Best MLB Draftkings Lineup Tonight – June 14, 2017

Welcome to Lineup Lab’s Best MLB Draftkings lineup tonight, where we feature our top players for our MLB Lineup Optimizer on Fanduel and Draftkings. Put your favorite 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 Los Angeles Dodgers
Park – Progressive Field

We have a pretty solid all-day slate on our hands, with some very interesting pitching options. There is definitely 1 guy that stands out above the rest and Corey Kluber is that guy. He is finally the true ace he was in 2015 and is dominating lineups start in and start out. Kluber has sported a .315 wOBA and backs it up with a .335 BABIP. He’s striking out over 10 batters per 9 innings and is holding opposing batters to a 19% line drive rate. When you look a little further in depth, everything is working smooth. He’s sporting a 61% Z-Swing% and a career high 13.9% SwgStk rate. Kluber is the real deal and a workhorse every single time he takes the mound. His opponent, the Dodgers, are a very average team against righties. They rank 14th in the league with a .308 wOBA and strike out almost 23% of the time. Of course, you have guys like Corey Seager and Cody Bellinger that rightfully incite some fear. The hit righties well and have the potential to do some damage, even against an elite arm like Kluber. However, after those guys, this lineup is a barren wasteland. Sure, you know the names of Adrian Gonzalez and Yasiel Puig. It doesn’t mean they are good. The rest of these guys either strikeout 24+% of the time or have 0 power potential. Kluber is a safe cash game option and a guy I will make sure to have in all of my lineups.

Michael Pineda vs. Los Angeles Angels
Park – Angels Stadium

Even though there are some pitching options on the slate with upside, there isn’t much safety to be had here. In the past, we ould never use the words Pineda and safety in the same sentence. He was truly one of the most inconsistent arms in the league and would constantly go from elite to atrocious. This year, that has all changed. Pineda is pitching effectively on a weekly basis and finding a way out of the innings that used to send him to the bench. He’s striking out over a batter per inning and holding hitters to a 21% line drive rate. Pineda has been even better than Kluber when you look at wOBA, sitting at a crazy .296. He is seeing a bit more luck than Kluber and his wOBA should rise to around .320. The Angels aren’t at all good against righties, ranking 26th in baseball with a .301 wOBA. They strikeout a ton and often get shut down for innings on end. Albert Pujols is the only guy that can really do much damage on his lonesome, but he strikes out almost 30% of the time and isn’t nearly as effective against righties. When you remove Mike Trout, good luck. They have nobody to rely on for consistent production and it will come back to bite them. Pineda has as much upside as Kluber and is a bit cheaper, giving him plenty of appeal.

Offensive Stacks

Houston Astros vs. Texas Rangers (Andrew Cashner)
Park -Minute Maid Park

The Astros are undoubtedly a top 5 offense in the league and one of the 3 best DFS offenses to target. They have power from tons of different spots and have the ability to string runs together without the longball. Most teams rely on one or the other. This gives them the ability to hit groundball and flyball pitchers, changing their approach based on the pitcher’s intentions. The Rangers will move into Minute Maid Park and bring Andrew Cashner with them. Cashner is a pretty interesting character, as it seems like he’s been a different level of pitcher every year. Coming up with the Cubs, he had a lot of potential. He then moved to San Diego and became one of the worst pitchers in baseball. He’s now somewhere between those two spots, though slightly leaning towards the bad side. He’s giving up more than 4 runs in a ton of his starts and often gets booted before the 6th inning. The Astros are the toughest match-up Cashner will face all season long and there are plenty of guys that can do damage. Altuve is obviously the heartbeat of it all and a must in cash games. After that, 7 of these guys can hit a homer and 6 of them have a good chance of producing. Take your pick.

Main Stack – Jose Altuve, George Springer, Josh Reddick, Carlos Correa

Sneaky Stack – Jose Altuve, George Springer, Brian McCann, Marwin Gonzalez

Minnesota Twins vs. Seattle Mariners (Sam Gaviglio)
Park – Target Field

When the Minnesota Twins hold an implied team total of 5.67 in Target Field, you must take notice. Sam Gaviglio is not a good pitcher and I think everyone finally realizes that. He’s currently 27 years old and is just seeing his first major league action. While not extremely old, Gaviglio is by no means a coveted prospect. He’s struggled in the minors and only struck out 7 batters per 9 in AA. He held a 4.86 xFIP and struggled to get an AAA call-up. He is now seeing a shot at the starting role, for whatever reason. Gaviglio has been slightly worse against righties, but you can target anyone against him with comfort. Miguel Sano is one of the more electric fantasy players on the slate and draws close to an ideal match-up. Brian Dozier is the other expensive option that has legitimate upside and safety. You then work with a bunch of fringe players who hold a ton of potential. The Twins should be a lot lower owned than some of these other stacks and have an implied team total that exceeds most of them. Sano and Dozier are some of the best options on this slate and a full team stack is a great move in tournaments.

Main Stack – Miguel Sano, Brian Dozier, Robbie Grossman, Max Kepler

Sneaky Stack –  Miguel Sano, Brian Dozier, Kennys Vargas, Jason Castro

DraftKings FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks – June 13, 2017

Welcome to Lineup Lab’s Best MLB Fanduel lineup today, where we feature our top players for our MLB Lineup Optimizer on Fanduel and Draftkings. Put your favorite 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

Clayton Kershaw vs Cleveland Indians
Park – Progressive Field

It’s that day of the week. Clayton Kershaw takes the mound and is going to be the top option on every night he pitches. He’s pitching as well as ever, tossing 14 innings and striking out 23 batters in just his last 2 starts. Kershaw has actually been unlucky so far, sporting a wOBA against lefties that is far higher than ever before in his career. That number will come down and even further dominance will occur by Kershaw. Even with the Indians being a solid hitting team, they are severe underdogs with Kershaw on the mound. He’s allowed more than 2 ER just twice so far and one of those was at Coors Field. Kershaw is going to end up being one of the 3 best starting pitchers to ever take a mound and I want to be on him as often as possible. This match-up isn’t a horrible one for Kershaw. The Indians may be scary on the surface, but aren’t nearly as good against lefties. Michael Brantly and Jason Kipnis are huge parts of the offense and will have an incredibly tough time getting on-base. Even by the numbers, the Indians aren’t great. They rank 19th in the MLD in terms of wOBA against righties at .302 and strikeout almost 23% of the time. Kershaw is the clear top option on the slate and you make it happen in cash games.

Joe Ross vs. Atlanta Braves
Park – Nationals Park

Joe Ross isn’t the hardest pitcher in the world to figure out. He’s really good against righties and has a very tough time with lefties. He should be seeing 4 lefties and 5 righties tonight, which gives him some solid upside. While this Braves team has been scrappy over the last few weeks, there one of the worst teams in the league without Freddie Freeman. Nick Markakis and Matt Kemp are the biggest bats in the order, which should give you an idea of the quality. Ross has pitched exceptionally in 2 of his last 3 starts. HE went for 8 innings and 7 innings respectively and struck out a combined 18. Nationals Park is a downgrade for the Braves and thy should see a dip in offensive production as a whole. Ross is striking out over 10 batters per 9 innings and has only walked 1.83. While there is no such thing as a safe Joe Ross, this is one of his better spots. Vegas is a big fan and have them as the 2nd biggest favorites on the night.

Offensive Stacks

Boston Red Sox vs. Philadelphia Phillies (Edward Lively)
Park – Fenway Park

Edward “Ben” Lively has only pitched 12 innings so far this year, which will hopefully give people and inaccurate depiction of who he is. Ben Lively is a below average pitcher and a guy you absolutely want to target with major league hitters. Lively has struggled throughout the minors and has never been above 8 K/9. The Red Sox have been hitting well at home and Vegas currently has them sitting at a 6 implied run total. The Phillies have a poor bullpen and a relentless lineup like this one is hard to stop consistently. You obviously have a lot of different ways to go with the Sox and you can’t really go wrong. Mookie Betts and Dustin Pedroia are the safest of the bunch, but may also be the highest owned. You then have to choose between Mitch Moreland and Hanley at 1B. Personally, I prefer Hanley, but the get the merit in going either way. Xander Bogaerts and Andrew Benintendi have as good as shots as anyone and should be less popular than the bunch. If you need to be crazy, I don’t hate targeting the bottom of the order in hopes of an HR.

Main Stack – Mookie Betts, Dustin Pedroia, Hanley Ramirez, Xander Bogaerts

Sneaky Stack – Mookie Betts, Dustin Pedroia, Mitch Moreland, Andrew Benintendi

Chicago White Sox vs. Baltimore Orioles (Alec Asher)
Park – Guaranteed Rate Field

We have a pitcher here in Alec Asher that is not very good. He’s holding a favorable .270 BABIP as of now, all the while struggling mightily against righties (.347 wOBA). He’s pitching on the road in Guaranteed Rate Field, where the ball flies pretty nicely. The White Sox, while a team that can be shut down by god pitching, has the tendency to have some solid hitting games as a whole. They have hit right-handed pitching well and have a few guys who can drive in runs, as well as a couple with some speed. Asher, as a righty, has been worse against righties, but I’m willing to target everyone. He’s not a good pitcher and doesn’t have any pitch that can shut down lefties. The White Sox lineup isn’t one that’s very spread out, so I don’t know how sneaky you’re really getting. Abreu is obviously a must in both formats and Frazier is right there as well with his power.

Main Stack – Melky Cabrera, Jose Abreu, Avisail Garcia, Todd Frazier

Sneaky Stack –  Jose Abreu, Todd Frazier, Tim Anderson, Matt Davidson

MLB Fanduel Lineup Today – June 12, 2017

Welcome to Lineup Lab’s Best MLB Fanduel lineup today, where we feature our top players for our MLB Lineup Optimizer on Fanduel and Draftkings. Put your favorite 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

Stephen Strasburg vs Atlanta Braves
Park – Nationals Park

In terms of pitching, this slate is rather cut and dry. Sure, you can look at the likes of Darvish and DeGrom for upside, but they hold real risk against the elite offenses of the Cubs and Astros. You then have Stephen Strasburg at home, facing the Freddie Freeman-less Atlanta Braves. The Braves are probably the worst hitting team in baseball without Freeman, at least against righties. Matt Kemp and Matt Adams are the 2 guys who the Braves are currently lean on, so let that tell you how it’s going in the ATL. Strasburg has never been so dominant and he’s one of the most entertaining pitchers to watch when throwing well. We use to dream about Stephen Strasburg being consistent on a start-by-start basis. We’re now seeing it. He’s been over 40 FanDuel points in each of his last 4 starts and has lasted at least 6 innings in 13 straight appearances. Strasburg s looking great and I see no reason to shy away in cash or tournaments. Personally, Strasburg will be on every team. He has more upside than anyone on the slate and is easily the safest to hit 40 points.

Masahiro Tanaka vs. Los Angeles Angels
Park – Angels Stadium

Once you get past Strasburg and the expensive tier, you have a whole bunch of nothing. Absolutely nothing. Luis Perdomo, Yovani Gallardo are guys who will be considered by plenty, which should let you know exactly how bad. Masahiro Tanaka is a really weird guy to look at right now, because we know he’s not this bad. He’s had fantastic starts this year and then fallen off for 2 weeks after. He’s either injured or running into some bad luck. He faces off against a Los Angeles Angels team that is missing Mike Trout. Trout is super-glue for this lineup that consists of strikeouts and groundouts. Albert Pujols can always send one over the fence, but he strikes out 30% of the time and hasn’t been great in the spacious Angels Stadium. You then get into hitters like Andrelton Simmons and Eric Young. Guys that are out there to play defense and try to move runners over. While a clean slate is never out of the possibility, it’s not expected here from Tanaka. I’m looking for 6 runs, 6 K’s and a run or two. If you’re able to get that type of production on the slate from Tanaka, you are in a fantastic spot.

Offensive Stacks

Baltimore Orioles vs. Chicago White Sox (Mike Pelfrey)
Park – Guaranteed Rate Field

Let’s get Mike Pelfrey out of the way. He has a BABIp of .240 this season. AKA throw away everything he has done. BABIP is not a specialty of Pelfrey, nor is it of any pitcher. It’s uncontrollable for the most part, sitting around .310 as average. As a note, groundball pitchers see slightly lower BABIP’s on average. Mike Pelfrey has always been around .320 and he will return there by the time its all said and done. With the regression monster looming like crazy, you want to make sure ou hop on before it’s too late. If the Orioles go off here, the opposing team against Pelfrey next week will be heavily owned as the public realized his fraud. Hop on early and get exposure to a team that can hit an HR from any spot in the order. When stacking the Orioles, you can go anywhere. Chris Davis is obviously the biggest HR threat against righties, with Machado and Trumbo a close 2nd and 3rd. You then work into Welington Castillo and Seth Smith, who are very nice plays that help you pay up elsewhere. If you want to get crazy, Jonathan Schoop hits righties better and should end up near the top of the order. All in all, the Orioles should be a bit under-owned and make for an incredible stack.

Main Stack – Chris Davis, Manny Machado, Seth Smith, Mark Trumbo

Sneaky Stack – Chris Davis, Jonathan Schoop, Mark Trumbo, Welington Castillo

Boston Red Sox vs. Philadelphia Phillies (Jerad Eickhoff)
Park – Fenway Park

When a team has an implied team total well over 6 outside of Coors Field, you have to take notice. The Red Sox are currently sitting at a 6.28, so Vegas is definitely expecting some runs to come out of that 3rd base dugout. They face off with Jerad Eickhoff, who doesn’t necessarily profile as the gas can you would imagine when a team is expected to score 6. He has struggled against both sides of the plate and the Phillies have a bottom 5 bullpen in all of baseball. Over the past 2 seasons, Eickhoff has sported a combined wOBA of .337. He has trouble with the long ball and Fenway Park is a top 5 park for right-handers. The Red Sox are like the Orioles, but to a lesser degree. They have 5 or 6 guys who can produce and they all have a ton of upside. Dustin Pedroia and Xander Bogaerts are the 2 safest options and should be pretty highly owned. You can then choose between Hanley Ramirez and Mitch Moreland. Moreland is a bit more expensive and has a better match-up, which should lead to higher ownership. Lower in the order, I’m fine targeting Jackie Bradley or Sandy Leon. They both have upside and will be way lower owned than the rest of the lineup. Who’s to say they won’t get up with 2 or 3 guys on base and take advantage.

Main Stack – Dustin Pedroia, Xander Bogaerts, Mookie Betts, Mitch Moreland

Sneaky Stack –  Mookie Betts, Hanley Ramirez, Xander Boagerts, Andrew Benintendi

*Mike Barner*

TOP MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Stacks – Sunday, June 11

Sunday’s slate of games looks to be top-heavy when it comes to starting pitchers, leaving plenty of offensive opportunities against several lesser starters. 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. Texas Rangers
Park – Nationals Park

Scherzer is having another excellent season as he enters Sunday 7-3 with a 2.35 ERA, 0.88 WHIP and 114 strikeouts in 84.1 innings pitched. Always a great source for strikeouts, Scherzer has recorded at least 11 of them in each of his last three games. He does a great job keeping runners off base in general as he has posted a WHIP of 0.97 or lower in four of the last five seasons. The Rangers are not a terrible offensive team, but they do strike out a lot. Look for Scherzer to have another impressive outing Sunday.

Adam Wainwright vs. Philadelphia Phillies
Park – Busch Stadium

Wainwright was rocked for nine runs in his last outing against the Cincinnati Reds and his overall numbers don’t look great as he has a 4.82 ERA and 1.56 WHIP on the season overall. However, he was hot heading into that start against the Reds as he had allowed no more than one run in four straight outings. The big key for Wainwright is that he gets to face a putrid Phillies offense that was shut out by Carlos Martinez on Saturday. While Wainwright is not close to the pitcher that Martinez is, you can still expect him to have success in this contest.

**OFFENSIVE STACKS**

New York Yankees vs. Kevin Gausman (Baltimore Orioles)
Park – Yankee Stadium

The Yankees offense is firing on all cylinders right now and they have just been dominating the Orioles. Sunday they get to face Gausman for the second time in less than two weeks. Although he only allowed two runs in his first start against the Yankees, he was lucky as he allowed eight hits and five walks. Gausman is having a terrible season in general as he has a 5.86 ERA, 1.78 WHIP and only 47 strikeouts in 66 innings. Get ready for another big performance from the Bronx Bombers.

Players to consider stacking: Aaron Judge, Starlin Castro and Aaron Hicks

Minnesota Twins vs. Matt Cain (San Francisco Giants)
Park – AT&T Park

Matt Cain is a long ways removed from being a dominant starting pitcher. He enters Sunday with a 4.87 ERA, 1.61 WHIP and only 42 strikeouts in 64.2 innings. His big problem is keeping runners off base as he has had a WHIP of at least 1.50 in each of the last three seasons. To top it off, Cain has a 7.98 ERA in day games this year. With the type of diminished stuff that Cain has at this point in his career, the Twins could be in for a big game on Sunday.

Players to consider stacking: Miguel Sano, Brian Dozier and Max Kepler

*Mike Barner*

Daily Fantasy Baseball Stacks – Saturday, June 10

Saturday’s schedule is packed with 17 games, leaving a lot of options to choose from for your DFS entry. 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**

Carlos Martinez vs. Philadelphia Phillies
Park – Busch Stadium

Martinez may only have a 4-5 record, but he deserves to have more wins than that. He enters Saturday with a 3.29 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 88 strikeouts in 79.1 innings pitched. Strikeouts are a big part of his value as he has recorded at least eight of them in each of his last three starts. Saturday he gets an excellent match up against the Phillies who are among the worst teams in baseball in terms of runs scored. Martinez should be well worth his high price tag in this contest.

Sonny Gray vs. Tampa Bay Rays
Stadium – Tropicana Field

Gray is coming off of a strong start where he only allowed three runs over seven innings against the potent Washington Nationals offense. He has been solid of late overall, throwing a quality start in four of his last five outings. Not known as a big strikeout pitcher, he does have a very respectable 37 strikeouts in 41.1 innings this year.  If you don’t want to spend the money on Martinez Saturday, Gray does provide value at a very reasonable price as well.

**OFFENSIVE STACKS**

New York Yankees vs. Chris Tillman (Baltimore Orioles)
Park – Yankee Stadium

Tillman has struggled mightily this season as he enters Saturday with a 5.59 ERA and 1.83 WHIP. He has had issues with his control this season as he is averaging 4.7 walks per nine innings, which would be his highest average since 2010. The Yankees already faced Tillman just over a week ago and crushed him for five runs in 2.2 innings. The Yankees offense is rolling right now, so expect them to continue to have success against Tillman Saturday.

Players to consider stacking: Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez and Brett Gardner

Houston Astros vs. Ricky Nolasco (Los Angeles Angels)
Park – Minute Maid Park

Nolasco’s numbers are ugly as he has a 5.05 ERA and 1.38 WHIP for the season. The scariest stat of them all though is that he has already allowed 18 home runs in only 66 innings. The Astros will get their chance to tee off on Nolasco Saturday. Don’t be surprised to see some balls leave the yard as the Astros not only have one of the best offenses in all of baseball, but also one of the most powerful.

Players to consider stacking: Jose Altuve, George Springer and Evan Gattis

*Chris Durell*

DraftKings & FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks for June 9, 2017

Welcome back to another full-Friday slate in daily fantasy baseball. Put your favorite 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
Opponent – vs. CWS
Park – Progressive Field (Hitters Park)
Vegas Favorite (CLE -250)
Vegas Total (8.0)

There is some weather risk tonight in Cleveland but it is actually more optimistic this morning than it was late last night. From a cash game perspective, it may not be wise to roll him out if it looks risky closer to lineup lock but for GPP’s I am hoping the herd avoids him for the most part as the upside is through the roof. Kluber has given up some runs this year (4.36 ERA) but has been getting a bit unlucky with a .311 BABIP and even the xFIP is running just over a full run lower through seven starts. He comes into this matchup with an elite strikeout profile with a 13.9% swinging strike rate that is producing a 10.6 K/9 rate. These numbers will also get a boost tonight as the White Sox come to town ranked second to last in hitting vs. right-handed pitching and striking out just over 23% of the time. Even Jake Odorizzi of the Rays beat the White Sox last night, striking out eight batters in the process. Be sure to check the weather throughout the day because Kluber is the highest projected pitcher on Friday and it’s not that close.

Randall Delgado
Opponent – vs. MIL
Park – Chase Field (Hitters Park)
Vegas Favorite (ARI -140)
Vegas Total (9.5)

This slate is really beginning to have that GPP feel so I am going to continue down that road and give you a low-end option to pair with Kluber on DraftKings to get some of the top bats in your lineup. Enter Randall Delgado who is coming off a bad luck loss in his last start where the opposing pitcher Edinson Volquez no-hit the Diamondbacks. Delgado came out of the bullpen to start the season and will now be making his fourth start of the season for a short-handed pitching staff. Through three starts, he has held opponents to one earned run in each start and has recorded 15 strikeouts to just two walks. That strikeout upside gets an even bigger boost tonight as the Brew crew comes to town striking out over 30% of the time over the past seven days. While the Brewers have, at times, crushed righties(9th in wOBA) they have also struck out just 25% of the time over the course of the season. At his current price, we would gladly take another 5-6 inning outing with 5-6 strikeouts.

**OFFENSIVE STACKS**

Boston Red Sox vs. Jordan Zimmerman (DET)
Park – Comerica Park (Hitters Park)
Vegas – (BOS -146)
Vegas Total (10.5)

I lead with a team in the Red Sox who have been ice cold lately and I am doing it for a reason. First of all, I feel people are really starting to fade them as they aren’t your father’s Red Sox of the past. They are struggling to find their identity with Big Papi out of the picture but don’t be fooled as they are still loaded with talent in their lineup. These early struggles are definitely opening up some buy low(price and ownership) opportunities and tonight is another prime spot. The second part of the equation is the matchup vs. Jordan Zimmerman who has been nothing short of terrible this season. Don’t be fooled by his bounce back last start as it was the White Sox who we just talked about above as being atrocious vs. right-handed pitching. Zimmerman comes into tonight with 5.98 ERA and 5.49 xFIP and the best part about stacking against him is the fact he is giving up nearly 40% hard contact and a 17.4% HR/FB rate. If there was ever a time for a big time offense to snap out of a slump, it would be tonight. From a salary standpoint, I would avoid Andrew Benintendi on DraftKings as somehow is priced up higher than Betts.

Top Stack – Mookie Betts, Andrew Benintendi (FD Only), Xander Bogaerts, Mitch Moreland

Toronto Blue Jays vs. Sam Gaviglio(SEA)
Park – Safeco Field (Pitchers Park)
Vegas – (TOR -115)
Vegas Total (8.5)

It has been a season full of injury and inconsistency from the team North of the border but there are signs of life now that everyone is seemingly healthy. Over the past 14 days, they have ranked inside the Top 5 when looking at wOBA and wRC+ and have 25 home runs, second to only the Reds and Astros in that time frame. Although the matchup in Safeco is a downgrade from a park factor standpoint, the matchup vs. Gaviglio is exactly what we are looking for when stacking against a pitcher. He comes in with a four-pitch arsenal but the fastball that he throws over 60% of the time only averages around 88 mph on the radar gun and that isn’t scaring anyone off. He is having a very tough time missing bats at the major-league level(6% swinging strike rate) which combined with an xFIP over a run higher than his ERA, tells us that the regression fairy is coming to visit real soon. That is not good news for a pitcher who is already giving up a 21% HR/FB rate. Look for the Jays to take advantage tonight.

Top Stack – Kevin Pillar, Josh Donaldson, Jose Bautista, Kendrys Morales

*Chris Durell*

Best MLB Draftkings Lineup for Tonight – June 08

Welcome back to the best MLB Draftkings lineup for tonight, today on tap we have another short-slate Thursday. I will be covering my top pitching options and my top stack to target for tonight’s eight-game main slate.

Put your favorite 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**

Lance McCullers
Opponent – @KC
Park – Kauffman Stadium (Neutral)
Vegas Favorite (HOU -190)
Vegas Total (9.0)

McCullers is the second biggest favorite on the slate to Jon Lester and the Cubs but has the better matchup today. While Lester and Price face Top 5 offenses in the Rockies and Yankees, McCullers gets a date with the Royals who sit second to last in overall runs scored this season and rank 26th in wOBA and 27th in wRC+ vs. right-handed pitching this season. For McCullers, it has been a very positive start to the season with a 6-1 record and while he has given up some home runs (18% HR/FB rate), he sits with a 2.71 ERA and slightly lower 2.68 xFIP. Even more good news is that he has cut his walks almost in half from last season’s disaster while keeping the swinging strike rate above 12% and the K/9 rate above 10. He is the clear choice for me on FanDuel where the Top 3 are only separated by a couple hundred bucks but on DraftKings there is a case to be made for the other two options who come at a sizeable discount. I still trust him in all formats.

Jake Odorizzi
Opponent – vs. CWS
Park – Tropicana Field (Pitcher Positive)
Vegas Favorite (TB -166)
Vegas Total (8.0)

For tournaments, I love taking a shot with Jake Odorizzi tonight for a few reasons. First of all, he is in the exact same price range as Edinson Volquez who is coming off a no-hitter against the Diamondbacks which should have people chasing points. Not that I won’t have a few shares but I feel Odorizzi is a perfect pivot with projected lower ownership. He strikes out just over league average batters per nine but that should get a boost tonight as he faces a White Sox team who ranks right near the bottom of all offensive categories vs. right-handed pitching including a 23.7% strikeout rate. There is definitely downside to Odorizzi (not safe in cash) as he has had issues keeping the ball in the park (18% HR/FB rate) but he has been much better at home with an ERA of 2.90 vs. 4.50 on the road.

**STACK OF THE NIGHT**

Baltimore Orioles vs. Joe Ross (WSH)
Park – Nationals Park (Pitcher Positive)
Vegas – (BAL +142)
Vegas Total (9.0)

The Nats actually come in as early favorites in one of the highest projected Vegas totals on the slate. While Joe Ross has been a disaster this year, Alec Asher has not been any better is clearly the worse overall pitcher. Back to Joe Ross. While he does present some issues with his above average strikeout rate (8.5 K/9) he has been getting hit extremely hard this season to the tune of a 39.4% hard contact rate against. This has led to 22.5% of his fly balls to leave the yard, giving up nine home runs in his first six starts. The fact that the Orioles are also likely to be without Manny Machado tonight, after injuring his wrist last night, leads me to believe that they could come under-owned in tournaments. I think it is a mistake to overlook them as they come with a ton of power, even without their elite third basemen.

Top Stack – Seth Smith, Adam Jones, Mark Trumbo, Chris Davis

MLB Fanduel Lineup Today – June 07, 2017

Welcome to Lineup Lab’s Best MLB Fanduel lineup today, where we feature our top players for our MLB Lineup Optimizer on Fanduel and Draftkings. Put your favorite 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

Clayton Kershaw vs Washinton Nationals
Park – Dodgers Park

Yep, a real sleeper. On this three game early slate, there really isn’t a better option. Kershaw faces the Nats at home today, in pitcher-friendly Dodgers Park. While the Nationals clearly have star-studded names in their lineup, they do not do great against southpaws and strikeout more than league average. Kershaw has pitches that will destroy any left-handed batter, so the likes of Bryce Harper and Daniel Murphy will be greatly decreased. Kerhsaw, instead, should draw his attention to Zimmerman and who both hold a .390+ wOBA against them in 2017. Kershaw has a tendency to strikeout around 9 or 10 batters per 9 innings. In the past three straight seasons he has help a .280 wOBA. Even though he is expensive, Kershaw always seems to be worth the play in cash and GPP’s, especially on this small early slate.

Dallas Keuchel vs. Kansas City Royals
Park – Kauffman Stadium

Dallas Keuchel comes in as the top and most expensive pitcher on this main 12-game slate. HE heads to one of the best pitching parks in baseball to face off with one of the worst lineups in the game. Kauffman Stadium is one of the bigger parks in baseball and ranked 2nd to last in terms of power since 2012. Keuchel is having a Cy Young season and while he may be getting a few lucky breaks, he is this good. He’s holding lefties to a .122 wOBA and righties to an amazing .250. He’s still not a huge strikeout guy, putting away just 8.26 per 9 by the K. The Royals offense is one of the absolute worst in baseball, like it or not. They hold a .277 team wOBA against lefties, which is second to last behind just the Padres. In this ballpark, Lorenzo Cain is really the only + hitter against lefties and he is even struggling at the plate. Keuchel will be very popular and rightfully so. In cash games, I wouldn’t get cute. If you need to go elsewhere in tournaments, Greinke and Odorizzi are intriguing.

Offensive Stacks

St. Louis Cardinals vs. Cincinnati Reds (Bronson Arroyo)
Park – Great American Ball Park

Bronson Arroyo is on the mound, so you have to love some of these Cardinals. While Arroyo hasn’t been thrashed in most of his starts, he isn’t very good either. He’s allowed at least 2 runs in each of his starts and usually gives up at least 4. He never lasts any longer than 5 or 6 innings and will rarely have a clean slate. He’s allowed 12 home runs in his last 5 starts, which is simply astonishing. He pitches at Great American Ballpark tonight, which has ranked in the top 5 for hitters in each of the last 3 seasons. The Cardinals are a team who gets a big upgrade with this park, as they are generally in the spacious Busch Stadium. A lot of these guys don’t have much power and this ballpark gives them a ton more upside. Matt Carpenter and Dexter Fowler are the easy calls. They both rake righties and have been swinging the bat well. You then have a whole bunch of different guys to choose from. Aledmys Diaz is a lot better than righties and he would be my other favorite if he sees the top of the order. Jedd Gyorko and Yadier Molina are the 2 Cardinals who will probably be over-owned, but are just fine in cash games. All in all, the Cardinals in Great American Ballpark against Bronson Arroyo is too good of a spot to ignore.

Main Stack – Dexter Fowler, Matt Carpenter, Yadier Molina, Stephen Piscotty

Sneaky Stack – Dexter Fowler, Matt Carpenter, Aledmys Diaz, Jhonny Peralta

Chicago Cubs vs. Miami Marlins (Jose Urena)
Park – Wrigley Field

The fact of the matter is that Jose Urena is not very good at all. He, like Arroyo, seems to give up at least a few runs every single start. He also has a problem with the HR ball and moves into a park that is a lot friendlier to hitters than Marlins Park. Wrigley Field, while heavily dependent on wind and degrees, ranked 9th for power in 2016. Yes, that probably has something to do with the home team being the power-heavy Cubs. Still, that’s who Urena is facing tonight, so it doesn’t really matter. Urena has sported a .417 wOBA against righties and has allowed 7 homers in just 25 innings (lol). The Cubs are obviously one of the more dangerous offenses in baseball and always have 8 guys you can play. Tonight is no different. Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant are still the top dogs, with whoever is in the 1/4 hole coming up next. Against righties, it should be Ian Happ and Kyle Schwarber/Ben Zobrist. In tournaments, you can definitely look lower in the order. Javier Baez has a ton of power against righties and always goes under-owned because of Addison Russell. The Cubs are the offense with the most upside tonight and you should be able to fit them without too many issues.

Main Stack – Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Javier Baez

Sneaky Stack – Kris Bryant, Wilson Contreras, Jason Heyward