With only five games included in the main evening slate of DFS on Thursday, we don’t have a ton of great options to choose from. Still, there are some teams and players who stand out as being in favorable positions to provide value.
Read MoreMLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Recommendations for 5/22/2019
Wednesday’s evening slate of action will be highlighted by an excellent pitching matchup between Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom. They aren’t the only stud pitchers set to take the mound, either.
Read MoreMLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Recommendations for 5/4/18
*Mike Barner — @rotomikebarner*
MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Recommendations for 5/4/18
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With a full slate of night games in baseball Friday, there are a lot of options to wade through while creating your DFS lineup. Sign up for our Newsletter and try our Playerlab tool, where you can filter the stats that matter the most and help build a winning entry on FanDuel and DraftKings.
STARTING PITCHERS
Joey Lucchesi vs. Los Angeles Dodgers
Stadium – Petco Park
FanDuel = $8,600
DraftKings = $8,300
Lucchesi has burst onto the scene for a Padres team that desperately needs starting pitching, recording a 2.78 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 9.7 K/9 this season. His FIP sits at 3.13 and his .280 BABIP allowed isn’t terribly low, so there is a chance he could come close to sustaining this type of production moving forward. He has also shown strikeout upside in the minors with a 10.1 K/9 in 181 career innings. The Dodgers lineup has suffered some key injuries and has the fourth-lowest OPS against left-handed pitchers (.663) in baseball, making Lucchesi a viable option at a reasonable price Friday.
Francisco Liriano vs. Kansas City Royals
Stadium – Kauffman Stadium
FanDuel = $6,500
DraftKings = 7,000
Liriano has stuck in the rotation for the rebuilding Tigers and has a 3.38 ERA through five starts. His FIP is 4.49 and opponents have just a .215 BABIP against him, so his ERA might not hold up this well for much longer. The good news is he still provides problems for left-handed hitters, holding them to a .286 wOBA in 2017 and a .127 wOBA so far this season. Some of the Royals best hitters are lefties, which could spell bad news for them Friday. This will actually be Liriano’s third start of the season against the Royals and he pitched well in the first two matchups, allowing a total of four earned runs to go along with nine strikeouts in 12 innings. If you are looking to go with a more cost-effective starter for your lineup, there is potential for value here with Liriano.
CATCHER/FIRST BASE
Gary Sanchez vs. Josh Tomlin, Cleveland Indians
Stadium – Yankee Stadium
FanDuel = $4,200
DraftKings = $4,900
Sanchez is only batting .204 this season, but he’s made his hits count with eight home runs, eight doubles, and 27 RBI. His .200 BABIP is well below normal for him, so expect his batting average to increase as the season wears on. He has a .378 wOBA against right-handed pitchers in his career, so no worries there facing the righty Tomlin on Friday. Tomlin doesn’t have overpowering stuff and has a 9.16 ERA and 1.93 WHIP this year, so this could be the day to pay up for Sanchez.
Justin Bour vs. Sal Romano, Cincinnati Reds
Stadium – Great American Ball Park
FanDuel = $2,900
DraftKings = $3,500
Bour is one of the best hitters left in the Marlins lineup, but he is off to a slow start with a .244 average. His BABIP is low at .266 and he does still have five home runs, so he has value moving forward. He hit righties very well last year with a .384 wOBA and despite his struggles, he has a .362 wOBA against them this season as well. If you’re looking for a cheaper option at first base, Bour might be worth the risk in tournament play.
Others to consider: Edwin Encarnacion (first base) and Yuli Gurriel (first base)
SECOND BASE
Jed Lowrie vs. Andrew Cashner, Baltimore Orioles
Stadium – Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum
FanDuel = $4,300
DraftKings = $4,500
Lowrie continues to swing a hot bat, going 5-for-12 with two home runs in his last three games. The Athletics finally return home after a lengthy road trip, which is great news for Lowrie since he batted .287 at home last year and is hitting .333 there so far this year. He has a crazy 200 wRC+ against right-handers in the early going and makes a great option in DFS again Friday.
Gleyber Torres vs. Josh Tomlin, Cleveland Indians
Stadium – Yankee Stadium
FanDuel = $2,900
DraftKings = $3,500
Torres may not be off to the flashy start that fellow star prospect Ronald Acuna Jr. is with the Braves, but he’s played well, batting .317 with five RBI and a steal in 12 games. He’s still looking for his first home run, but he has chipped in three doubles. He has shown he can hit for a high average in the minors and is locked in as the Yankees’ everyday second baseman. Considering Tomlin’s struggles this year, Torres could provide value at this price.
Others to consider: Jose Altuve and Asdrubal Cabrera
THIRD BASE
Jose Ramirez vs. C.C. Sabathia, New York Yankees
Stadium – Yankee Stadium
FanDuel = $4,300
DraftKings = $4,700
Ramirez was really struggling out of the gate, but he’s on fire right now. In his last five games, he is 10-for-23 with a home run, five doubles, and seven RBI. He’s hit at least .312 in back-to-back seasons, so it was only a matter of time before he got back on track. A switch-hitter, he particularly thrived against lefties last year with a .395 wOBA. Sabathia’s 1.71 ERA this season looks nice, but his 4.25 FIP indicates he has not pitched nearly that well. Ramirez looks to be in a prime spot to keep things rolling Friday.
Josh Donaldson vs. Andrew Kittredge, Tampa Bay Rays
Stadium – Tropicana Field
FanDuel = $3,500
DraftKings = $5,000
Donaldson returned from the DL in style Thursday, going 4-for-11 with two home runs and two doubles in a doubleheader against the Indians. It’s encouraging that the Blue Jays played him in both games on his first day back, which is a good sign for his value moving forward. Kittredge is starting for the Rays, but this will be another one of their bullpen days, so it might be a good idea to take advantage with Donaldson, especially with his cheap price on FanDuel.
Others to consider: Yangervis Solarte and Miguel Andujar
SHORTSTOP
Didi Gregorius vs. Josh Tomlin, Cleveland Indians
Stadium – Yankee Stadium
FanDuel = $4,400
DraftKings = $5,000
Gregorius loves hitting at home, posting a .418 average and hitting nine of his 10 home runs there so far this season. He has become an excellent hitter, especially against righties after recording a .354 wOBA against them in 2017. He’s been even better with a lofty .475 wOBA against them this season, making him one of the best options at shortstop Friday.
Andrelton Simmons vs. Mike Leake, Seattle Mariners
Stadium – Safeco Field
FanDuel = $3,300
DraftKings = $3,700
Simmons continues to show he’s much more than just an excellent defensive shortstop as he is currently on a seven-game hitting streak. He’s shown power over that stretch as well, slugging two home runs to go along with four doubles. He is batting .389 with a home run in 18 career plate appearances against Leake, so he’s someone worth considering for your entry.
Others to consider: Carlos Correa and Eduardo Escobar
OUTFIELD
Mike Trout vs. Mike Leake, Seattle Mariners
Stadium – Safeco Field
FanDuel = $5,500
DraftKings = $5,700
Simply put, Trout is insane. You could go on for days about his excellent numbers. He hits for a high average, a ton of power, steals bases and has an OBP of at least .402 in three straight seasons entering 2018. He’s usually a good player to target regardless of matchup but could have an especially big performance against the underwhelming Leake on Friday.
Justin Upton vs. Mike Leake, Seattle Mariners
Stadium – Safeco Field
FanDuel = $3,700
DraftKings = $4,300
Upton seems to have come out of his prolonged slump, hitting 6-for-17 with a home run and six RBI in his last four games. He has owned Mike Leake, batting .450 with a home run against him in 21 career plate appearances. An Angels stack could provide plenty of production Friday, Upton included.
Josh Reddick vs. Kris Medlen, Arizona Diamondbacks
Stadium – Chase Field
FanDuel = $3,100
DraftKings = $4,000
With Robbie Ray (oblique) on the DL, the Diamondbacks will call on Medlen to make his first appearance in the majors since 2016. A once promising young pitcher for the Braves, having Tommy John surgery for the second time in 2014 has derailed his career. He wasn’t exactly pitching well in Triple-A this season, recording a 6.00 ERA and 1.50 WHIP in four starts. Reddick has posted a wOBA of at least .356 against righties in each of the last four years and is a great option at a reasonable price against Medlen.
Others to consider: George Springer and Corey Dickerson
Fantasy Baseball Season Preview: Catchers
*Mike Barner – @rotomikebarner*
Fantasy Baseball Season Preview: Catchers
The Catcher position has historically been a tough slot to fill in fantasy baseball. There is usually a small tier of excellent options, followed by a precipitous drop off to the next best group of players. This season will be no different. Let’s not only take a look at the cream of the crop but also at some catchers who are overvalued and undervalued heading into 2018.
The Top Three
Gary Sanchez, New York Yankees
Sanchez has firmly established himself as the premier fantasy option at catcher. He had a monster campaign in 2017, hitting .278 with 33 home runs, 90 RBI, and a .345 OBP. He did all that in just 122 games as he missed almost a month at the beginning of the season due to injury. Although he’s only played in 175 games in his career, he has already hit a whopping 53 home runs. All of his supporting numbers back up his counting stats, so there is no indication that he should slow down this season. He’ll be part of a lethal lineup including fellow sluggers Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, which should leave him plenty of opportunities to drive in runs. He will likely be drafted as early as the second or third round in your league, but he should be worth it based on how much better he is than any of the other catching options.
Willson Contreras, Chicago Cubs
Like Sanchez, Contreras is another young catcher who has quickly vaulted himself into the upper echelon of the position. He played in just 117 games last year but batted .276 with 21 home runs, 74 RBI, and a .356 OBP. Sanchez posted a 4.1 WAR last season, but Contreras was right behind him with a 3.9 WAR. He batted .283 with a .356 OBP in 517 career minor league games, so he’s proven that he can hit for a high average and get on base. The second best fantasy option at catcher comes down to Contreras and Buster Posey, but I give Contreras the edge because he hits for much more power.
Buster Posey, San Francisco Giants
Posey has been as reliable as it gets for catchers, playing in at least 140 games in six straight seasons. That’s extremely valuable when you consider the volatility of the position. He’s been just as valuable in the batting average department, hitting a lofty .308 for his career. He also posted a .400 OBP last year and has an OBP of at least .362 in each of the last seven seasons. The problem with Posey is his power numbers have regressed, bottoming out at just 12 home runs last year. He only had 67 RBI as a result and while the Giants lineup should be improved this season, the lack of power will limit Posey’s upside. There is a big dropoff in production after you get past Posey when it comes to catchers, so it might be best to wait on the position if you can’t draft one of the top three options.
Overvalued Players
Yadier Molina, St. Louis Cardinals
Molina had a stellar season last year, batting .273 with 18 home runs and 82 RBI. The problem is, he had only 19 home runs in the previous three seasons combined. He had also hit more than 14 home runs in a season only once in his career heading into last year. He had an 11% home run to fly ball ratio last year, which is significantly higher than his career mark of 7%. His ADP is 148.77 in the NFCB, the sixth highest among catchers. In terms of general draft position, that’s a higher ADP than players including Greg Bird (153), Adrian Beltre (159.27) and Gregory Polanco (160.59). Don’t overpay for Molina just because the catcher position is shallow, especially considering his abnormal 2017 campaign.
Mike Zunino, Seattle Mariners
Zunino was a valuable fantasy asset last season, setting career-highs in batting average (.251), home runs (25) and RBI (64). He’s shown he can hit for power previously in his career, but he had never batted above .214 in a single season. He is a candidate to see a significant drop in batting average as his BABIP was .355 last year. Prior to that, he had never had a BABIP above .267. With the jump in home runs across the league, his value takes a big hit if he hits closer to .200 this year. His current ADP is 161.10, ahead of players like Jon Gray (165.99), Brett Gardner (180.65) and Matt Carpenter (181.99). Again, you should be looking for value in your draft, so it would be wise not to reach for Zunino at that price.
Undervalued Players
Welington Castillo, Chicago White Sox
Castillo had a tremendous power season for the Orioles last year, hitting 20 home runs despite playing only 96 games. He hasn’t played more than 113 games in any of the last five seasons but has hit at least 13 home runs four times. With a 36.4% hard hit percentage for his career, he has been able to post BABIP of at least .336 in three of the last five years. He could reach a career-high in games played for a rebuilding White Sox team if he can stay healthy, giving him the potential to provide valuable numbers. His current ADP is tenth among catchers, but don’t be surprised if he finishes ranked higher than that when the season is all said and done.
Robinson Chirinos, Texas Rangers
Chirinos played in only 88 games last year but still managed to hit 13 home runs to go along with a .255 batting average. He’s never played more than 93 games in his career but has shown impressive power by hitting at least 10 home runs in three of the last four years. Not only did he have a 20% home run to fly ball ratio last year, but he also posted a career-high 11% walk percentage. He could be in line for a bit of a regression in terms of his batting average this year, but his overall numbers might not differ too much from Zunino’s. Considering he is being selected about 100 picks later in drafts, I’d much rather take a chance on Chirinos.
MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Lineup Stacks for August 1, 2017
*Austyn Varney*
MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Lineup Stacks – Tuesday, July 1, 2017
*STARTING PITCHERS*
Max Scherzer @ Miami Marlins
Park – Marlins Park
Vegas O/U – 8
If you’re making me choose between Chris Sale and Max Scherzer on this slate, I have to lean Scherzer. Chris Sale, who can easily still dominate, faces off with the lethal Indians offense inside Fenway Park. Scherzer on the other hand, is facing the Miami Marlins in pitcher-friendly Marlins Park. Statistically, the Marlins are league average against righties with a team .323 wOBA. They strike out 21% of the time and struggle to put together big innings. Max Scherzer has dominated these bats in the past and I expect it once again. Scherzer is once again having an amazing year, sporting a 12.45 K/9 and 2.35 BB/9. The guys is a top 3 pitcher in baseball and see a matchup he dominates. Scherzer has also held a .combined .236 wOBA this season, so you have nothing to worry about. WHile I wouldn’t be surprised if the Marlins scored 1 or 2, I do think they strikeout over 10 times and give Scherzer a very nice outing.
Jose Berrios @ San Diego Padres
Park – PetCo Park
Vegas O/U – 8
Sure, Chris Sale and the other uber-elite arms make more sense in cash games. I don’t need to tell you that. Instead, let’s take a look at Jose Berrios, who could fly way under the radar tonight. He faces off with the San Diego Padres in PetCo Park, which as we know, is a dream match-up. The Padres are one of the leagues absolute worst offenses and it’s backed up by each and every number. Against righties, the Padres have ranked 27th in the MLB with a .307 wOBA and astronomical 25.5% K rate. When you combined that with a huge ballpark, these guys struggle to put up runs. Berrios on the other hand, has looked phenomenal. He’s sported a .291 combined wOBA and is striking out about 8.5 batters per 9. He should see a few extra in this match-up and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Berrios have a huge game. We do have a lot of arms on the slate and I could see Berrios ending at just 1% or so owned. In tournaments, I can’t think of anything better.
*OFFENSIVE STACKS*
New York Yankees @ Anibal Sanchez (Tigers)
Park – Yankee Stadium
Implied Total – 5.46
Anytime Anibal Sanchez takes the mound, we will be targeting opposing hitters. He’s a horrible pitcher and he struggles against hitters from both sides of the plate. The Yankees lineup is full of righties, for the most part, so let’s look there. In just 30 innings against righties, Sanchez has allowed a .384 wOBA and 8 home runs. He now moves into hitter-friendly Yankee Stadium to face off with one of the best offenses in baseball. Gary Sanchez and Aaron Judge are both elite plays and when facing a reverse-splits righty, they become very difficult to fade. After those 2, you can go anywhere. Matt Holliday and Clint Frazier will be towards the top of the order and are my 2 favorites for cash. Todd Frazier and Didi Gregorious are another 2 options who have plenty of upside and could go low-owned. The Yankees are projected to put up nearly 5.5 runs, so Vegas is certainly expecting some fireworks. Get some exposure in both cash games and tournaments.
Main Stack – Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez, Clint Frazier, Matt Holliday
Sneaky Stack – Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez, Brett Gardner, Todd Frazier
Toronto Blue Jays @ Mike Pelfrey (White Sox)
Park – Guaranteed Rate Field
Implied Total – 5.82
The Blue Jays were right here yesterday and they won’t be going anywhere. Moving from James Shields to Mike Pelfrey, I’m not sure what can be better. While Pelfrey may actually be slightly better than Shields, that’s not saying much at all. He has also been better against righties, which does make some things interesting. Against left-handers, Pelfrey has posted a .376 wOBA and has allowed 10 homers. I’m going to shift my attention towards some of the lefties and hope the general public just hops on the popular bats. I’m not saying I’ll fade the righties. In most cases, I’ll go Bautista, Donaldson, and then find 2 lefties. Smoak and Morales are the top 2 with Carrera and Goins following behind. They will both be very low-owned and do have some power upside in Guaranteed Rate Field. Vegas has the Jays putting up nearly 6 runs, so you can’t ignore them by any means. They are more of a touramnt stack for me, but I love Smoak and Morales in cash games.
Main Stack – Jose Bautista, Josh Donaldson, Justin Smoak, Russell Martin
Sneaky Stack – Jose Bautista, Kendrys Morales, Steve Pearce, Josh Donaldson
Daily Fantasy Lineup Picks – June 21, 2017
Daily Fantasy Lineup Picks – June 21, 2017
Welcome to Lineup Lab’s Best Daily Fantasy Lineup Picks, 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
Jeff Samardzija @ Atlanta Braves
Park – SunTrust Park
We have a big main slate with a whole lot of average pitchers. While we have an ace in Carlos Carrasco, he’s facing the Orioles in Camden Yards and hasn’t been the same pitcher as of late. He’s leaving pitches in the zone and it’s resulting in a higher than ever hard contact rate. Instead, we’re going to move down a bit and take a look at Jeff Samardzija. Samardzija hasn’t been amazing this year, but he’s been as expected. He eats up innings and does a good job of limiting opposing offenses to just 2 or 3 runs at most. He will get his 7 or 8 strikeouts and work his way into plenty of wins. He faces a very poor Braves team, that happens to be without their only ++ hitter, Freddie Freeman. Since Freeman got injured, the Braves have ranked 28th in baseball against righties with a .294 wOBA. There is literally nobody to be afraid of and it just comes down to how well Samardzija can pitch. While cash games are in question as a whole on this slate, this is your best option as a whole.
Jose Berrios Vs Chicago White Sox
Park – Progressive Field
Jose Berrios has been very good. He was one of the top prospects in all of baseball for a few years and has already shown why. He’s acted like a prime number 2 this year, usually going around 7 and allowing 1 or 2 runs. Berrios has been absolutely dominant against both sides of the plate in his 8 starts, sporting a .265 combined wOBA. He’s striking out over 8.5 batters per 9 innings and has posted a very strong 0.8 HR/9. He’s also been extremely consistent, which is rare to see out of a 23-year-old. Berrios has gone at least 6 innings in all but 1 start, in which he went 5 innings. This kid is special and will be a pitcher we target for a long time. He is however very young and he can still implode at any time. Fortunately, he’s facing off with the White Sox. They have been one of the worst teams all year long and hold the 4th lowest wOBA on the road in all of the majors. Berrios has plenty of opportunities here, but it really just comes down to whether he can keep the ball in the zone. Nobody on this White Sox team is going to battle and put up consistent at-bats in Progressive Field.
Offensive Stacks
New York Yankees vs. Los Angeles Angels (Ricky Nolasco)
Park – Yankee Stadium
This offense is pretty easy to love tonight. When initially looking at the slate, they stand out like a sore thumb. When any team holds an implied run total over 6 runs and that team is outside of Coors Field, you must take notice. The Yankees are in that spot tonight and I find myself thinking they may be in that spot somewhat often with how their offense is rolling. They face off with arguably the worst pitcher on the entire slate. So far in 2017, Ricky Nolasco has managed to sport a .386 wOBA against righties and a .357 to lefties. He’s also allowed an insane 21 home runs in less than 21 innings. Yes, you read that correctly. Both Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez are hitting home runs every night and both look like the next Babe Ruth. If you’re stacking the Yankees, you play them both. You can then go a lot of different ways. Matt Holliday deserves a lot of consideration and hits righties extremely well. Starlin Castro and Aaron Hicks are both solid, but should be highly owned and aren’t must plays. Personally, I will have a ton of exposure to the “main stack” in both cash games and tournaments. The Yankees are very safe tonight and if they go down in flames to Ricky Nolasco, I’ll take the loss and move on.
Main Stack – Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez, Starlin Castro, Matt Holliday
Sneaky Stack – Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez, Aaron Hicks, Didi Gregorious
St. Louis Cardinals @ Philadelphia Phillies (Nicholas Pivetta)
Park – Citizens Bank Park
The Cardinals are a pretty weird team to target as a stack. it’s always tough to figure out what you do with guys like Yadier Molina, Kolten Wong, and Paul DeJong. Statistically, they can hit home runs. However, they don’t aim for the fences and often find themselves labeled as “boring” or as having “no ceiling”. Instead, I like to look at these guys as under-owned. You can get these lower in the order bats at a much lower ownership and if they happen to drive in some runs, you’re in a splendid spot. The Cardinals are facing off with the Phillies and Nick Pivetta tonight. Pivetta has been atrocious against both sides of the plate, holding a .361 combined wOBA. Matt Carpenter and Dexter Fowler are obviously your top 2 targets, with Aledmys Diaz and Stephen Piscotty up next. The Cardinals offense isn’t very concentrated, so feel free to take a shot on a guy who sneaks into the lower part of the order.
Main Stack – Matt Carpenter, Dexter Fowler, Aledmys Diaz, Stephen Piscotty
Sneaky Stack – Matt Carpenter, Dexter Fowler, Yadier Molina, Jedd Gyorko