optimizer. It will all depend on the lineup and where everyone is hitting today. Keep an eye on our mlb starting lineups page.

Minnesota Twins vs. Matt Boyd (Tigers)
Park – Target Field

The Twins make an excellent stacking option tonight as they face the Tigers at home in the highest projected Vegas total of the night. They will most likely be under owned as they are not your typical power offense but they do rank as a Top 10 option when facing left handed pitching with a 103 wRC+ for the season. They will face Matt Boyd who has been on cruise control lately but still has been disappointing overall with a 4.75 xFIP. He comes with just an average K rate(7.47 K/9) and can get into trouble with walks on occasion(3.01 BB/9). He tends to run his pitch count up early in most starts which limits him from going deep into games which also boosts the Twins as the Tigers relievers rank 24th in ERA overall. The top targets in the optimizer are Brian Dozier, Miguel Sano and Trevor Plouffe.

Nick Rodriguez

It’s Tuesday and we have a full 15-game slate on our hands today. We have aces on the bump as well as some nice stacking options. So lets get to it.

 
Pitching Targets

Jake Arrieta FD 11000 DK 12500
Opponent – SD (Friedrich) Park – @SD
FD – 42.39 DK – 27.66

Arrieta is our cash game play of the day. He draws an elite matchup going up against the Padres, at Petco, certainly a pitcher friendly park. On the year, the Padres have struggled against right-handed pitching. They own a 24.5 K% along with a .293 wOBA. They have struggled against righties, and going up against one of the top righties in the game today certainly won’t help. Arrieta owns a 26.0 K% on the year, so he has a ton of upside, especially against the Padres. Yes, he’s expensive, but he’s worth the investment.

Carlos Rodon FD 8100 DK 8600
Opponent – PHI (Thompson) Park – @CHW
FD – 22.26 DK – 16.69

If you’re looking to be different and don’t want to pay up for Arrieta, then take a look at Rodon. He is a streaky pitcher, but we’re to see the [good] Rodon today.

Today, he draws a nice matchup against a Phillies offense that has struggled against southpaws this season. They own a .113 ISO (28th in MLB), .288 wOBA (29th in MLB) and 22.8 K% (6th in MLB). Not only do they struggle hitting for power, but they also do a lot of fanning. This matchup gives Rodon some serious upside, so I’d go ahead and put him in the optimizer for your GPP lineups.

Stack Targets
Chicago Cubs vs. Christian Friedrich (SD)
The same thing applies for these guys today: If you can afford them; do it.

Today, the Cubs will be going up against Christian Friedrich. He owns an xFIP of 4.82 to go along with a 1.46 WHIP. The Cubs own the highest wOBA against southpaws on the year, so it only makes sense to stack them against Friedrich. It will be interesting to see how their ownership percentages look tonight, but if I can’t roster four guys, I’ll try to do a few stacks in the optimizer.

My top 4 guys to stack: Ben Zobrist, Addison Russell, Dexter Fowler and Kris Bryant**

St. Louis Cardinals vs. Jon Niese(MIL)
The Cubs are sure pricey, so another team that I am looking to stack on today’s slate are the Cardinals. They will be going up against Jon Niese, who has an ERA and FIP well over five. Jon Niese has had his struggles this season, so I’m looking for the Cardinals to take advantage.

Not only has Niese had his struggles, but the Cardianls’ offense has also been hot. In their last 14 contests, they own a .349 wOBA along with a .241 ISO (highest in MLB). They have been on an absolute tear as a team, so stacking them against Niese makes a lot of sense to me.

My top 4 guys to stack: Brandon Moss, Tommy Pham, Stephen Piscotty and Jedd Gyorko.

Nick Rodriguez

It’s Monday again – but at least we have some baseball to watch and daily fantasy baseball to play! With no Coors to consider, here are my top pitchers and stacks for tonight’s slate.

 
Pitching Targets

Jon Lester FD 11000 DK 12500
Opponent – SD (Jackson) Park – @SD
FD – 37.8 DK – 24.59

Jon Lester is a chalky play tonight! He’s a heavy favorite (-230 money line) and will be pitching at pitcher-friendly Petco Park. This matchup is as good as it gets. He’s a heavy favorite, facing a team that’s top 5 in K% and going up against a team that owns a .298 wOBA (28th in MLB) in their last 30 contests. There’s really nothing more you can ask for. So yes, Lester is in play in our optimizer for all formats tonight.

David Price FD 10000 DK 11000
Opponent – TB (Snell) Park – @TB
FD – 38.78 DK – 25.69

Jon Lester is a clear-cut cash game play of the day, but there is another intriguing option that I like for tournaments. David Price.

David Price has had another David Price year. Sure, his ERA is 4.19, but his peripherals suggest that he’s having another great year. He’s sporting a 3.42 xFIP, to go along with a 24.0 K% and 3.54 SIERA. Not only is he cheaper than Lester, but he also draws a matchup that could make him the pitcher with the most fantasy point on the night.

Today, he’s going back home! He will be pitching at pitcher-friendly Tropicana Park, to take on the Rays. On the year, the Rays haven’t been all that great against southpaws. They’re sporting a .315 wOBA (22nd in MLB) and a 98 wRC+ (19th in MLB). Not only have they had some trouble against southpaws, but they also own a whooping 25.5 K% (highest in MLB) against them. This matchup sets Price up to do a whole lot of fanning, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he hit double-digit strikeout numbers tonight. He’s an excellent GPP play.

Stack Targets
Chicago Cubs vs. Edwin Jackson (SD)

What more could you ask for? One of the best offenses in the league will be going up against Edwin Jackson and his 5.41 xFIP? Maybe a cheaper price tag, but [wow] they are in an excellent spot.

The ballpark isn’t ideal, but we know what this offense is capable of. Plus, it’s Edwin Jackson we’re talking about. He owns a 1.51 WHIP on the year, to go along with a 10.6 BB% and 5.36 ERA. It will be tough salary-wise to go with a full-on Cubs stack, but if you’re going with a cheaper pitching option — the Cubs look great tonight.

My top 4 guys to stack: Ben Zobrist, Anthony Rizzo, Dexter Fowler and Kris Bryant**

Colorado Rockies vs. Jimmy Nelson(MIL)

This game might not be at Coors, but I still like a Rockies stack tonight. They will be going up against Jimmy Nelson, who has struggled this season. He’s very similar to Edwin Jackson: The walks are high as well as his WHIP. The only difference is that Nelson’s ERA and xFIP are lower than Jackson’s.

While this game might not be taking place at Coors, it’s still at a hitter-friendly park. Nelson has given up six runs in four out of his last five outings, so look for the Rockies to pounce on the struggling right-hander.

My top 4 guys to stack: D.J. LeMahieu, Carlos Gonzalez, Nolan Arenado and David Dahl.

Blake Pender

Hey Everyone!

It has been an awesome summer with several users taking down huge 1st place and top 10 finishes in MLB. But fall is approaching and we are itching for some DFS Football!

Lineup Lab’s NFL lineup optimizer and player finding tools are light years ahead compared to last season. The features are now truly too long to list, but the core rationale is still there: quality algorithms, amazing projection partners, and total commitment to feedback. We work extremely closely with everyone, from our users to our insanely awesome partners, to find every possible way to improve. There is no better feeling than writing a little code that makes someone say “WOW”.

This year, we are thrilled to be providing a ton of DFS-centric data like:

• Foundational Vegas data
• Defense vs Pass & Rush
• Defense vs Position
• Opposing Cornerback
• Redzone Opportunities
• Team Dependency (on the Player)
• Opponent’s Allowed Pace
• Trends on Touches (on the rise?)
• Trends on Targets
• Trends in Snaps
• Dependency on TD’s for Fantasy Points
• Are you getting excited yet?

Alright enough blabber. You can check out our video tutorial here or just head to the tool if you are bored at work. And of course, for those of you who are already familiar with Lineup Lab, you can check out our pro subscriptions here.

Good Luck this Season!

Blake

P.S. And if you are looking for the optimizer tutorials, please head over here.