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Daily Fantasy Baseball Stacks for 09/09/2017

*Mike Barner*

Daily Fantasy Baseball Stacks – Saturday, September 9

This can be a tricky time of the year for MLB DFS as September call ups can create some uncertainty for your entry. Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Put your favorite daily fantasy baseball stacks from the article below in our lineup optimizer and hit calculate. You can let it fill in the rest of the spots for you or choose your personal favorites from the MLB Player Lab.

 

**STARTING PITCHERS**

Chris Sale vs. Tampa Bay Rays
Park – Fenway Park

Sale has hit a bit of a rough patch lately as he allowed at least three runs and failed to pitch more than 4.1 innings in two of his last three starts. His season numbers are still excellent overall as he is 15-7 with 2.85 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and 270 strikeouts in 189.2 innings. He’ll likely set a new career-high in strikeouts Saturday as his previous high for a single season was 274 in 2015. Don’t read too much into his recent struggles as they came against the Cleveland Indians (who have given him trouble this year) and the New York Yankees. This is a favorable match up against the Rays as he is 3-1 with a 2.48 ERA, 0.69 WHIP and has 49 strikeouts in 29 innings against them this season. Pay up for Sale and enjoy the dominance.

Jeff Samardzija vs. Chicago White Sox
Park – Guaranteed Rate Field

Samardzija’s overall numbers this season are average as he is 9-12 with a 4.31 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 184 strikeouts in 183.2 innings. He has pitched very well lately though as he has allowed two runs over his last three starts combined. He is quality start machine as he has seven in his last eight starts. The White Sox don’t have a scary offense and entered Friday with a .246 batting average at home, fourth worst in all of baseball. Look for Samardzija to at least come away with another quality start in this contest.

**OFFENSIVE STACKS**

Seattle Mariners vs. Andrew Heaney (Los Angeles Angels)
Park – Safeco Field

Heaney missed most of the season due to injury and has struggled in four starts since his return, posting a 6.98 ERA, 1.55 WHIP and 24 strikeouts in 19.1 innings. One of the main reasons for his struggles is that he has already allowed a staggering 11 home runs. To put that into perspective, Yankees starting pitcher Sonny Gray has only allowed 13 home runs in 139.2 innings this season. This is not a good match up for Heaney Saturday as he takes on a Mariners team that has some powerful bats in the middle of their lineup. Be sure to take advantage of this opportunity.

Players to consider stacking: Nelson Cruz, Kyle Seager and Jean Segura

Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Jhoulys Chacin (San Diego Padres)
Park – Chase Field

Chacin has put together a decent season on a terrible team as he is 12-10 with a 3.96 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 132 strikeouts in 159 innings. He’s actually been on a hot streak of late as he has allowed two runs or less in four of his last five starts. However, this is a very poor match up Saturday against a Diamondbacks team who entered Friday with a .273 batting average at home. Chacin has also been terrible on the road this season as he has a 6.96 ERA and 1.67 WHIP away from Petco Park. Make sure to fill your lineup with Diamondbacks as this could be an ugly afternoon for Chacin.

Players to consider stacking: J.D. Martinez, A.J. Pollock and Ketel Marte 

DraftKings FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks for September 8, 2017

*Chris Durell*

DraftKings / FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks for September 8, 2017

Welcome back for another night of daily fantasy baseball. Thursday brings us a smaller eight-game slate but is not short on elite pitching or top bats in great spots. Let’s dig in and take a look at a couple of the top pitchers and stacking options.

Starting Pitchers

DraftKings FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks - Max Scherzer - Lineuplab
Max Scherzer
Opponent – vs. PHI
Park – Nationals Park(Neutral)

Scherzer will be back on the mound after leaving early last Saturday’s game when he was hit in the calf muscle with a line drive. He played catch and Tuesday and was pain-free after a bullpen session on Wednesday so there is no need to worry about it at this point. That is good news as he has been elite all season with a 2.19 ERA, 12.1 K/9 rate and crazy 15.7% swinging strike rate. Scherzer also gets a top matchup vs. the Phillies who rank near the bottom in almost all offensive categories vs. right-handed pitching including wOBA(.311), wRC+(89), and K rate(23.7%). Roll him out with confidence in all formats.

Luke Weaver
Opponent – vs. PIT
Park – Busch Stadium(Pitchers Park)

Kid’s got game. In nine appearances(8 starts) last season, Weaver showed his huge upside with an 11.2 K/9 rate but struggled to keep the ball down and in the park(30.7% GB rate). In eight appearances(5 starts) this season, he has shown the same upside(11.3 K/9) but has seen his ERA drop over three runs and it has to with him now generating over 50% ground balls. This makes him a near elite DFS option in the right matchups and he gets that tonight as the Pirates have actually ranked worse than the aforementioned Phillies. He makes an excellent SP2 option on DraftKings or GPP option on FanDuel if you are loading up on bats.

 

Top Stacks

DraftKings FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks - Jose Ramirez - Lineup Lab
Hard to fade the hottest team in baseball when looking at DFS from a stacking perspective. They picked up their 14th straight win on Wednesday (writing this before Thurs night game) and during that streak have scored an average of 6.9 runs per game. Three players (Jose Ramirez, Carlos Santana, Francisco Lindor) have hit 5+ home runs in the last 14 days and four players (add Roberto Perez) have double-digit RBI. They crush left-handed pitching and get a plus matchup vs. a weaker one in Wade Miley who has posted a 4.91 ERA, 4.56 xFIP, and a 17.5% HR/FB rate this season.

For value tonight, I will be leaning on the New York Mets who despite all the injuries have ranked in the upper half of the league in wOBA/wRC+ over the last 14 days. They don’t have the most talented roster which will leave them low owed and they also get a great matchup. Amir Garrett will be taking the ball for the Reds after being recalled on Tuesday. Before his demotion in late June, he was an absolute gas can with a 7.41 ERA and 27.5% HR/FB rate over 12 starts.

Thank you for reading and if you have any questions as lineup lock approaches please contact me via Twitter (@Jager_Bombs9)

DraftKings FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks for September 7, 2017

*Chris Durell*

DraftKings / FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks for September 7, 2017

Welcome back for another night of daily fantasy baseball. Thursday brings us a smaller eight-game slate but is not short on elite pitching or top bats in great spots. Let’s dig in and take a look at a couple of the top pitchers and stacking options.

Starting Pitchers

Lineuplab - DraftKings FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks - Corey Kluber

Corey Kluber
Opponent – @CWS
Park – Gauranteed Rate Field(Neutral)
Vegas Favorite (CLE -250)
Vegas Total (7.5)

The decision at the top tonight is clearly between Corey Kluber and Clayton Kershaw. For me, it’s easy as Kershaw is likely to be on a pitch count still as the Dodgers have no reason to risk their ace with an 11.5 game lead in the National League West. I mean, sure Kershaw looked good in his last start but for the price it is hard to justify a 20%-30% decrease in innings pitched. For Kluber, his dominance continues as he has held opponents to two or fewer earned runs in four straight and 12 of his last 15 starts. He already elite K upside(11.85 K/9 & 15.8% swinging strike rate) gets a boost tonight facing one of the worst offenses in baseball in the White Sox. They rank 27th overall in runs scored and 28th in wOBA and wRC+ vs. right-handed pitchers. For those of you looking at the game logs, he has faced the White Sox three times this year and despite giving up seven earned runs has struck out 29 White Sox batters. Load up in all formats.

Tyler Mahle
Opponent – @ NYM
Park – Citi Field(Pitchers Park)
Vegas Favorite (CIN -110)
Vegas Total (9.0)

If you are planning on using Kluber or Kershaw or even Lester on a short slate, you are going to need to take a risk with your SP2. Enter rookie Tyler Mahle of the Reds who isn’t going to give us a ton of upside with strikeouts but can provide just enough value at his low price to make him a top SP2 tonight. He has faced the Pirates in both of his starts and after getting into some trouble with four walks and three earned runs the first time around, he looked better in the second start allowing just five hits, no earned runs and most importantly he didn’t walk anyone. He now faces a Braves team that sits in the bottom third in runs scored overall and wOBA and wRC+ vs. right-handed pitching. If he can once again keep the walks down I can see him going 5+ innings and more than that helps us get some top bats in our lineups with an elite arm.

Top Stacks

Lineuplab.com - DraftKings FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks - Francisco Lindor

From a stacking perspective tonight, there are some hot teams that are in fantastic spots and it starts with the Cleveland Indians. They have been the hottest team in the league over the last 14 days(going into Weds night) winning 13 straight games and have led the league in wOBA(.400), wRC+(150), ISO(.249), and runs scored(94). They face off against Carlos Rodon who has been better lately allowing more than two earned runs just once in his last seven starts but continues to walk too many(4.02 BB/9) and has only struck out more than four once in his last five starts. I tend to lean the way of the hot team over the over performing pitcher. My top hitters are Francisco Lindor, Edwin, Encarnacion, Jose Ramirez, and Carlos Santana.

The other hot team in a great spot tonight is the Minnesota Twins. They aren’t too far off the Indians over the last two weeks with the 7th best wOBA(.343), 8th best wRC+(111), and 5th best ISO(.218). They will face newly acquired Sam Gaviglio who has been awful for the Mariners all season making 11 starts with a 4.62 ERA, 4.99 xFIP and has given up at least one home run in 10 of those starts. The only knock on this stack is the park as Kauffman Stadium is a Top 10 pitchers park but the price and possible ownership gap between them and the Indians make it worth the risk.

 

Thank you for reading and if you have any questions as lineup lock approaches please contact me via Twitter (@Jager_Bombs9)

MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Lineup Stacks for September 6, 2017

*Austyn Varney*

MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Lineup Stacks – Wednesday, September 6, 2017

*STARTING PITCHERS*

MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Lineup Stacks - Lineuplab.com

Carlos Carrasco @ Chicago White Sox
Park – Guaranteed Rate Field
Opp implied total – 3.20

A lot of people were on Danny Salazar last night, who didn’t even get out of the 1st inning against these same White Sox. He just wasn’t on his pitches and as soon as the bullpen came in the Sox got shut down. If Salazar was at all on his game, he would have shut them down. Carlos Carrasco is also a step up from Salazar, who is a bit more volatile. Carrasco will typically give you a guaranteed 6 innings and 7 strikeouts, while Salazar will be up and down all year long. Carrasco has posted a .288 combined wOBA on the season and has backed it up with some fantastic peripherals. He’s striking out 10.2 batters per 9 innings while walking just 2.19, giving him his personal career best K: BB. Carrasco is an elite pitcher any way you look at it and his opponent is extremely weak. The White Sox have ranked in the bottom 5 in every offensive category since the ASB. Jose Abreu is the only real bat in the order and Carrasco should be able to deal with him with ease. He’s the top play in cash games and it’s not too close at all, at least in my book.

Kenta Maeda Vs Arizona Diamondbacks
Park – Dodger Stadium
Vegas O/U – 3.70

After Carrasco, there is a ginormous drop to the 2nd guy(s). I’m not exactly sure who ends up being highly owned out of this 2nd tier, but it could be Kenta Maeda for cash games. To be clear, I don’t like him in tournaments as I can’t see the Dodgers letting him eclipse 90-1000 pitches. With that being said, it could very well be enough for a cash game at his price. He faces off with the Diamondbacks, who are a good offense, but they outside of Chase Field and even more so in pitcher-friendly parks. The 2 bats to be most wary of are Jake Lamb and David Peralta. Maeda is a bit worse against lefties (.318 wOBA), so he could have some trouble with those guys. On the flip side, his numbers against righties (.264 wOBA) are fantastic. The majority of this D-Backs lineup will be right-handed and we know they can strike out with the best of them. Vegas has a 3.70 implied total and Maeda should end up as one of the more conservative

*OFFENSIVE STACKS*

MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Lineup Stacks - Lineuplab.com

Cleveland Indians @ Reynaldo Lopez (White Sox)
Park – Guaranteed Rate Field
Implied Total – 5.80

The Chicago White Sox rotation is just 1 big pitching machine with legs. The IQ seems non-existent if you watch and they go through putrid starters like they’re easy to come by. Reynaldo Lopez, in particular, is pretty bad. He’s just 23-years-old and walked 4.50 batters per 9 in AAA. He’s obviously not ready for the majors just yet and it’ll be a few years until we get there. The Indians are one of the most dangerous offenses and one of the most difficult to contain. Guaranteed Rate Field is small and the Indians should put up plenty of runs. The cream of the crop is Jose Ramirez and the 1 1B. they all destroy righties and have more than enough HR upside. After that, you can go anywhere. Vegas has the Indians implied at 5.80 runs, which is the highest outside of Coors Field. I like Jay Bruce a lot, actually, as he’s struggled lately and should go low-owned. He sets up well for Lopez and could send a heater back where it came from. The rest of the order has upside, but not to the point where you need to reach.

Main Stack – Edwin Encarnacion, Austin Jackson, Jose Ramirez, Francisco Lindor
Sneaky Stack – Jose Ramirez, Edwin Encarnacion, Jay Bruce, Francisco Lindor

Texas Rangers @ Julio Teheran
Park – SunTrust Park
Implied Total – 4.74

For a larger slate, there aren’t many great teams to stack. Sure, you can go into Coors Field and get a team with a 6.5 implied total, but good luck paying for anyone else, including your pitcher. It’s not necessarily a bad strategy, but I’d rather pay up for safety in my arms and find a cheaper offense that can put up similar production. Here we have the Texas Rangers, facing off with predictable righty Julio Teheran. Teheran has allowed a .335 wOBA against lefties and nearly a 2 HR/9. He calls in the Rangers to SunTrust Park, which has been a top 7 park for lefty power on the season. We all know the Rangers have plenty of that. The first guy that sticks out is Joey Gallo. Gallo is my pick for HR of the night and I wouldn’t have a Rangers stack without him. The rest of the lefties (Choo, Mazara, Odor) are the way to go in cash games. In tournaments, feel free to throw a righty in there and hope for some production off the bench. Either way, I don’t see the Rangers walking away with less than 2 dingers in this contest.

Main Stack – Shin-Soo Choo, Nomar Mazara, Elvis Andrus, Joey Gallo
Sneaky Stack – Nomar Mazara, Joey Gallo, Rougned Odor, Robinson Chirinos/strong>

 

MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Lineup Stacks for September 5, 2017

*Austyn Varney*

MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Lineup Stacks – Tuesday, September 5, 2017

*STARTING PITCHERS*

MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Lineup Stacks - New York Mets - Lineuplab.com

Jacob DeGrom Vs Philadelphia Phillies
Park – Citi Field
Opp implied total – 3.31

When I first looked at this slate, Jacob DeGrom immediately stuck out to me as the top option. When deciding whether or not to play DeGrom, this first thing I look at is if he’s at home. In Citi Field, DeGrom has sported a .276 wOBA, compared to the .308 on the road. He’s also held lefties and righties to a combined .246 wOBA and 10 K/9. He’s dotted the edges extremely well over his last few starts, striking out 23 to just 2 walks. DeGrom has slipped with injuries this year, but he’s still one of the brightest young arms in baseball. His velocity is as high as ever and his change-up has induced an incredible 52% GB rate. He faces off with the Phillies tonight, which doesn’t need much explanation. They’ve posted a .286 wOBA against Phillies in the last 2 months and only have a few guys who deserve to be in a major league lineup. They strikeout close to 25% of the time and make hard contact just 24%. They also move from Citizens Bank Park (top 10) to Citi Field (23rd for hitting). DeGrom should have an extremely solid performance tonight and I’m a big fan in both cash games and tournaments.

Danny Salazar @ Chicago White Sox
Park – Guaranteed Rate Field
Vegas O/U – 3.62

At this point in the season, there’s a whole lot of attacking offenses. We have a few offenses in the league that stand out as being far worse than the field. The White Sox are certainly in that grouping. Jose Abreu is the only hitter to be afraid of and to be honest, I’m not that worried against a righty with one of the more devastating sliders around. The rest of the order is pretty garbage, with guys like Yolmer Sanchez and Matt Davidson surrounding Abreu. Looking further down the lineup may induce some gag reflex, so be cautious. Guys like Rob Brantly and Adam Engel are AA talent hitters that are pretty solid in the field. Good thing that doesn’t matter in the slightest. As for Danny Salazar, you know what you’re going to get. He is predictably unpredictable. No matter the opponent, Salazar can b one of the more frustrating pitchers to watch. I can vividly remember multiple occasions of wanting to pull my hair out as Salazar walks the pitcher or goes 3-0 to a catcher in the 8 hole. On the other side of things, he can be one of the more rewarding pitchers to have. Those same memories are matched by Salazar on the mound, dicing and dealing for 7-9 innings of no-run baseball. He has been dominant against both sides of the plate this year and has held a K rate over 10. He has one of the best match-ups he’ll see al year, so if his stuff is on, you will see 7+ innings and 10+ strikeouts. If he’s off, there’s no telling when the wheels will fall off. You will know by the 2nd inning.

*OFFENSIVE STACKS*

MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Lineup Stacks - Cleveland Indians - Lineuplab.com

Cleveland Indians @ David Holmberg (White Sox)
Park – Guaranteed Rate Field
Implied Total – 6.11

We’ll stick right in Chicago here with the Indians, who are facing off with David Holmberg and have the highest Vegas O/U outside of Coors on the day. it only makes sense when you look at the match-up. David Holmberg has struggled (.341 wOBA) against both sides of the plate since coming up and a .250 BABIP just tells me some more impending doom is on the way. To put it simply, the Indians aren’t a team to mess with. You won’t go out and throw weird pitches that get them to chase. They will happily walk all night long and wait for some in the zone. The targets are pretty obvious but you will have to choose between Encarnacion and Santana. I personally prefer Encarnacion against a lefty, due to Santana being far better against righties. Jose Ramirez and Francisco Lindor are also locks and I wouldn’t consider an Indians stack without either. After that, you can go anywhere. Austin Jackson is actually the guy I have a lot of interest in, as he hits lefties well and should go relatively ignored.

Main Stack – Edwin Encarnacion, Austin Jackson, Jose Ramirez, Francisco Lindor
Sneaky Stack – Jose Ramirez, Edwin Encarnacion, Jay Bruce, Francisco Lindor

Colorado Rockies Vs Ty Blach (Giants)
Park – Coors Field
Implied Total – 6.38

I know, you can’t get any more obvious than this. Truth be told, I’m not a huge fan of stacking any other teams than the 2 we’re touching on. I like mixing and matching in tournaments today and there are quite a few options I like across the board on different teams. As for the Rockies, they could easily put up double digits tonight. Ty Blach is a left-handed pitcher that fully relies on the ballpark to save him. He strikes out just over 3 (YES, 3!) batters per 9 innings and has a GB rate that doesn’t do much. In turn, he is giving up more fly-balls than any other pitcher. In the spacious AT&T Park, it’s perfect. it takes a tank to get one over the wall. With this move into Coors Field, the same cannot be said. Those same routing flyouts to left field are going to be 10 rows deep in CoorLiterallyitterally. This Rockies team can certainly hit lefties and there are a few guys that have to be licking their chops. My 2 favorites are Nolan Arenado and Trevor Story. I know Story might sound a bit crazy, but listen. He strikes out about 100% of the time and hits an HR the rest. Against Blach, those K numbers fall dramatically. When you can guarantee me a guy with 52% hard contact against lefties is going to see at last 2 at-bats with contact, I’ll take it. The rest of the order is pretty spread out and you can go wherever you’d like. Charlie Blackmon isn’t a must, but he will likely see some righties out of the pen, so don’t count on him busting.

Main Stack – Nolan Arenado, Charlie Blackmon, Mark Reynolds, Ian Desmond
Sneaky Stack – Nolan Arenado, Mark Reynolds, Trevor Story, Jonathan Lucroy

 

MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Lineup Stacks for September 4, 2017

*Austyn Varney*

MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Lineup Stacks – Monday, September 4, 2017

*STARTING PITCHERS*

MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Lineup Stacks -- Jake-Arrieta-DFS-MLB-Lineup-Picks

Jake Arrieta @ Pittsburgh Pirates
Park – PNC Park
Opp implied total – 3.59

When we step back and look at this day as a whole, we have an early/main slate and a late slate. Both of them stink at pitching, but the earlier slate is a bit friendlier. You have a few guys to choose from, with Jake Arrieta coming out as the top option. Now it may be a bit too soon to speak, but the old Jake “The Snake” Arrieta may be back. He’s allowed just 4 runs over his last 4 starts and has struck out 24. He’s still holding an elite .287 combined wOBA and striking out around 9 batters per 9 innings. He moves into PNC Park and faces off with a very underwhelming offense against righties. They’ve posted the league’s 3rd worst wOBA against them on the year at .306. The game is also in PNC Park, which is the 4th hardest place to get a ball out for righties. Arrieta is a strong play in all formats and should be set for another solid performance.

Dallas Keuchel @ Seattle Mariners
Park – Safeco Field
Vegas O/U – 3.82

This night slate is a lot less forgiving in terms of pitching. After our top option in Dallas Keuchel, it gets extremely thin. When I say extremely thin, I mean basically nobody. Dallas Keuchel and the Astros travel to Seattle and will look to pick up a few easy wins. The first one will come against Erasmo Ramirez, who doesn’t have much of a shot against the Astros offense. Keuchel has been one of the better pitchers this season with a .233 combined wOBA and 8.23 K/9. He now moves into one of the friendliest ballparks in baseball for pitchers, Safeco Field. The Mainers are a much worse team against lefties, with Cano, Seager, Gamel, and Segura all considerably worse against them. There is still the danger of Nelson Cruz, but I’m assuming Keuchel will give him a few change-ups in the dirt and let him either strike out or walk to first. Let’s hope. If you don’t like Keuchel, well, too bad. Go complain to the baseball gods.

*OFFENSIVE STACKS*

MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Lineup Stacks - Jose Ramirez - Lineuplab.com Picks

Cleveland Indians @ James Shields (White Sox)
Park – Guaranteed Rate Field
Implied Total – 5.87

Every 5th day, we’re reminded that anyone can make an MLB roster if you were good at one point. That reminder comes in the flesh of James Shields. Shields, who continuously gets pummeled and is somehow still jogging out there and tossing it to the catcher. I don’t see a pride POV how he’s doing this, but I guess it’s the money. I can guarantee that in his interviews 10 years from now he will admit to not really caring at this point. It’s actually quite obvious by his reactions. He’s prone to giving up home runs and runs. Looking at his stats, he’s probably the worst pitcher in the game against lefties with a .424 wOBA and 15 home runs allowed in 45 innings. Yes, that’s a home run every 3 innings or a 3 HR/9. An average HR/9 is around 0.90. Getting to the Indians, we know they are a tough offense with a ton of options. Carlos Santana, Jose Ramirez, and Francisco Lindor stand out above the rest and are locks in any Indians stack I create. There are a few more interchangeable guys and it’ll just come down to the batting order and who sees a bump. Play the lefties.

Main Stack – Carlos Santana, Bradley Zimmer, Jose Ramirez, Francisco Lindor
Sneaky Stack – Jose Ramirez, Edwin Encarnacion, Jay Bruce, Francisco Lindor

Washington Nationals Vs Adam Conley (Marlins)
Park – Nationals Park
Implied Total – 5.11

This late slate has a few offenses you can stack, but the Nationals are my favorite and they will likely b e the most popular. Adam Conley is admittedly a fine pitcher, but he’s nothing special. He’s allowed a .330 wOBA against righties, though a .265 BABIP leaves that a bit worrisome. This Nationals offense is elite against lefties and it’s why they’re projected to put up nearly 5.5 runs. Anthony Rendon and Ryan Zimmerman are the top 2 options and I wouldn’t put a Nats stack together without either. You then get the 2 stud OF’s against lefties in Jayson Werth and Howie Kendrick. Both are in play as safe plays with plenty of upside. You may have to choose Trea Turner over one of them, however, as he will lead-off and be a big reason if they do have success. I prefer Werth, but you can go Kendrick with no qualms from me. All in all, this offense is going to put up some runs and they may break loose. You want exposure, even if it’s in a minute way. Personally, I’ll have a ton of ownership in the form of stacks.

Main Stack – Anthony Rendon, Ryan Zimmerman, Howie Kendrick, Trea Turner
Sneaky Stack – Anthony Rendon, Ryan Zimmerman, Wilmer Difo, Jayson Werth






Daily Fantasy Baseball Stacks for 09/03/2017

*Mike Barner*

Daily Fantasy Baseball Stacks – Sunday, September 3

Get ready for some high scoring games Sunday as there are some really bad pitchers scheduled to take the mound. Put your favorite daily fantasy baseball stacks from the article below in our lineup optimizer and hit calculate. You can let it fill in the rest of the spots for you or choose your personal favorites from the MLB Player Lab.

**STARTING PITCHERS**

Ervin Santana vs. Kansas City Royals
Park – Target Field

Santana has been excellent for the Twins this season as he is 14-7 with a 3.27 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and has 146 strikeouts in 176 innings. He is showing no signs of slowing down as he has recorded a quality start in five of his last six outings and has at least six strikeouts in each of his last seven starts. Sunday brings a favorable match up against a Royals offense that has been shut out in five of their last eight games. On a day filled with weak starting pitching, Santana should shine in this contest.

Josh Tomlin vs. Detroit Tigers
Park – Comerica Park

Tomlin will be making his first start in over a month after being sidelined with a hamstring injury. He wasn’t having a very good season before he was injured, going 7-9 with a 5.38 ERA, 1.30 WHIP and 86 strikeouts in 110.1 innings.  While his overall numbers are poor, he was showing signs of coming out of his funk as he allowed three runs or less in each of his last three starts before being injured. The main reason you can take a chance on Tomlin Sunday is because the Tigers offense is bad. After dismantling their team for prospects and salary relief, there are few potent bats left in their lineup. On a day without a ton of great options, Tomlin has potential.

**OFFENSIVE STACKS**

Chicago Cubs vs. Max Fried (Atlanta Braves)
Park – Wrigley Field

The Cubs enter Sunday on a seven-game winning streak, largely because of their offense. They have scored at least 14 runs three times in their last eight games and scored at least six runs 16 times in August. They face off against Fried who is making his first start of the season. In four relief appearances this season, he has a 5.40 ERA and 1.95 WHIP. He did make 19 starts at AA this season, but posted an ugly 5.92 ERA and 1.51 WHIP. Don’t expect him to be able to slow down the Cubs.

Players to consider stacking: Anthony Rizzo, Javier Baez and Ben Zobrist

Toronto Blue Jays vs. Chris Tillman (Baltimore Orioles)
Park – Oriole Park at Camden Yards

The fact that Tillman is still starting games for the Orioles shows just how much talent they lack in their organization. Tillman enters Sunday 1-7 with a 7.91 ERA, 1.95 WHIP and only 56 strikeouts in 79.2 innings. While he did serve a brief stint in the bullpen, he has started in 17 of his 19 appearances this season. While he has only pitched 79.2 innings, he has already allowed 20 home runs and has a 5.0 BB/9. Just about everywhere you look on the stat sheet is another ugly number for Tillman. Look for the Blue Jays offense to have a big performance in this game.

Players to consider stacking: Josh Donaldson, Justin Smoak and Kevin Pillar

 

Daily Fantasy Baseball Stacks for 09/02/2017

*Mike Barner*

Daily Fantasy Baseball Stacks – Saturday, September 2

Three elite pitchers will be taking the mound Saturday with Max Scherzer, Corey Kluber and Chris Archer all scheduled to start. Put your favorite daily fantasy baseball stacks from the article below in our lineup optimizer and hit calculate. You can let it fill in the rest of the spots for you or choose your personal favorites from the MLB Player Lab.

**STARTING PITCHERS**

Corey Kluber vs. Detroit Tigers
Park – Comerica Park

Kluber continues to dominate this season as he is 13-4 with a 2.63 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 215 strikeouts in 160.2 innings. He was even better in August, posting a 5-1 record to go along with a 1.96 ERA and a ridiculous 0.63 WHIP. This is an excellent match up for Kluber Saturday against a Detroit Tigers team that has waived the white flag and traded away some of their best players, including slugging outfielder Justin Upton. Expect him to take advantage of their compromised lineup and throw another gem in this contest.

Lance Lynn vs. San Francisco Giants
Park – AT&T Park

Lynn may not get a ton of notoriety outside of St. Louis, but he is having an excellent season as he is 10-6 with a 3.14 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 132 strikeouts in 157.2 innings. He has been a model of consistency lately as he has allowed two earned runs or less in 10 of his last 11 games. The Giants are not a very good offensive team and they entered Friday with a terrible .668 OPS at home, which is the lowest in baseball. Lynn won’t cost you much, but he looks primed for another big performance.

**OFFENSIVE STACKS**

Cleveland Indians vs. Jordan Zimmermann (Detroit Tigers)
Park – Comerica Park

Zimmermann is having the worst season of his career as he is 8-11 with a 6.08 ERA, 1.55 WHIP and only 94 strikeouts in 145 innings. He has been even worse lately, allowing seven runs in three of his last four starts. Zimmermann’s 5.8 K/9 and 11.4 H/9 are certainly not a receipt for success. In two starts against the Indians this season, Zimmermann went 0-2 with a 9.35 ERA and 1.73 WHIP. Make sure you take advantage of this lopsided match up and stack your entries with Indians hitters.

Players to consider stacking: Edwin Encarnacion, Francisco Lindor and Yan Gomes

Minnesota Twins vs. Onelki Garcia (Kansas City Royals)
Park – Target Field

Garcia had a rough outing in his only start of the season Sunday against the Indians as he allowed five runs over 5.2 innings. He allowed eight hits and four walks while recording only two strikeouts, making for a very rough performance. His minor league numbers aren’t very impressive either as he posted a 4.75 ERA and 1.50 WHIP over 22 appearances (12 starts). The Twins are on a roll as they battle for a playoff spot, so look for their offense to continue to put up crooked numbers Saturday.

Players to consider stacking: Brian Dozier, Jorge Polanco and Eddie Rosario

DraftKings FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks for September 1, 2017

*Chris Durell*

DraftKings / FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks for September 1, 2017

Welcome back to another TGIF edition of our daily fantasy baseball picks. There are two afternoon games today and with the cancellation of the Astros game, we get 14 games on the main slate tonight and this is where we will turn our attention. Let’s take a look at some of the top pitchers and stacks.

Starting Pitchers

DraftKings FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks - Mike Clevinger

Mike Clevinger
Opponent – @ DET
Park – Comerica Park (Hitters Park)
Vegas Favorite (CLE -170)
Vegas Total (8.5)

Clayton Kershaw returns to the Dodgers rotation tonight but will be on a pitch count. This has me going almost exclusively with value pitching and it starts with Mike Clevinger. He is coming off his best start of the season where he shut out the Royals over six innings striking out nine. He has been a bit inconsistent with a 3.72 ERA, 4.15 xFIP but has big upside with a 10.3 K/9 rate and 12.9% swinging strike rate. Then there is the matchup that got a huge boost since yesterday as the Tigers traded away their top bat in Justin Upton. Clevinger is safe in all formats.

Jack Flaherty
Opponent – @ WSH
Park – AT&T Park(Pitchers Park)
Vegas Favorite (STL -110)
Vegas Total (8.5)

If you are wanting to completely load up on bats tonight, Jack Flaherty provides a ton of salary relief. After the trade of Mike Leake opened up a spot on the 40-man roster, the Cardinals called up one of their top pitching prospects to take the mound vs. the Giants. In 15 starts in AAA this season, he has gone 7-2 with an impressive 2.74 ERA and 8.96 K/9 rate. He has improved big time this season adding velocity to his fastball and has three secondary pitches to back it up including a plus changeup(according to reports). The upside may not be there vs. the Giants who don’t K much but they rank second to last in overall run scoring. With Flaherty’s very low price on both sites, we don’t need a monster game and is more about loading up on bats to increase our overall ceiling.

Top Stacks

DraftKings FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks - Paul Goldschmidt

With all the value at pitcher tonight, I head straight to Coors Field where the Diamondbacks have the highest implied run total(6.1) of the night. They will face Kyle Freeland who has been better at home this year but I am not buying it as he strikes out just over six batters per nine while walking over three. I will be loading up on Paul Goldschmidt, J.D. Martinez, A.J. Pollock, and for value I like catcher Chris Iannetta who also crushes southpaws.

The other high-end stack I am chasing tonight is the Los Angles Angels who just acquired Justin Upton from the Tigers to bolster their lineup. Tonight they face Cole Hamels who has a nice win/loss record this season but has fallen off in a big way with a career-low 5.5 K/9 rate and 4.89 xFIP. This is the only other game with a Vegas Total over 10 and if Upton is in the lineup, we could see the implied runs rise even more for the Angels. My top bats will Be Mike Trout, Albert Pujols, and Justin Upton.

For a value stack, I am looking very closely at the Tampa Bay Rays tonight. They are facing rookie Reynaldo Lopez who has shown some strikeout upside in his first two starts but has struggled with control and has been punished with eight earned runs against including three long balls. He has also been far worse against left-handed bats as well with a .432 wOBA against. The bats I am looking at are Kevin Kiermaier, Lucas Duda, Evan Longoria, and Logan Morrison. Again, it will all depend on the lineups when they are released.

Thank you for reading and if you have any questions as lineup lock approaches please contact me via Twitter(@Jager_Bombs9)

DraftKings FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks for August 31, 2017

*Chris Durell*

DraftKings / FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks for August 31, 2017

Welcome for another Thursday in daily fantasy baseball. Today we will be turning our attention to the six-game main slate starting at 7:05 p.m. ET tonight. Let’s take a look at some of the top pitchers and some stacking options.

Starting Pitchers

DraftKings FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks - Lineuplab.com

Kyle Hendricks
Opponent – vs. ATL
Park – Wrigley Field
Vegas Favorite (CHC -210)
Vegas Total (7.5)

Hendricks is the clear chalky cash game play on the main slate tonight. They are huge favorites with no other team even close and on top of that, Hendricks has been incredibly consistent. He does lack the upside of other options(7.88 K/9) but has held opponents to three or fewer earned runs in seven straight starts and two or less in 11 of his 18 starts for the season. Then there is the matchup vs. the Braves who rank in the bottom third of the league when looking at wOBA (.313), wRC+ (89), and Isolated Power(.149). There is a case to be made to fade him in GPP’s for ownership purposes but he is a near lock in cash games, especially on FanDuel in the mid $8K range.

Gio Gonzalez
Opponent – @ MIL
Park – Miller Park (Hitters Park)
Vegas Favorite (WSH +101)
Vegas Total (8.5)

Gio should be lower owned in tournaments as he is more expensive than Hendricks and is currently a slight underdog. While his strikeout upside(8.1 K/9) is very similar to Hendricks overall, he gets a huge boost tonight facing a Brewers team that not only has struck out 27% of the time over the last 14 days but also strikes out 26% of the time vs. left-handed pitching. Gio has also been very good at limiting hard contact(28.3%) this season and has held opponents to two or fewer earned runs in six straight starts.

 

Top Stacks

DraftKings FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks - Lineuplab.com

There are plenty of ways to go when stacking in tournaments tonight but I start with the Blue Jays. I lead with them as I think they are outside the top 3 in ownership which can give you edge on a small slate. They have been very inconsistent this season and has lost four straight and six of their last seven games but are more than capable of putting up double digit runs with the wealth of power at the top of the lineup. They get a great matchup vs. Jeremy Hellickson who has been a roller coaster ride himself this season with a 4.88 ERA, 5.34 xFIP, and 14.4% HR/FB rate. Speaking of home runs, he has given up seven over his last three starts. My top targets for the Blue Jays are Josh Donaldson, Jose Bautista, Steve Pearce, and Justin Smoak.

My favorite stack of the night, if we aren’t worrying about the chalk, is the Chicago Cubs. They have been in beast mode all second half with a .357 wOBA(tied for 1st), 118 wRC+(2nd), .205 ISO(2nd), and 270 runs scored(1st). On top of that, they are a Top 5 team against left-handed pitching with a .344 wOBA and 110 wRC+ and face Sean Newcomb who has some K upside(9.2 K/9) but walks way too many(5.33 BB/9) and gives up home runs(14% HR/FB) which will spell trouble vs. the Cubs. My top targets are Anthony Rizo, Kris Bryant, Ben Zobrist, and Javier Baez.