James Leer

Welcome to the Thursday edition of MLB Daily Fantasy with a 10-game main slate on tap. As we bring in the official first day of Autumn, that can mean only one thing; post-season baseball is right around the corner. Let’s take a look at the top options for both pitchers and team stack targets.

PITCHERS

Justin Verlander FD 10000 DK 12400
Opponent – MIN (Santana) Park – @MIN
FD – 37.25 DK – 24.79

If you’re looking for the best arm on the slate this evening, look no further than Justin Verlander. Verlander, by our numbers, is the highest projected pitcher on the mound tonight. Coming into the game against a lackluster Twins offense, Detroit is staying motivated by chasing a playoff spot. Verlander is having a bounce-back season after struggling last year with an extremely attractive 9.7 Ks/9, his highest since 2009. While most of his numbers are generally solid, (.281 allowed wOBA, .374 allowed SLG), he is having trouble with the longball this season (1.22 HR/9). However, against the middle-of-the-road Minnesota bats, Verlander should have no problem easing out the Win.

STACK TARGETS

Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Chase Anderson (Brewers)
Park – Miller Park

With two bad pitchers on the mound, we should have a high-scoring affair at Miller Park tonight. The better choice of the two to stack should be The Pirates. While Pittsburgh doesn’t have a ton of power, they find a multitude of other ways to get on base and create runs. In the last 30 days, they are 2nd in the league with an astounding 10.7 BB%, 5th with a .337 wOBA, and have a .426 SLG. Combine that with the fact that they are up against Chase Anderson and you have a recipe for a Pirates field-day. Anderson, a young right-hander, has the rare displeasure of having worse numbers against righties than lefties. Having a horrific .557 SLG and a .386 wOBA versus Righties, with an overall xFIP of 4.68 I see no reason why the Pirates shouldn’t slide into victory.

Main Stack – Andrew McCutchen, Gregory Polanco, Jordy Mercer, Sean Rodriguez
Sneaky Stack – Andrew McCutchen, Grgory Polanco, Jordy Mercer, Jung-ho Kang

Chris Durell

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

What We Learned – Week Two NFL

We saw a ton of RB injuries which will make Week 3 interesting when trying to find value. Matt Asiata is a likely candidate as he will get a lot of carries now that Adrian Peterson has officially been ruled out. The Giants lost Rashad Jennings in the second half after he injured his hand. The Giants do expect him to play for Week 3 versus the Redskins but expect Shane Vereen to benefit, especially on DraftKings with full point PPR. Jonathan Stewart suffered a hamstring injury after just five carries which paved the way for Fozzy Whittaker to receive 16 carries and rushed for an even 100 yards. No exact timetable for Stewart’s return.

Other notable injuries from Week Two include:
Danny Woodhead – Out for season
Doug Martin – expected to miss three weeks
Ameer Abdullah – Lions have placed him on IR, which requires him to miss eight weeks
Thomas Rawls – Bruise, should play this week
Arian Foster – Groin issue, expected to be a long shot to play

The highest projected game and potential fantasy gold mine turned out to be a flop between the Giants and Saints. After a 400+ yard/4 TD effort in Week 1 Drew Brees only threw for 263 yards and 1 TD on Sunday while Eli Manning didn’t toss a TD but threw for 368 yards, which is promising. It was Sterling Sheppard not Odell Beckham Jr. going off this week catching all eight of his receptions for 117 yards.

It was also an odd game between the Steelers and Bengals in a match that saw 786 yards of total offense in which Antonio Brown and AJ Green were both held under 40 yards. For the Bengals it was Giovani Bernard benefiting from the Bengals trailing for the majority of the game as he received 11 targets, catching nine of them for 100 yards and a TD. Two of the three Steeler TD’s were caught by Tight Ends Jesse James and Xavier Grimble. Moving on!

The Cardinals bounced back after a Week One loss to the Patriots by dismantling the Buccaneers on Sunday. Carson Palmer was a huge DFS value last week, especially on DraftKings at $6,900, and he didn’t disappoint throwing for 308 yards and 3 TD’s. He once again proved his favorite target is Larry Fitzgeraldwho caught six of his 11 targets for 81 yards and a TD. Next in the pecking order is clearly RB David Johnson who didn’t have the best days rushing(12/45/0) but caught three passes on five targets for 98 yards. On the other side of the ball, Jameis Winston laid an egg after an excellent week one. He threw for just 243 yards and 1 TD with four interceptions on the day. His one TD went to his stud wideout Mike Evans who caught just six of his league leading 17 targets in week two. It was disappointing to see so many drops, but it is very promising seeing him get that many targets.

Defense vs. Position Rankings

I have added this section now that we have more than a one-game sample size. I will take a look at some top defenses to target at each position based on their early play and compared to last years ranks. Let’s take a look.

Quarterback/Wide Receiver
I will group these two positions together as they correlate very closely as most of a QB’s targets will be to his WR’s.

After two weeks the top team to target your QB/WR stacks against is the Oakland Raiders. With promises coming into the season, they have been awful so far allowing 819 passing yards and 7 TD’s with five going to WR’s. They will now travel to Tennessee to face the Titans making a Marcus Mariota/Tajae Sharpe stack very intriguing.

The other big standout team that has ranked poorly vs. QB’s and WR’s is the Jacksonville Jaguars. The have given up just 419 yards through the air but 6 TDs and no interceptions. Wide Receivers have recorded 330 of those yards with five of the six touchdowns. They draw the Ravens this week and the big arm of Joe Flacco and his two top wide receivers, Steve Smith Sr. (15 targets) and Mike Wallace (12 targets).

Running Back

The biggest standout when looking for defenses to target your running backs against is the Indianapolis Colts who have allowed almost ten more fantasy points per game to RB’s than any other team. They have allowed 236 yards on the ground with 3 TD’s, while also giving up 15 receptions on 18 targets for 155 yards and 2 TDs. Melvin Gordon should be on your radar this week for sure.

The other team I will be heavily targeting this week will be the Kansas City Chiefs facing Matt Forte and the Jets. The Chiefs allowed the Chargers duo of Woodhead/Gordon to rush for 146 yards and 2 TDs in week one and allowed the Texans to rush for 97 yards in week two. This week they get Forte who has already seen 52 carries for the Jets, accumulating 196 yards (3.8 yds/carry) and three touchdowns.

Tight End

The top team to target at the position has been the Lions which could be a little skewed after week one saw Dwayne Allen and Jack Doyle catch seven balls for 88 yards and three touchdowns. Things didn’t get much better against the Titans in week two as they allowed Delanie Walker six catches for 83 yards and one touchdown. The Packers don’t offer much in the way of TE targets but if you wanted to stack QB/WR/RB you could always punt with Jared Cook who has received eight targets in the first two weeks.

I will also be heavily targeting the Falcons until they can prove they can stop a TE in the red zone. They allowed the Bucs to score twice (Myers/Sefarian-Jenkins) in week one and then allowed Clive Walford to catch six balls for 50 yards and a touchdown in week two. This week they get a division rival in the Saints on Monday Night Football. Coby Fleener has disappointed so far catching just three balls but has received 12 targets which is Top 10 at the position. The other nice thing about Fleener is the price has dropped and so will
the ownership.

Thursday Night Football

At this point, I have not decided whether I want some exposure to the Texans/Patriots this Thursday. The game currently sits with the Texans slightly favored, as it is still unclear who the Patriots will start at QB with Jimmy Garoppolo who could be cleared to play. However, it is very doubtful. If it is rookie Jacoby Brissett starting, I am tempted to load up on the Texans defense. The Patriots rank in the bottom of the league after two weeks in fantasy points against QB’s and WR’s so stacking Brock Osweiler with DeAndre Hopkins or Will Fuller makes a terrific GPP play this week.

Week 3 SUN/MON Top Games to Target

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

Atlanta Falcons vs. New Orleans Saints

I am jumping right through Sunday and into the Monday Night Football game. The game is not available in the Millionaire Makers on either site as usual but presents an excellent opportunity if you play the Sun-Mon slate on FanDuel or Thurs-Mon slate on DraftKings. Looking at defensive rankings over the first two weeks these teams bot rank in the bottom four of total yards allowed with the Saints ranking 21st (903 yards against). This would surely explain the highest Vegas projected total (54) of the week. After two games both Matt Ryan (730 yards/5 TD) and Drew Brees (686 yards/5 TD) sit inside the Top 5 at the QB position and both have elite options to get the ball to week to week. Julio Jones has not been 100% so far this season, but it has hardly shown in the box score as he has recorded a TD in each of the first two games and is coming off his first 100 yard game of the season. He gets an extra day of rest and should be ready to go for MNF.

Mohamed Sanu makes a viable value option and has received 13 targets in his first two games with the Falcons. The running back situation isn’t a complete time-share but Tevin Coleman is going to take some snaps away from Devonta Freeman but not enough for me to consider rostering him. I think if anything the situation keeps Freeman’s price in the value area and his ownership down making him a great GPP option. On the other side of the field, Drew Brees has Brandon Cooks (18 target/13 receptions/211 yards/2 TDs), Willie Snead (17/14/226/2) and rookie Michael Thomas (11/10/114/0) to toss it to while Mark Ingram finds his stride at RB after struggling to open the season.

San Diego Chargers vs. Indianapolis Colts

On Sunday I will focus a lot of my lineups around the Chargers/Colts game which has the second highest total(52) of the week and has a thin -2.5 spread with the home team coming in as the early favorites. This is another situation of bad defenses facing off as the Colts rank 30th (848 yards allowed), and the Chargers sit 22nd (801 yards allowed). I lean the Colts offense over the Chargers as Andrew Luck is an elite QB. He has bounced back nicely after an injury-shortened season in 2015 and has passed for 582 yards in the first two weeks with five touchdowns and just one interception. Leading the way for the receiving core for Luck is TY Hilton who has received the most targets by a wide receiver not named Mike Evans. Donte Moncrief was the #2 in the system until he left with an injury Sunday. If he is unavailable this Sunday, Hilton will continue to see huge volume and Phillip Dorsett could become the value play of the week at the position. On the other side of the ball, Phillip Rivers and Co. make for an attractive play in cash games or as a part of a stack that won’t cost a ton of salary. The loss of Keenan Allen in week one and Danny Woodhead in week two have opened up big opportunities for Melvin Gordon, Travis Benjamin and Tyrell Williams while old reliable Antonio Gates makes a tournament play only due to his TD dependent value.

Thanks for reading this week’s article and stay tuned later in the week for my Favorite Stacking options for the weekend. If you have any questions or comments hit me up on Twitter(@jager_bombs9). Cheers!

Chris Durell

Welcome to another Hump-Day edition of our DFS baseball picks. We have a smaller split slate today with three early games highlighted by a terrific matchup for the Rockies at home. The 12 game evening slate kicks off at 7:00 p.m. ET and is jam packed with ace pitchers in exceptional spots. Let’s take a glimpse at a few pitching and stacking options for tonight’s action.

PITCHERS

Chris Sale FD 11000 DK 14000
Opponent – PHI (Eickhoff) Park – @PHI
FD – 38.96 DK – 25.72

Sale has, what appears to be, the best matchup of the entire slate which says a lot with so many aces on the mound. He gets a slight park upgrade going to Citizens Bank Park tonight where the White Sox are big -160 favorites against the Phillies who rank 29th in wOBA(.283) and wRC+(73) against left-handed pitching with a 22.7% K rate. They have also been striking out at a ridiculous 29% rate over the last 14 days. Sale has K’d ten or more batters in three of his last five starts and will have a great shot to continue that trend tonight.

Kenta Maeda FD 9000 DK 9300
Opponent – SF (Moore) Park – @LAD
FD – 32.42 DK – 21.35

If you don’t feel comfortable paying elite prices for pitching take a shot with Kenta Maeda tonight who is in a great spot to pick up a win. The Dodgers are heavy -165 favorite at home to the Giants who sit just five games back in the NL West. Maeda has been very consistent lately limiting his opponents to three earned runs or less in 10 straight starts with a 3.21 ERA and 8.52 K/9 rate. Maeda has an appealing floor at a price in the low $9K range and is safe in cash games but may have limited upside for large GPP’s as the Giants K under 20% of the time.

STACKS

Colorado Rockies vs. Luke Weaver (Cardinals)
St. Louis Cardinals vs. German Marquez (Rockies)
Park – Coors Field

This game alone makes it worth playing the three-game early slate or all day slate on Wednesday. Vegas is projecting the total at 12.5 runs right now with the Cardinals coming in as slight -135 favorites. Luke Weaver looked decent in back to back starts before an error derailed his start. The Giants scored six unearned runs off five straight hits before Weaver got the hook in the 3rd inning. In seven starts during his rookie season, he has a satisfactory 2.87 xFIP but has struggled with the long ball, giving up a 17.9% HR/FB rate. Look for Nolan Arenado, Charlie Blackmon, Carlos Gonzalez and DJ Lemahieu to get to him early and often forcing another early exit so they can tee off on the bullpen.

On the other side of the field, the Cardinals get a huge park upgrade once again as they look to sweep the series in style. The Cards rank 4th in wOBA(.331) and 2nd in wRC+(108) against right-handed pitching this season and face off with a pitcher making his first career start. In three relief appearances in September, he has struggled walking four batters in his first 5.1 innings while striking out just three. The Cardinals are one of the few teams you can find stacking value from the leadoff spot all the way through to the seven spot on most nights. They can all contribute power as well as they have shown over the last 14 days where everyone but Jedd Gyorko has homered off the Cards with 20 or more at bats.

Texas Rangers vs. Jered Weaver (Angels)
Park – Globe Life Park in Arlington

Both the Red Sox/Orioles and Angels/Rangers games have high 10 Vegas totals today, but I lean the Rangers for a few reasons. First of all, Globe Life Park in Arlington has been a much better hitter park this season, especially as the year has gone on. The biggest thing that sways me towards the Rangers is the actual team projection. The Rangers are huge -190 home favorites while the Red Sox and Orioles game sits at a pick-em. While you would think the Rangers would be better against southpaws, they have been a bit better against right handed pitching this season ranking 9th in wOBA(.326) and 8th in ISO(.177). Start with the new leadoff man Carlos Gomez then add Ian Desmond, Carlos Beltran, Adrian Beltre to complete the top four of the order then consider value plays in Roughned Odor, Jonathan Lucroy and Nomar Mazara in the bottom half of the lineup.

Tuesday is here, and it’s time for a full schedule of nighttime baseball without all of those NFL distractions. The menu is full with 15 main-slate games all in play. Don’t forget to check out our free tool, MLB PlayerLab, which can help you find the most optimal bats to stack in your lineup tonight. Let’s take a look at the top options for both pitchers and stacks.

Pitchers

Jose Fernandez FD 11300 DK 12500
Opponent – WASH (Roark) Park – @MIA
FD – 43.2 DK – 23.9

By now everyone knows that Fernandez dominates his opponents at home. Boasting an insanely impressive .243 wOBA, and a .266 allowed OBP he baffles his adversary in the humid climate. Fernandez comes into today dominating all pitchers in a couple of overall stats for the 2016 season, a 2.58 xFIP, and 12.43 K/9. Even though he is pitching against some intimidating opponents in The Nationals, it’s worth nothing that their offense has been a bit stagnant as of late. Currently, they rank 18th in the league with a 95 wRC+ versus righties, and while they have shown improvement in their lineup with Trea Turner, they have regressed over the last month. All in all, don’t let the big bats scare you, expect more of the same trickery from Jose at home.

Stacks

Texas Rangers vs Daniel Wright (Angels)
Park -Globe Life in Arlington

If you’re looking for an alternative to Coors Field, look no further than Globe Life Park. The hot temperatures of the Texas climate often cause the baseball to fly out of the park. The Rangers, along with the seasonably warm temperatures, have been on fire as of late. In the last 30 days, they rank #3 overall with a .457 slug, and #4 with a .340 wOBA. Tonight their facing one of the weakest pitchers on tap, Daniel Wright. Wright was claimed off waivers from the Reds in early September after they dropped him for less than stellar AAA results, having a 4.21 FIP. However, the Angels saw the potential and promptly picked him up and threw him in the majors, but things have not been going well for him as you might expect. With only 23 MLB innings, the sample size may be small, but the 5.48 FIP, 4.3 Ks/9, and 1.57 HRs/9 have more than confirmed Cincinnati’s doubts. With the Rangers plugging holes in their lineup, with the additions of Carlos Beltran and Lucroy, it’s safe to say that they are a post-season threat.

Welcome to Monday daily fantasy baseball! With Monday Night Football in full swing, don’t forget there’s still some great value in MLB DFS. Be sure to check out our PlayerLab and get your lineups optimized and in before the start of games at 7 PM EST. Let’s take a look at the top options for pitchers and stacks.

PITCHER
Noah Syndergaard FD 11000 DK 11600
Opponent – ATL (Blair) Park – @NYM
FD – 37.71 DK – 24.35

The Atlanta Braves are coming to town and they are starting off against the Mets ace. Syndergaard sits high on the leaderboard for many stats, proving that he is one of the top performers in the league. Making a late run as a candidate for the National League Cy Young award, so far this season, he has a .270 combined wOBA, with an impressive 10.6 K/9. The Braves have limited power and often find themselves struggling to win games. Such is the cast currently winning only four games out of their last ten. The lack of runs should continue for Atlanta tonight as Citi Field is a pitchers’ park, ranked in the bottom ten for hitters. Syndergaard should be considered a play in both cash and tournament games tonight.

STACKS

Boston Redsox vs. Dylan Bundy (Orioles)
Park – Camden Yards

The Red Sox always have the potential to score a ton of runs. Tonight should be no different as they take on the Orioles. Boston is coming in hot, winning their last four games with elite power batters hitting the ball all around the park. After a great start to the majors, Orioles pitcher Dylan Bundy is currently struggling with an unimpressive .340 wOBA. Bundy has a 6.27 ERA over his past four starts. Last time, versus the Sox, he allowed three runs in 5 1/3 innings. Playing tonight against their division rivals, you can be sure that the red hot bats of the Red Sox
will show no signs of slowing.

Welcome to another TGIF edition of our daily fantasy baseball picks. Today we have one game in the afternoon (MIL vs. CHC) and 14 games on the main slate. The pitching is elite today with at least five aces on the mound meaning it will be important to find value. There are also some nice value and punt options which will help us get to the elite bats in Coors Field and Fenway Park. Let’s take a look at a few pitchers and stacking options for tonight.

PITCHERS

Max Scherzer FD 11000 DK 13700
Opponent – ATL (Gant) Park – @ATL
FD – 42.62 DK – 27.81

Out of all the aces on the mound today it’s Scherzer with the highest price tag and the best matchup. The Nationals are currently -235 favorites as they go on the road to Atlanta tonight to face the Braves. Max has been elite this season with an 11.09 K/9 rate and has been the beneficiary of an outstanding schedule down the stretch. This will be the fifth time he has faced the Braves or Phillies in his last six starts. He backs up his elite K rate with a 2.78 ERA and 3.38 xFIP despite being a heavy fly ball pitcher. With the highest floor and ceiling tonight Scherzer is by far the #1 option on the mound.

Luke Weaver FD 7100 DK 5200
Opponent – SF (Moore) Park – @SF
FD – 29.78 DK – 20.17

I mentioned in the opening that it will be critical to find some value tonight with so many aces on the mound plus multiple top-end stacking matchups. Luke Weaver is one of the top pitching values on the mound tonight as he comes in with a very low price, especially on DraftKings where he makes an excellent second pitcher option. Weaver has now made six starts for the Cardinals since being called up in mid-August and has been very impressive. He sits with a 3.48 ERA and an even better 2.76 xFIP despite giving up a 20% HR/FB rate and dealing with a high .325 BABIP and 84% LOB rate. Yes, that means there could be even more upside in the near future. Weaver also comes with an elite 11.32 K/9 rate. The floor is high, but the ceiling may be limited as the Giants only K 17.4% against right-handed pitching. Either way, Weaver is an elite salary relief option on Friday.

STACKS

Colorado Rockies vs. Christian Friederich (Padres)
Park – Coors Field

It is going to be hard to fade the Rockies tonight as they return home for a matchup against the Padres. They currently sit with a crazy high 6.75 run projection as -165 home favorites. They will be facing southpaw Christian Friedrich who surprised the Rockies in Petco in his last start, limiting them to two hits over seven innings while striking out ten batters. With a short turn around the Rockies, batters should have a solid gameplan going into tonight’s game, and Friedrich now goes from the best pitchers park in baseball to the best hitters park in baseball. Target the top of the order in Charlie Blackmon, DJ LeMahieu, Nolan Arenado and Carlos Gonzalez. If you want to go more value insert whichever catcher gets the nod tonight between Nick Hundley and Tom Murphy.

Cincinnati Reds vs. Ryan Vogelsong (Pirates)
Park – Great American Ballpark

The Reds could come in as a very low-owned stacking option tonight with so many powerful offenses in extraordinary situations and the risk of rain in Cincinnati tonight. The game is a pickem between the Pirates and Reds and could easily reach the over if the rain holds off. The Reds have been a top 10 hitting team over the last 30 days with a .332 wOBA and 105 wRC+. They get an elite matchup tonight as they will face Ryan Vogelsong who is somehow still getting the nod every five days. He has pitched to an awful 5.07 xFIP this season and has been even worse lately giving up 16 earned runs in his last three starts while only striking out five and walking seven batters. Joey Votto should be the core of you stack with his elite .417 wOBA, 162 wRC+ and .244 ISO against right-handed pitching. You can fill in around him with salary relief options like Jose Peraza, Tyler Holt, and Adam Duvall who has hit 24 of his 30 HR in 2016 against righties.

Chris Durell

After a crazy week one that saw both Million Dollar tournaments on DraftKings and FanDuel being taken down with a Brees/Cooks/Snead stack, we are ready to take a shot with the following stacks for week 2. Good luck on your DFS Lineups. Here are the top options for NFL Week 2.

New York Giants vs. New Orleans Saints
QB – Eli Manning
Elite WR – Odell Beckham Jr.
Value WR Options – Sterling Shepard, Victor Cruz

Get ready for another shootout involving the Saints this week. Early on the Over/Under is set at 53 with the home team Giants sitting as -4.5 favorites. The Saints weren’t completely exposed last week due to the 167 rushing yards the Raiders put up but still allowed Carr to throw for 319 yards on 38 attempts. Looking at the Player Lab tool this week, Brees and Eli are the only two QB’s projected for over 45 attempts, and that could be the floor, not the ceiling. The Saints and Giants passing defenses ended 2015 ranked 31st and 32nd respectively, and the Saints took a big blow on Sunday losing top corner Delvin Breaux for 4-6 weeks. We learned last week that if the game script goes as predicted, you can easily stack a QB and two WR’s. Both FanDuel and DraftKings saw a Brees/Cooks/Snead combo win their respective Million Dollar tournaments. If you want to get sneaky, consider Larry Donnell who caught his only red zone target for a touchdown last week.

Oakland Raiders vs. Atlanta Falcons
QB – Derek Carr
Elite WR – Amari Cooper

The Raiders didn’t have to rely on the pass as originally expected in week one as they went off for 167 rushing yards. This is most likely to change in week two as the Falcons rush defense looked pretty good in week one holding Doug Martin to 62 yards on 18 carries. This game is currently tied for the highest Over/Under(50) of the week and for the Raiders to keep up with Matt Ryan and Julio Jones they are going to have to chuck it up 40+ times on Sunday. The top target is, of course, up and coming superstar Amari Cooper who caught six balls for 137 yards on 11 targets in week one. You can even consider Michael Crabtree who saw nine targets last week, catching seven for 87 yards and also caught the game-winning 2PT conversion which proves Carr has a ton of confidence in his secondary option when Cooper is double teamed. With so many teams in exceptional situations this week you are going to see Carr/Cooper/Crabtree combo come in as one of the lowest owned making it perfect for large field tournaments.

Detroit Lions vs. Tennessee Titans
QB – Matthew Stafford
Elite WR Options – Golden Tate, Marvin Jones Jr.
Value Options – Ameer Abdullah, Eric Ebron

This stack is best suited for DraftKings where it is full point PPR. The Lions offense was extremely dink and dunky (oddly enough it is an ACTUAL football term) last week, but it lead Stafford to a highly accurate 31/39 passing for 340 yards and three touchdowns. The matchup isn’t as good this week as the Titans were a top 10 team against the pass last season and looked to have improved in 2016. The stack is more about the incredibly low ownership and price opportunities. At WR it is a 1A/1B situation as Marvin Jones Jr. seen ten targets in week one while Golden Tate saw seven. Tate is rated as the top option at $6,800 on DraftKings while Jones comes in at $5,500 but both are within $200 of each other($6,700/$6,500) on FanDuel. If you are looking for a value RB this week, consider Abdullah who rushed for 63 yards on 12 carries while catching all five of his targets in the passing game for 57 yards and a touchdown. Eric Ebron is also in play at TE as he received five targets last week, one of which was caught in the redzone for a touchdown. The Lions not only make a great stacking option for tournaments you can also pluck out some value plays for cash games.

As is the case with all Thursday’s in MLB we have a shortened main slate tonight. There’s only one attractive pitcher in the running for both cash and tournaments. On the contrary, with all of the weak pitchers, it means that you have a lot of options for stacking offenses. Let’s talk about the top options for each spot.

PITCHERS

Johnny Cueto FD 9600 DK 10800
Opponent – STL (Wainwright) Park – @SF
FD – 36.99 DK – 24.59

Amongst the eight games on the schedule for tonight, there are but a couple of decent pitcher selections, the first being Johnny Cueto. Cueto is, by a landslide, the best pitcher on tap for tonight. A likely candidate for both cash and tournament lineups, he is fantastic against both right-handers and lefties. He comes into the game with a .286 wOBA, which is in the top 5% of all starting pitchers. The Giants will be taking on the St. Louis Cardinals, who are currently fairly average against right-handers. Though the matchup doesn’t look too good on paper, you can’t deny that Cueto is the most talented guy on the menu tonight for both FanDuel and Draftkings.

STACKS

Los Angeles Dodgers vs Archie Bradley
Park – Chase Field

The Dodgers come into the game five games ahead of the Giants, and they would like to keep it that way. Going into the match against Archie Bradley, who’s last performance versus San Francisco was his shortest outing of the year when he allowed five runs in three innings. Bradly also has the propensity to give up a lot of long balls (1.20/9) and has an incredibly high BB/9 (4.35/9). Chase Field has proven to be a hitters dream as of late and with the Dodgers heating up to attempt to clinch their division the meat of their lineup should put up some runs.

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

PITCHERS

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

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

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

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

STACKS

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

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

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

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

Chris Durell

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

What We Learned

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

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

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

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

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

Thursday Night Football

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

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

Week 2 Top Games to Target

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

New York Giants Passing Attack vs. Depleted Saints Secondary

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

Atlanta Falcons vs. Oakland Raiders

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

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