Header Image - PICK LIKE THE PROS
PICK LIKE THE PROSLineup Lab is an advanced MLB, NBA, NFL, and NHL daily fantasy lineup optimizer for Fanduel, Draftkings, and Yahoo. Pros use a DFS optimizer, so why don't you? Pick like the pros. Use the worlds most advanced projections and optimization techniques. Join today, and start winning!
start winning

Category Archives

329 Articles

Daily Fantasy Baseball Stacks for 08/20/2017

by Mike Barner 0 Comments

*Mike Barner*

Daily Fantasy Baseball Stacks – Sunday, August 20

Sunday’s schedule includes a few aces taking the mound, which could lead to some big strikeout performances. 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**

Jacob deGrom vs. Miami Marlins
Park – Citi Field

The Mets are having a disappointing season, but it’s not because of deGrom as he is 13-6 with a 3.35 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 183 strikeouts in 158.2 innings. His current 10.4 K/9 is the highest of his career. While his overall numbers are excellent, he has been even better at home as he has a 2.49 ERA and 1.15 WHIP at Citi Field this season. In his only start against the Marlins this year, he pitched seven impressive innings, allowing two runs and recording 13 strikeouts. Expect him to put up excellent numbers again Sunday.

Gio Gonzalez vs. San Diego Padres
Park – Petco Park

Gonzalez is having maybe the best season of his 10-year career as he enters Sunday 11-5 with a 2.49 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 142 strikeouts in 155.1 innings. It’s hard to believe, but he has been even better lately as he has allowed three runs in 28 innings over his last four starts. He doesn’t really have many bad starts in general as he has posted a quality start in 13 of his last 14 games. Sunday presents a favorable match up against the Padres who entered Saturday hitting .222 against left handed pitchers, the worst in all of baseball. This has the makings of another big start from Gonzalez.

**OFFENSIVE STACKS**

Houston Astros vs. Jharel Cotton
Park – Minute Maid Park

To say Cotton is having a bad season is an understatement. He enters Sunday 5-10 with a 5.83 ERA, 1.50 WHIP and 80 strikeouts in 97.1 innings. It’s been even tougher for him lately as he has allowed 19 runs in 20.2 innings over his last four starts. The Astros have scored the most runs in baseball and have hit an impressive .290 against right handed pitchers entering Saturday. This is a major mismatch, so make sure you load up your entry with Astros.

Players to consider stacking: Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman and Josh Reddick

Chicago Cubs vs. Marco Estrada (Toronto Blue Jays)
Park – Wrigley Field

Estrada entered the 2017 campaign having posted an ERA or 3.87 or lower in four of his last five seasons. This season has been a major struggle though as he is 5-8 with a 5.09 ERA, 1.46 WHIP and 143 strikeouts in 139.2 innings. His problem has been avoiding contact as he has already allowed 144 hits this year, the most of his career. He posted a 6.8 H/9 or less in both of the last two seasons, making his struggles this year even more shocking. Stack your lineup with Cubs hitters and enjoy the ride Sunday.

Players to consider stacking: Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant and Javier Baez

Daily Fantasy Baseball Stacks for 08/19/2017

by Mike Barner 0 Comments

*Mike Barner*

Daily Fantasy Baseball Stacks – Saturday, August 19

Saturday could be a day of offensive explosions as there are only a few stud starting pitchers taking 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**

Chris Sale vs. New York Yankees
Park – Fenway Park

Sale continues to dominate baseball as he enters Saturday 14-4 with a 2.51 ERA, 0.88 WHIP and a staggering 241 strikeouts in 168.1 innings. The strikeouts are already the second highest total of his career. The Yankees just can’t hit Sale as he has a 1.18 ERA, 0.83 WHIP and an 11.3 K/9 against them in his career. The Yankees struggle against left handed pitchers in general as they entered Friday hitting only .235 against them this season. Sale should put up some crazy numbers again in this contest.

Jason Vargas vs. Cleveland Indians
Park – Kauffman Stadium

Vargas has put together a surprisingly solid season for the Royals as he is 14-6 with a 3.45 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 102 strikeouts in 135.2 innings.  While he doesn’t provide a ton of strikeouts, Vargas has allowed three runs or less in four of his last five starts. The Indians have not been able to solve Vargas this year as he is 2-0 with a 0.87 ERA and 1.21 WHIP against them in three starts. Since there aren’t many seemingly sure things outside of Sale Saturday, Vargas is a cheaper option who could pay off for your lineup.

**OFFENSIVE STACKS**

Washington Nationals vs. Travis Wood (San Diego Padres)
Park – Petco Park

Wood began the season with the Royals and spent the majority of his time there pitching out of the bullpen. He has become exclusively a starting pitcher for the Padres as he has made four starts in all four of his appearances with his new team. It has not been a successful transition though as he has a 5.57 ERA and 1.42 WHIP. Home runs have been a problem since his trade as he has allowed five over 21 innings with the Padres compared to only four in 41.2 innings with the Royals. The Nationals crush left handed pitching as they entered Friday with a .288 batting averaging against southpaws, which is the best in the majors. Take advantage of this opportunity.

Players to consider stacking: Ryan Zimmerman, Anthony Rendon and Howie Kendrick

Chicago Cubs vs. Nick Tepesch (Toronto Blue Jays)
Park – Wrigley Field

Tepesch has only made two starts for the Blue Jays, allowing five runs over 4.1 innings to the Yankees and only one run in six innings against the Tampa Bay Rays. He hasn’t provided much in the way of strikeouts as he only has four in 10.1 innings. His career stats are nothing to write home about either as he has a 5.23 ERA and 1.40 WHIP over 235 innings. The Cubs have been scoring in bunches lately as they have produced at least seven runs in six of their last eight games. Make sure to pack your lineup with the defending champs.

Players to consider stacking: Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant and Javier Baez

DraftKings FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks for August 18, 2017

by Chris Durell 0 Comments

*Chris Durell*

DraftKings / FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks for August 18, 2017

Welcome for another big Friday in daily fantasy baseball. With one afternoon matchup(TOR @ CHC) it leaves us with a big 14-game slate starting at 7:05 p.m. ET tonight. Let’s take a look at a couple of the top pitching and stacking options.

Starting Pitchers

DraftKings FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks - Max Scherzer - Washington Nationals - Lineup Lab

Max Scherzer
Opponent – @SD
Park – Petco Park(Pitchers Park)
Vegas Favorite (WSH – 198)
Vegas Total (7.0)

The price is steep, especially on DraftKings where he has reached the $14K mark once again but Max clearly has the best matchup and most upside of any pitcher tonight. He and the Nats will travel to Petco Park to take on the Padres who have scored a league low 466 runs this season and also rank 27th in wOBA and 26th in wRC+ vs. right-handed pitching with a 25% strikeout rate. Scherzer is currently the leading CY Young candidate in the National League and is running a career-high 12.35 K/9 rate and is second to only Kershaw with a 2.25 ERA on the season. On a full slate, there will be more than enough value plays to fit Scherzer in your lineups in all formats.

Matt Moore
Opponent – vs. PHI
Park – AT&T Park(Pitchers Park)
Vegas Favorite (SF -150)
Vegas Total (8.0)

I won’t be considering Moore on FanDuel in the mid $7K range but on DraftKings he makes an excellent SP2 at $5K if you are planning on using a lot of Scherzer and still want some bats in your lineup. The combination keeps you under $20K for your pitching staff and allows you an average of $3,862 for the remaining eight spots in your lineup. I am definitely not suggesting he is a safe play with a 5.71 ERA and 4.92 but with has shown more K upside lately(16 K’s last two starts) and has picked up double-digit DK points in seven of his last 10 starts, scoring 20+ in two of them. Not bad for just $5K.

Top Stacks

DraftKings FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks - Corey Dickerson - Tampa Bay Rays - Lineuplab

There are a lot of different ways to go tonight and I really think that helps spread the ownership out quite a bit. The Coors Field ownership is definitely helped by the fact there are two CY Young candidates on the mound (Scherzer & Kluber) in great matchups and are priced as such. I prefer the Rockies who are currently projected to score almost seven runs as they face-off with Matt Garza who doesn’t miss bats(6.05 K/9) and has struggled this year with a 4.38 ERA and even worse 4.97 xFIP. The Brewers are also on my radar despite the second half struggles as they come at a discount and very well could fall outside the Top 3 in ownership. The team I project to push the Rockies for the top owned team tonight is the Texas Rangers who have been on fire this week winning four straight games while scoring 37 runs (9.3 per game) with 10 long balls. They are also a team I will run multiple variations as they are loaded with power throughout the lineup. For value tonight, I love the Tampa Bay Rays left-handed bats (Corey Dickerson, Logan Morrison, Lucas Duda, Brad Miller) going up against their old teammate, Erasmo Ramirez who has been much worse vs. lefties(.357 wOBA vs .281 wOBA vs RH).

 

DraftKings FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks for August 17, 2017

by Chris Durell 0 Comments

*Chris Durell*

DraftKings / FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks for August 17, 2017

Starting Pitchers

DraftKings FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks - Luis Severino - New York Yankees - Lineup Lab

Luis Severino
Opponent – @NYM
Park – Citi Field(Pitchers Park)
Vegas Favorite (NYY -180)
Vegas Total (7.0)

Almost everything is in Severino’s favor tonight. I say almost as the price has elevated to $12.5K on DraftKings tonight. I think that combined with the fact he is coming off a blow up start vs. the Red Sox(8 ER with 2 HR) will keep his ownership down tonight making him my top target. The Yankees are big -180 favorites and get a huge park upgrade going to Citi Field and we shouldn’t worry too much about Severino. He has been very consistent this season with a 3.32 ERA, 3.13 xFIP and also comes with a ton of upside with a 10.4 K/9 and 12.1% swinging strike rate.

Jeff Samardzija
Opponent – vs. PHI
Park – AT&T Park (Pitchers Park)
Vegas Favorite (SF -120)
Vegas Total (7.0)

Severino is likely the chalk tonight on FanDuel for just $500 more so for tournaments I think the Shark makes a great pivot for ownership. He comes with much less win potential as not only is the moneyline lower for the Giants but they have one of the weakest offenses in the league. He still has upside with a 9.25 K/9 rate and the xFIP(3.36) is much better than the ERA(4.74). Shark also gets an elite matchup vs. a team that has actually scored less runs this season than the Giants. The Phillies also strikeout over 23% of the time vs. right-handed pitching and have a 77 wRC+ over the last seven days.

Top Stacks

DraftKings FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks - Andre Beltre - Texas Rangers - Lineuplab

With a five game slate and a pair of expensive pitchers, it really limits the options available for stacking. Only two games have a total of 9.0 or higher and the Cardinals/Pirates game has some risk of rain at this point. The chalk will most definitely fall on the Texas Rangers tonight who currently sit with a slate-high six implied runs. The wind is blowing out in the Texas heat so get ready for some bombs. Reynaldo Lopez is a nice prospect but gave up two home runs in his first start and now faces a Top 10 offense. I will be looking at not only stacking the top four hitters(Choo, Mazara, Andrus, Beltre) but I also want a piece of the bottom of the order with Gallo and Chirinos if they are in the lineup. For DraftKings where I will be playing Severino in hopes of lower ownership(due to price), I will be looking at the White Sox. They are another one of those teams that has struggled this year and have been much better vs. lefties but the matchup should not be ignored. Tyson Ross is walking nearly six batters per nine with a below average strikeout rate and enters tonight with a 7.11 ERA and xFIP of 6.03 that doesn’t provide much hope things will get any better.

 

MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Lineup Stacks for August 16, 2017

by Austyn Varney 0 Comments

*Austyn Varney*

MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Lineup Stacks – Wednesday, August 16, 2017

*STARTING PITCHERS*

MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Lineup Stacks - Lineuplab - Yu Darvish - Los Angeles Dodgers

Yu Darvish Vs Chicago White Sox
Park – Dodger Stadium
Opp implied total – 2.70

When first glancing at this slate, it became clear how much of a premium a good starter will hold. Out of the 18 teams on this slate, 15 are projected for over 4 runs and 8 teams with run totals over 5. Fortunately, we do have a couple very solid options to look at. I do think the first one is pretty clear with Yu Darvish. Darvish and the Dodgers will welcome the lowly White Sox into Dodger Stadium tonight with full anticipation of destroying them. With an 8 over/under, the Sox are expected to put up 2.70 to the Dodgers’ 5.30. Darvish is the biggest favorite on the board and has a price across the industry that provides a ton of safety. He’s been excellent all season and his numbers figure to only go up with the pitcher-friendly Dodger Stadium his new home. He’s posted a .296 wOBA on the year and has backed it up with a 10.15 K/9. This is as safe as it gets for Darvish and he will be plugged into 100% of my lineups. I’m not sure you can afford fading him on a slate with so many explosive offenses in the minefield.

Marcus Stroman Vs Toronto Blue Jays
Park – Tropicana Field
Vegas O/U – 3.94

If you’re unwilling to pay the hefty price for Darvish or need a high-end SP2, Stroman is your guy. While some may go after Carrasco, who is perfectly fine, I slightly prefer Stroman. He will be lower owned and has a similar floor and ceiling. The Rays are projected to put up 3.94 runs and the Jays come in at -148 favorites. We know how bad the Rays are against righties and we should always be looking to take advantage. While the Rays hold up their wOBA against righties with guys like Corey Dickerson and Logan Morrison, but the rest of the order surely weighs it down. What those 2 guys don’t do is bolster the K rate. Against right-handers, the Rays have struck out the 2nd most at 25.2%. The upside is undeniable here for Stroman and with him pitching so much better at home, I’m fine with him in all formats.

*OFFENSIVE STACKS*

MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Lineup Stacks - Texas Rangers - Joey Gallo - Lineup Lab

Texas Rangers Vs Anibal Sanchez (Tigers)
Park – Globe Life Park
Implied Total – 6.03

There are definitely a lot of offenses to choose from here, which is a ton of fun. When you can go in knowing that your stack is going to be less than 20% owned, you don’t have to worry about going contrarian at all. You can grab whoever you want from these teams tonight and you won’t see any ridiculous ownership. My favorite of the bunch is the Texas Rangers. The Rangers are hosting the Detroit Tigers, who bolster an atrocious rotation and bullpen. Anibal Sanchez will take the mound as one of the absolute worst pitchers in the entire league, undoubtedly. Against righties, he’s posted a .409 wOBA and 12 homers in less than 40 innings. Yes, you read that correctly. He now moves into one of the best hitting parks in the league and figures to get knocked around. I don’t mind any of these Rangers bats, but definitely prefer a few. Rougned Odor and Joey Gallo are 2 of my favorite HR candidates on the slate and I’ll have a ton of both all over my teams. Beltre, Mazara, and Choo are all very similar and I can understand going either way. Furthermore, the bottom of the order is full of guys with upside. You can pick 1 if you want, but will have to sacrifice a bigger bat.

Main Stack – Rougned Odor, Joey Gallo, Adrian Beltre, Shin-Soo Choo
Sneaky Stack – Rougned Odor, Joey Gallo, Nomar Mazara, Delino DeShields

Chicago Cubs Vs Homer Bailey (Reds)
Park – Wrigley Field
Implied Total – N/A

The Cubs are always a team you can target in Wrigley Field, but especially tonight. They face off with Homer Bailey, who like Anibal Sanchez, has been absolutely atrocious against both lefties and righties. With a combined wOBA of .417, it’s quite clear where Bailey does or doesn’t belong. He won’t be in the majors for too much longer and we should be targeting him as much as possible. He has a huge HR and when you combine that with Wrigley Field and this lineup, good things (for us) happen. Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant are obviously amazing and always the top 2 hitters in this order. After that, you can really go anywhere. Avila/Contreras and Schwarber are my next 2 favorite and I think they have a ton of HR potential. The Cubs do have a somewhat-concentrated offense, but production can still come from guys like Javier Baez and Jason Heyward. The Cubs are expected to have a huge night and you have to love where they come in pricewise.

Main Stack – Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant, Kyle Schwarber, Alex Avila/Willson Contreras
Sneaky Stack – Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant, Alex Avila/Willson Contreras, Ben Zobrist

MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Lineup Stacks for August 15, 2017

by Austyn Varney 0 Comments

*Austyn Varney*

MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Lineup Stacks – Tuesday, August 15, 2017

*STARTING PITCHERS*

MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Lineup Stacks - Madison Bumgarner - San Francisco Giants - Lineup Lab

Madison Bumgarner @ Miami Marlins
Park – Marlins Park
Opp implied total – 3.70

After all the good pitchers decided to take yesterday off, we’re back on the grind with some aces. We’ve got about 3-4 to choose from and they all have some appeal. Madison Bumgarner is my favorite, facing the Miami Marlins on the road in spacious Marlins Park. Marlins Park and AT&T both rank inside the bottom 5 for hitting, so it doesn’t really matter where this one is played. Bumgarner has pitched well since coming off the DL and has certainly turned up the gas over the last few starts. Facing the Cubs, D-Backs, and Dodgers, 3 of the 10 best teams against lefties, he’s went out and pitched a combined 21 innings with 21 K’s. We’re seeing the Bumgarner of old and as we know, he can throw a CGSO with ease when rolling. This Marlins match-up is pretty good (14th wOBA vs L), but they still have Giancarlo Stanton in the order. He’s deadly against lefties but can also strikeout rather easily. Bumgarner is the top option on this slate and while it is close, he stands as my favorite cash game play.

Alex Wood Vs Chicago White Sox
Park – Dodger Stadium
Vegas O/U – 2.55(!!!)

I was tempted to throw Alex Wood in there as my top arm, but felt the need to highlight Bumgarner and how he has been pitching recently. With Alex Wood, I’ll be interested to see how things fold out. He’s struggled recently, which I couldn’t care less about. He’s a streaky arm and going a few games without the high K’s is nothing to worry about. He will get back around the 10 mark on average and is still striking out nearly 12 batters per 9. The Dodgers will host the White Sox, who already can’t hit in hitter-friendly Guaranteed Rate Field. Moving to Dodger Stadium, I expect some serious trouble with run production. The Sox have ranked 24th against lefties in baseball and when you consider the park change, they truly are in a horrible spot against Wood. He may not be as safe as Bumgarner, but the upside is just as high and the ownership will be substantially lower. Make sure you get exposure to 1 of these 2 arms, who should both have solid outings.

*OFFENSIVE STACKS*

MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Lineup Stacks - Cleveland Indians - Lineuplab

Cleveland Indians @ Bartolo Colon (Twins)
Park – Target Field
Implied Total – 5.10

With Bartolo Colon being decent over the last couple starts, it makes me want to stack against him even more. I the Indians aren’t extremely highly owned, they should be. Colon is absolutely atrocious against both sides of the plate and matches up horribly with an Indians offense that murders the fastball. Target Field is a very average hitting park and it is an upgrade from Progressive. Looking at the numbers from Colon, you can target anyone. He’s allowed a .367 wOBA ago righties and a .390 to lefties, which is purely pitiful. Edwin Encarnacion is my favorite of the bunch, but not far ahead any of these other top bats. Lindor, Kipnis, and Ramirez are next to and will round out the cash game stack. In tourneys, don’t be afraid to get weird. This lineup is rather concentrated, but it has some RBI promise towards the bottom.

Main Stack – Edwin Encarnacion, Francisco Lindor, Jose Ramirez, Jason Kipnis
Sneaky Stack – Carlos Santana, Jose Ramirez, Jason Kipnis, Jay Bruce

Colorado Rockies Vs Sean Newcomb (Braves)
Park – Coors Field
Implied Total – 6.22

I know, a Coors Field stack is never the sneakiness thing. On today’s slate, it might be, however, while I think the likes of Arenado and LeMahieu will be rather highly owned, I don’t see anyone else getting attention. Sean Newcomb, a young lefty, is simply going to struggle in a Coors Field. He hasn’t been good yet and while he might get there down the road, it won’t be in this match-up. Nolan Arenado is the top option on the board and a .411 ISO tells you all you really need to know. LeMahieu and Story are my next 2 favorites and I love Story for an HR tonight. After those 3, take a pick. This lineup is spread out in Coors and the production can come from anywhere.

Main Stack – Nolan Arenado, D.J. LeMahieu, Charlie Blackmon, Trevor Story
Sneaky Stack – Nolan Arenado, Mark Reynolds, Trevor Story, Jonathan Lucroy

MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Lineup Stacks for August 14, 2017

by Austyn Varney 0 Comments

*Austyn Varney*

MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Lineup Stacks – Monday, August 14, 2017

*STARTING PITCHERS*

Jose Quintana - Chicago Cubs - MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Lineup Stacks - Lineuplab

Jose Quintana Vs. Cincinatti Reds
Park – Wrigley Field
Vegas O/U – N/A

Yesterday, we were blessed with an amazing core of pitchers. They pitched very well and the chalk guys didn’t hurt too much. Today is a whole different story. Pitching is extremely limited and the only ace we do have in Greinke is facing the Diamondbacks in Chase Field. Instead, we’all move a few spots down and take a look at Jose Quintana against the Reds. While Quintana isn’t a high upside, strikeout pitcher, he’s very consistent and can nearly be locked in for 6 innings. Quintana has been good against both sidedness of the plate with a .293 wOBA and 9.58 K/9. He’s as safe as you’ll find on the slate and his price is very fair. He will be popular, but that’s fine in cash games where the alternatives aren’t great.

Jerad Eickhoff @ San Diego Padres
Park – Petco Park
Vegas O/U – 8.5

Listen, pitcher is bad. We can’t be picky tonight and after Quintana, I’m not willing to trust anyone. Jerad Eickhoff is a very talented young arm with a ton of potential and upside. He’s sported a .293 wOBA and strikes out nearly a full batter per inning. The K’s haven’t been huge for Eickhoff his entire career, but they’ll likely come with age and experience. The Padres, as we know, stink against righties. They have held just a .308 wOBA and have struck out nearly 26% of the time, which leads the league. Eickhoff may not be “safe”, but he’s definitely “safer” than a lot of these arms on the slate. He should get you at least 5 or 6 innings and come through with the win when it matters.

*OFFENSIVE STACKS*

MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Lineup Stacks - Ian Kinsler - Detroit Tigers - LineupLab

Detroit Tigers @ Martin Perez (Rangers)
Park – Globe Life Park
Implied Total – 5.19

While the Rockies are the obvious stack here, you didn’t need me to tell you that. If you are interested in a Rockies stack, they’ll be popular and have as much upside as anyone. We’re going to take a look in Arlington and peer down at this often troubled Tigers lineup. They face off with Martin Perez, who is a southpaw (lefty) with some major issues. In 97 innings of work, Perez has posted a .373 wOBA and 16 homers. Wow. He now faces a team with as many righties as you could hope for. Ian Kinsler and James McCann are my 2 favorites, with Castellanos and Miggy a close 3/4. This lineup isn’t too concentrated and you can definitely get exposure to some of them for cheap.

Main Stack – Ian Kinsler, James McCann, Miguel Cabrera, Justin Upton
Sneaky Stack – Justin Upton, James McCann, Victor Martinez, Nick Castellanos

Chicago Cubs Vs Asher Wojciechowski (Reds)
Park – Wrigley Field
Implied Total – N/A

Main Stack – Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant, Ben Zobrist, Alex Avila
Sneaky Stack – Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant, Kyle Schwarber, Jason Heyward

Daily Fantasy Baseball Stacks for 08/13/2017

by Mike Barner 0 Comments

*Mike Barner*

Daily Fantasy Baseball Stacks – Sunday, August 13

Three of the best pitchers in baseball take the mound Sunday as Corey Kluber, Max Scherzer and Chris Sale are 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**

Max Scherzer vs. San Francisco Giants
Park – Nationals Park

Scherzer is putting up elite numbers yet again as he enters Sunday 12-5 with a 2.23 ERA, 0.85 WHIP and 210 strikeouts in 153.1 innings. He is well on his way to his fourth straight season with at least 250 strikeouts.  Sunday brings a favorable match up against the Giants as they are one of the worst offensive teams in baseball. They don’t fare well against right handed pitchers either as they entered Saturday with a .244 batting average and a league-worst .682 OPS against them. Scherzer already faced them once this season, allowing only one run to go along with 11 strikeouts in a complete game. Look for a big performance again Sunday.

Michael Wacha vs. Atlanta Braves
Park – Busch Stadium

Wacha has rebounded from a tough 2016 season to go 9-4 with a 3.70 ERA, 1.30 WHIP and 115 strikeouts in 116.2 innings this year. He enters Sunday pitching well as he has allowed two runs or less in seven of his last nine starts. While his overall numbers are good, he has been even better at home as he has a 2.67 ERA and 1.17 WHIP at Busch Stadium this season. Scherzer is certainly the safer bet to have a good outing Sunday, but Wacha also has a great chance to be successful at a much cheaper price.

**OFFENSIVE STACKS**

Milwaukee Brewers vs. Sal Romano (Cincinnati Reds)
Park – Miller Park

The Reds starting pitching has really struggled this season and Romano is no exception. He is only 2-4 with a 5.35 ERA, 1.66 WHIP and 28 strikeouts in 33.2 innings this season. He has allowed nine runs while recording only five strikeouts over his last two starts. Walks are one of his biggest problems as he has a 5.1 BB/9 overall. This has the makings of another offensive explosion for the Brewers Sunday.

Players to consider stacking: Travis Shaw, Eric Thames and Orlando Arcia

Houston Astros vs. Andrew Cashner (Texas Rangers)
Park – Globe Life Park in Arlington

Cashner is having a respectable first season with the Rangers as he is 7-8 with a 3.36 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. He doesn’t record many strikeouts though as he only has 55 in 107 innings. Not only is he not striking out many hitters, but he has already issued 43 walks this season. Sunday brings a tough match up against the Astros who are excellent on the road. They have also hit Cashner hard this season as he is 0-3 with a 6.19 ERA and 1.81 WHIP against them. Expect the Astros offense to score plenty of runs  again in this contest.

Players to consider stacking: Jose Altuve, Marwin Gonzalez and Alex Bregman

Daily Fantasy Baseball Stacks for 08/12/2017

by Mike Barner 0 Comments

*Mike Barner*

Daily Fantasy Baseball Stacks – Saturday, August 12

Saturday’s schedule includes some big strikeout pitchers taking the mound, leaving the potential for some high scoring DFS options. 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**

Luis Severino vs. Boston Red Sox
Park – Yankee Stadium

Severino has clearly established himself as the best starter on the Yankees staff as he is 9-4 with a 2.91 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 162 strikeouts in 139.1 innings. He has only allowed three runs over his last five starts and has 26 strikeouts over his last 18.2 innings. Although the Red Sox are one of the best teams in baseball, Severino has a 0.64 ERA and 0.79 WHIP in two starts against them this season. Look for Severino to continue his dominant ways Saturday.

Hyun-Jin Ryu vs. San Diego Padres
Park – Dodger Stadium

Ryu is quietly having a productive season for the Dodgers. Despite a poor 4-6 record, he has a very respectable 3.53 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 89 strikeouts in 91.2 innings. He has pitched especially well of late as he has allowed two runs or less in each of his last six starts.  His strikeouts are also up as he has 28 of them over his last 24.2 innings. Saturday presents a nice match up against the Padres who entered Friday hitting only .235 on the road this season. To top it off, their .222 batting average against left handed pitchers entering Friday is the worst in baseball. Ryu is a nice low cost option.

**OFFENSIVE STACKS**

Houston Astros vs. Tyson Ross (Texas Rangers)
Park – Globe Life Park at Arlington

Ross is making his first start after a stint on the disabled list. His first season with the Rangers has not been a success as he is 2-2 with a 7.52 ERA, 1.55 WHIP and 27 strikeouts in 32.1 innings. Control has been a major issue as he has has a 5.6 BB/9. In his last two starts before going on the DL, he allowed 12 runs over seven innings. The Astros excel on the road as they entered Friday with a .297 batting average and .872 OPS away from Minute Maid Park, both the best marks in baseball. Make sure to take advantage Saturday.

Players to consider stacking: Jose Altuve, Marwin Gonzalez and Alex Bregman

Kansas City Royals vs. James Shields (Chicago White Sox)
Park – Guaranteed Rate Field

It’s safe to say Shields is not the pitcher that he once was. He is having a rough year in Chicago as he is 2-4 with a 6.03 ERA, 1.60 WHIP and only 50 strikeouts in 62.2 innings. While it’s hard to believe, Shields has been even worse at home this season as he has a 6.46 ERA and 1.73 WHIP at Guaranteed Rate Field. The Royals already roughed up Shields earlier this season when they scored six runs off of him in 4.1 innings. Expect more of the same Saturday.

Players to consider stacking: Mike Moustakas, Eric Hosmer and Whit Merrifield

DraftKings FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks for August 11, 2017

by Chris Durell 0 Comments

*Chris Durell*

DraftKings / FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks for August 11, 2017

Welcome back for another exciting installment of our daily fantasy baseball picks. With no afternoon games, we get a full 15-game slate tonight so let’s jump in and take a look at a couple of the top pitchers and some stacking options. 

Starting Pitchers
 

Carlos Carrasco
Opponent – @ TB
Park – Tropicana Field
Vegas Favorite (CLE -135)
Vegas Total (8.0)

This slate is chalk full of risk and it starts at the pitcher position. On DraftKings, it seems almost crazy to pay $12K+ for Rich Hill in cash games. Pitch count has been a word that follows almost every Dodgers pitcher, especially since Kershaw went down. I think it is an alright GPP play considering the matchup but for cash games, I will take the discount and roll with Carlos Carrasco. Sure, he has struggled giving up five earned runs in back to back starts but is running a very unsustainable BABIP right now and is likely to see some positive regression real soon. Despite the struggles, he has kept his xFIP in the mid 3’s and has an elite 9.78 K/9 rate and 12.5% swinging strike rate. He gets a boost in upside tonight as the Rays strike out 25% of the time vs. right-handed pitchers and have been even worse over the last 14 days striking out 28% of the time.

Charlie Morton
Opponent – @ TEX
Park – Globe Life Park in Arlington
Vegas Favorite (HOU -125)
Vegas Total (9.5)

This play is definitely GPP only as it comes with a ton of risk but on the flip side also comes with a ton of upside. The Rangers have a scary offense that ranks inside the Top 10 when looking at runs scored and they also play in a very hitter friendly ballpark, especially in the heat of summer. With that said, they have seen an elevated K rate(27.2%) over the last 14 days with a league average wOBA and wRC+. This fits my strikeout model perfectly tonight as Charlie Morton provides his own upside with a 9.82 K/9 rate and he has also been very steady this season with a 3.78 ERA and 3.71 xFIP. The risk is there but you aren’t going to find a pitcher without any and at least Morton gives us access to some huge upside at a price below $10K.

Top Stacks

I am much more excited about stacking than I was last night as there are currently nine teams with an implied run total greater than five and two teams sitting at over 5.5 right now. My favorite team to stack tonight is the Dodgers once again as they get a matchup vs. another left-handed pitcher after putting up eight runs in another win last night. I will be heavy on Chris Taylor, Corey Seager, Justin Turner, and Enrique Hernandez. If you are looking for some lower ownership with your stack tonight there is a chance the Brewers come lower owned than usual thanks to their struggles lately. They do have a ton of power upside and get an elite matchup vs. Homer Bailey who has given up five or more earned runs in five of his nine starts this season. For the Brew Crew, I am targeting Eric Thames, Ryan Braun, Domingo Santana, and Travis Shaw.