MLB Fantasy Lineup Today – July 4, 2017
*Austyn Varney*
MLB Fantasy Lineup Today – July 4, 2017
Welcome to Lineup Lab’s Best MLB Fantasy 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
Michael Fulmer
Opponent – Vs. SFG
Park – Comerica Park
Vegas Favorite (DET -205)
Vegas Total (10)
On the early slate, the pitching options aren’t nearly as strong. We’ll touch on the late slate later, but we have a bunch of aces to choose from. The early slate is less fruitful, but we definitely have stronger options than last night. We’ll start with Michael Fulmer, who is facing the Giants at home in Comerica Park. Fulmer, at 24 years old, has been very impressive. He did come up as a big prospect, but nobody thought he would develop as fast as he has. He’s posted a .257 combined wOBA and his peripherals back it up. He’s striking out nearly 8 batters per 9 innings and walking just under 2. He’ll face off with the Giants today, who hold the lowest wOBA against righties in all of the league at just .280. Comerica Park is a very spacious one and while it’s not as big as AT&T Park, it still holds its own. The Tigers are a -205 favorite and face Matt Cain, so the win should be there as long as Fulmer is decent. All in all, pitching is pretty ugly on this early slate and Fulmer gives you some solid security.
Corey Kluber
Opponent – Vs. SDP
Park – Progressive Field
Vegas Favorite (CLE -305)
Vegas Total (8.5)
It basically comes down to Clayton Kershaw vs Corey Kluber in cash games on this main slate. They both have pretty solid match-ups and you obviously can’t go wrong either way. We’ll look at Kluber here, who is cheaper and has been exceptionally great this season. He’s sported a .227 wOBA against righties and a .293 against lefties, while striking out over 11 batters per 9 innings. Kluber looks to be back to the pitcher he was in 2014, when he was a top 3 pitcher. His hard contact rate, line drive rate, and pull % are all way down from last season, when he struggled a bit. The Indians are a crazy -305 favorite and the win is already almost in the bag. He faces the Padres, who we know all too well. They’ve ranked 3rd worst in the majors with a .301 wOBA and strikeout a ton at 25.6% hard contact rate. Progressive Field is rather average for hitting and Kluber has posted a wOBA under .250 there for many years. All in all, Kluber is going to have a good game and it just comes down to what the others do. Kershaw, Darvish, Price, and Hernandez are also on the slate and have as much upside as anyone. Kluber is coming in as the top option in terms of point per dollar, but don’t be afraid to go elsewhere.
Offensive Stacks
Detroit Tigers Vs. San Francisco Giants (Matt Cain)
Park – Comerica Park
I’m going with 1 offense on the early slate and 1 on the main slate, starting with the Tigers. The Tigers will face off with the Giants, at home in Comerica Park. It is the middle of summer and if you’re wondering why it seems like every day-time game has a high O/U, that’s why. The country is hot and we’re no longer seeing 50-degree weather up north. This Tigers game is sitting at 10, though the Tigers are implied to score over 6 of those. They face off with Matt Cain, who is absolutely horrible. He may actually be one of the 3 worst pitchers in the entire league at this point. Cain has allowed a .358 wOBA to righties and a .368 to lefties. He’s barely striking out 5 batters per 9 innings and giving up an LD rate of nearly 26%. Cain is simply horrible right now and coming from AT&T Park, Comerica is a downgrade for him. The Tigers are the top offense on this early slate and I’ll make sure to have a ton of exposure. J.D. Martinez and Miguel Cabrera both hit righties phenomenally and they are my 2 favorites. Ian Kinsler and Alex Avila are also pretty safe and should see 1/2 in the order. After those 4, you can go anywhere. V-Mart, Castellanos, and Upton are all in play and can be argued over Kinsler or Avila.
Main Stack – J.D. Martinez, Miguel Cabrera, Ian Kinsler, Alex Avila
Sneaky Stack – J.D. Martinez, Miguel Cabrera, Nick Castellanos, Victor Martinez
Colorado Rockies Vs. Cincinnati Reds (Homer Bailey)
Park – Coors Field
Wow, the Rockies are currently holding an implied run total of 7.10. It’s the highest I remember seeing this year and I don’t think Vegas is wrong. Homer Bailey is coming into Coors Field. Yes, the Homer Bailey who gives up home runs for fun. The Homer Bailey who hasn’t pitched since 2014 and struggled for about 2 years before that. He’s only pitched a few innings over the last few years, but has looked all but good. The Reds management has now decided it would be wise to start him in Coors Field against the Rockies. With a 7 implied run total, there isn’t a player on this roster I would talk you off of. CarGo, Arenado, and Blackmon are obviously elite and in a class of their own within the lineup. LeMahieu and Reynolds come in next and both can be played in cash games. Tapia and Story are both great tournament plays and in cash games, I can’t blame you. The game is sitting at a 13 over/under and it looks to be getting bet up as of now. All in all, the Rockies are easily the top offense on the slate and while they may be popular, I have no reservations to go contrarian.
Main Stack – Charlie Blackmon, Carlos Gonzalez, Nolan Arenado, D.J. LeMahieu
Sneaky Stack – Charlie Blackmon, Carlos Gonzalez, Mark Reynolds, Trevor Story