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DraftKings FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks for July 21, 2017

by Chris Durell 0 Comments

*Chris Durell*

DraftKings / FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks for July 21, 2017

Welcome back for another night of DraftKings FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks. It’s Friday and we are gifted with a 15-game slate that is chalk full of elite pitching options and some other options we may want to stack against. Let’s take a look at a few of my favorites.

Starting Pitchers

DraftKings FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks - Chris Sale - Boston Redsox - Lineup lab

Chris Sale
Opponent – @ LAA
Park – Angel Stadium of Anaheim(Pitchers Park)
Vegas Favorite (BOS -205)
Vegas Total (7.5)

With their ace on the mound, the Red Sox enter the Friday night slate as the second biggest favorite and are one of three matchups with a very low 7.5 Vegas total. After putting together a CY Young like first half, Sale picked up where he left off dominating the Yankees last Saturday with a season-high 13 strikeouts while limiting them to just three hits over 7.2 innings pitched. Of the four top tier pitchers tonight(Sale, Scherzer, Wood, Darvish), Sale also has the highest projection when looking at the lineup tool by a nice margin which only helps justify his high salary. The Angels don’t strike out a whole lot and did get back their star outfielder Mike Trout but still rank 27th in wOBA and dead last in wRC+ vs. left-handed pitching. Sale is the top pitcher of the night.

 

Jeff Samardzija
Opponent – vs. SD
Park – AT&T Park (Pitchers Park)
Vegas Favorite (SF -155)
Vegas Total (7.5)

When it comes to GPP pitchers, I love taking risks to gain an edge in ownership. You can’t just throw a dart and hope for the best as you still need upside. Enter Jeff “Shark” Samardzija who has the upside with a 9.8 K/9 rate and terrific matchup in one of the best pitchers park vs. a team that ranks 29th in hitting vs. righties. However, he was blown up by these very Padres in his last start despite striking out eight batters. I know there will be a ton of people avoiding this play tonight and that flips the switch for me to go overweight tonight in tournaments. If you aren’t about the risk, I would consider Aaron Nola instead.

Top Stacks

DraftKings FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks - George Springer - Houston Astros - Lineuplab

Houston Astros vs. Ubaldo Jimenez (BAL)

It is a terrific night for targeting bad pitchers and combine that with another series starting at Coors and you should see some spread out ownership. My favorite stack at the top is by far the Houston Astros who lead the league in runs scored and are one of the few teams that can handle losing a stud like Carlos Correa. They get one of the top matchups of the night vs. Ubaldo Jimenez who has given up four or more earned runs in three straight and four of his last five starts with six home runs against. The other good news is that the Astros head out on the road, where they get a nice park boost away from Minute Maid Park.

Top Players to Stack – Jose Altuve, George Springer, Josh Reddick, Brian McCann

Miami Marlins vs. Homer Bailey (CIN)

Another team that gets a nice park boost as the Marlis travel to the Great American Smallpark to start a series with Reds. Not only that, they get a matchup vs. Homer Bailey who has shown some huge blowup potential since returning from offseason surgery. He has made five starts since mid-June and while two of them were positive on the road(one in Coors), he has given up six, eight, and eight earned runs in his other three starts. With so many great spots tonight combined with the fact the Marlins rank in the bottom third of runs scored, I think they are going to be bargain when looking at ownership.

Top Players to Stack – Dee Gordon, Giancarlo Stanton, Christian Yelich, Justin Bour

MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Lineup Stacks for July 19, 2017

by Austyn Varney 0 Comments

*Austyn Varney*

MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Lineup Stacks – Tuesday, July 18, 2017

*STARTING PITCHERS*

Carlos Carrasco @ San Francisco Giants
Park – AT&T Park
Vegas O/U – 8.5

When you hear safety, Carlos Carrasco isn’t the first guy who comes to mind. While he is an inherently risky pitcher to a degree, these aren’t the rocky days of Carrasco’s past. He’s now striking out over 10 batters per 9 innings on a consistent basis, while walking just over 2. Carrasco has also posted a .294 combined wOBA and has held opposing hitters to a 21% line drive rate. Carrasco is still one of the top arms in the game and on a slate without a ton of pitching, you have to love him. He also faces the San Fran Giants, who are the absolute worst team in the league against righties, sitting at a .290 wOBA, When you combine that with the wide open AT&T Park, they struggle to score. While Carrasco will cost you, he could very well end up being worth every dollar.

Jacob DeGrom Vs. St. Louis Cardinals
Park – Citi Field
Vegas O/U – 8

This isn’t a slate where you want to pay down at pitcher. In fact, I doubt I pay down past $8k in any spot. If you feel the need to pivot off of Carrasco, Jacob DeGrom is a super elite option. He hosts the Cardinals in Citi Field and should be able to sit em down 1 by 1. deGrom has been his elite self in 2017, striking out 10.6 batters per 9 and holding them to a 3.25 xFIP. He’s been effective against both sides of the plate with a combined .291 wOBA in over 110 innings of work. While the Cardinals aren’t the worst team in the league like the Giants, they don’t offer much else. They have ranked 9th worst in terms of wOBA and haven’t shown much potential. Matt Carpenter is obviously very scary, but that’s really it. If you want to pivot off of Carrasco and don’t want to sacrifice upside, just move on over to deGrom.

*OFFENSIVE STACKS*

Chicago Cubs @ R.A. Dickey (Atlanta Braves)
Park – SunTrust Park
Vegas O/U – 9.5

The Knuckleball that doesn’t knuckle. The 2017 story of R.A. Dickey. While I guess he’s just ringing his ancient career out for anything it’s worth, it’s time to hang them up. So far in ’17, he’s sported an astonishing 5.05 xFIP and a .277 BABIP. Splits-wise, he doesn’t really care. He’s posted s .340 wOBA against lefties and a .328 against righties, all the while giving up 15 homers in 100 innings of work. You then got their opponent in the Chicago. One of the best offenses in the league and they happen to be putting all together right now. Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant are the top 2 options and extremely safe is Dickey is off. After that, go crazy. Madden could mix up the lineup and you can really go anywhere from Willson Contreras to Ben Zobrist to Tommy La Stella. I don’t think there’s any reason to be picky against Dickey. In fact, this is one of my favorite spots of the season for the Cubs. Dickey strikes out just over 5 per 9 innings and drastically minimizes the Cubs 1 big hole. They’re projected to put up over 5 runs and I find it hard to believe they won’t get there.

Main Stack – Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant, Ben Zobrist, Willson Contreras
Sneaky Stack – Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant, Jason Heyward, Kyle Schwarber

Colorado Rockies vs. Clayton Richard (San Diego Padres)
Park – Coors Field!
Vegas O/U – 11.5

Yep, I went deep diving to find this one. All the way into Coors Field. In reality, it’s just hard to ignore any team who holds an implied team total close to 7. While it mostly has to do with the ballpark, Clayton Richard isn’t very good at all either. He’s a 33-year-old below average arm who has allowed a .395 wOBA to righties, while allowing an astonishing 14 homers in 80 innings. Remember, this is a guy who has the honor of pitching in Petco Park half the time. He now moves into hitters paradise and basically has no shot. Nolan Arenado is a stone cold lock if you’re stacking the Rockies and makes for one of the best one offs outside of that. Further, Mark Reynolds and Ian Desmond stand out. They both smash lefties and have a great shot of putting one over in Coors, Blackmon is a lefty, but hits them just fine and will go relatively overlooked. The Rockies are going to put up a lot of runs and while they are expensive, they’re worth it.

Main Stack – Nolan Arenado, Mark Reynolds, Ian Desmond, Charlie Blackmon
Sneaky Stack – Nolan Arenado, Trevor Story, Mark Reynolds, Ian Desmond

MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Lineup Stacks for July 18, 2017

by Austyn Varney 0 Comments

*Austyn Varney*

MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Lineup Stacks – Tuesday, July 18, 2017

Clayton Kershaw - Lineuplab

 

*STARTING PITCHERS*

Clayton Kershaw @ Chicago White Sox
Park – Guaranteed Rate Field
Vegas O/U – 8.5

Who else? When Kershaw takes the hill, you can expect him to lead this article. While Scherzer and Sale are making a solid case for that spot, Kershaw is still the best pitcher in baseball. He’s actually flown under the radar this year and it speaks to just how consistent and dominant he is. So far in 2017, Kershaw has struck out nearly 11 batters per 9 while walking just 1.5 per 9. Lefties are also having the best season of all-time against Kershaw, which obviously won’t last for long. The White Sox are a very easy team to face for a guy like Kershaw. Against lefties, they have been a bit fluky. With a team .343 BABIP, their surface numbers are sure to go down. They do K as much as any other team in the league, sitting at 23.1%. Guaranteed Rate Field is a better hitting park than Dodgers FIeld, but nothing too extreme. Kershaw is one of the best pitchers of all-time and if you can afford him, do it. If you need to pay down, let’s take a look at a guy facing one of the bottom offenses in the game.

Michael Clevinger @ San Francisco Giants
Park – AT&T Park
Vegas O/U – 8.5

I know, it’s tough to spend up for a guy we don’t know much about. With that being said, what we have seen from Clevinger has been very nice. He’s posted a .297 combined wOBA since the start of 2016 and hasn’t really had any big red flags. He strikes out over 1 batter per inning and has held opposing hitters to a very low 26% hard contact rate. While I’m not saying he’s some great pitcher, he can get it done in the right match-up. The San Francisco Giants have been one of the most disappointing teams in the league, sporting a league-low .290 team wOBA against righties. In AT&T Park, they have a very tough time putting together runs. The Giants hold the 2nd lowest implied team total on the slate and Clevinger should be a solid option in both cash games and tournaments.

 

*OFFENSIVE STACKS*

New York Yankees @ Bartolo Colon (Minnesota Twins)
Park – Target Field
Vegas O/U – 10.5

Oh boy, I have no idea why the Twins are doing this to Bartolo. At 44 years old, there is no way he belongs in the majors. He shouldn’t even be in the minors. Colon has pitched 62 innings so far this year, sporting a .371 wOBA against lefties and a .423 wOBA against righties. He’s given up 11 homers and has allowed a 32.3% hard contact rate. What I’m basically saying is that he should mightily struggle. With Colon being worse against righties and a predominantly fastball pitcher, it’s pretty easy to know who we want to target. Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez are 2 of my favorite plays on the slate and I would never think about leaving either of them off a Yankees stack. After those 2, you can really go anywhere.

Main Stack – Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez, Brett Gardner, Matt Holliday
Sneaky Stack – Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez, Didi Gregorious, Jacoby Ellsbury

Houston Astros vs. Sam Gaviglio (Seattle Mariners)
Park – Minute Maid Park
Vegas O/U – 9.5

Sam Gaviglio is not too good of a pitcher. So far in 2017, he’s allowed a .341 wOBA combined. He now moves into Houston to face one of the more lethal offenses in the game. Minute Maid Park is a great hitters-park for righties and I see no problem targeting them in both cash games and tournaments. Carlos Correa and Jose Altuve are the 2 top options and they both hit righties god enough. Josh Reddick and George Springer will hold the 1 and 2 spot and both make very solid plays. McCann and Beltran fit better in GPPs, but I couldn’t blame you for using either in cash games. Gaviglio will only lst 4 or 5 innings and the Mariners bullpen isn’t very good. Target the Stros in both cash games and tournaments.
Main Stack – Carlos Correa, Jose Altuve, George Springer, Carlos Beltran
Sneaky Stack – Carlos Correa, Jose Altuve, Brian McCann, Marwin Gonzalez

MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Lineup Stacks for July 17, 2017

by Austyn Varney 0 Comments

*Austyn Varney*

MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Lineup Stacks – Monday, July 17, 2017

MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Lineup Stacks - Lance McCullers - Lineup lab

PITCHERS

Lance McCullers vs. Seattle Mariners
Park – Minute Maid Park
Vegas O/U – 9

This is a slate without much to love from the pitching spot, so we’ll take what we can get. McCullers is one of the clear top 2 options and he does have a pretty solid match-up with the Mariners. While they have solid numbers against righties, they rely on the production of 2-3 bats. McCullers has been extremely dynamic this season and has put himself in the conversation with some of the elite arms in baseball. McCullers has struck out close to 11 batters per 9 innings, while walking just 2.5. He’s posted a .273 combined wOBA and has been uber effective against both sides of the plate. Minute Maid Park is tougher on lefties and McCullers has pitched very nicely there with a sub 3.00 xFIP. While McCullers will cost you, it’s not like you have a solid alternative. He’s the top option in cash games and tournaments, but it’s close.

Jon Lester @ Atlanta Braves
Park – SunTrust Park
Vegas O/U – 9

Jon Lester is always a bit weird to roster. It’s usually because it’s tough to roster a pitcher who can’t throw to first base. Especially an elite one. While Lester has tightened down on the running game lately, he’s still far below average. With that being said, you can’t steal 1st base. Lester has dominated lefties to a .218 wOBA and the Braves only real speed threat, Ender Inciarte, happens to be a lefty. Lester is always going to be a bit risky, but he’s also very, very talented and can put up a big game anytime he takes the mound. If you want to pivot off of McCullers for whatever reason, Lester is perfect.

MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Lineup Stacks - Adrian Beltren - Lineup lab

OFFENSIVE STACKS

Texas Rangers @ Chris Tillman (Baltimore Orioles)
Park – Camden Yards
Vegas O/U – 10.5

You have to love the Texas Rangers tonight in both cash games and tournaments. Why? Chris Tillman. Once a guy who was looked at as a big prospect, Tillman has gone down the drain. He’s currently allowed a .410 wOBA to righties and a .440 to lefties, struggling to get anyone out. He welcomes the Rangers into Camden Yards, one of the best stadiums in all of the league for hitting. Masses and Choo are 2 lefty OF’ers who take righties and are elite options. Beltre and Lucroy are my 2 favorite righties and round out my cash game stack. After that, you can go anywhere. Joey Gall is an interesting bat as he can send 2 out on any given night without blinking.

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

Kansas City Royals vs. Jordan Zimmerman (Minnesota Twins)
Park – Kauffman Stadium

When the Kansas City Royals are projected to put up nearly 5.5 runs in Kauffman Stadium, you know the pitcher is bad. Jordan Zimmerman was actually an established ace just a few years ago and boy has he fallen off a steep, jagged cliff. Zimmerman has sported a .375 wOBA against both righties and lefties, giving no preferential treatment. He’s just bad against everyone. While the Royals aren’t typically an explosive offense, they do have a lot of ways to go. Lorenzo Cain and Mike Moustakas are my 2 favorites and I wouldn’t leave them off any stack. You can then go basically anywhere. Eric Hosmer and Sal Perez make for great tournament options, while Whit Merrifield and Jorge Bonifacio make a bit more sense in cash games.

Main Stack – Mike Moustakas, Eric Hosmer, Lorenzo Cain, Whit Merrified
Sneaky Stack – Lorenzo Cain, Mike Moustakas, Salvador Perez, Brandon Moss

Daily Fantasy Baseball Stacks for 07/16/2017

by Mike Barner 0 Comments

*Mike Barner*

Daily Fantasy Baseball Stacks – Sunday, July 16

While Saturday was filled with great starting pitchers, Sunday looks to be a day that favors hitters based on some of the pitching match ups. 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. Pittsburgh Pirates
Park – PNC Park

Although Martinez is only 6-8, he’s had an excellent season as he has a 3.40 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 128 strikeouts in 116.1 innings. He’s still only 25 and made his second career All-Star team this year. Martinez is only allowing seven hits per nine innings this season, which would be the lowest average of his career. He gets a favorable match up Sunday against a Pirates team that struggles to score runs. Expect Martinez to have another excellent outing.

Sean Manaea vs. Cleveland Indians
Park – Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum

Manaea had an excellent first half for the Athletics as he went 7-5 with a 3.76 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 93 strikeouts in 93.1 innings. He did not allow more than 3 runs in any of his last four starts before the All-Star break. Sunday brings a match up against the Cleveland Indians, who he already faced earlier this season and allowed only one run to go along with nine strikeouts over seven innings. Manaea presents an opportunity to save some money at starting pitcher while still having the potential for big production.

**OFFENSIVE STACKS**

Chicago Cubs vs. Ubaldo Jimenez (Baltimore Orioles)
Park – Oriole Park at Camden Yards

The Cubs crushed Wade Miley and the Orioles Saturday as they scored 10 runs on their way to a victory. Sunday they get to face Jimenez who enters the day with a 6.67 ERA, 1.51 WHIP and 72 strikeouts in 83.2 innings. Jimenez allows a lot of home runs as he has already given up 19 this season after only allowing 16 over 142.1 innings last season. This is another great opportunity to fill your lineup with Cubs.

Players to consider stacking: Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant, Ian Happ

Houston Astros vs. Kyle Gibson (Minnesota Twins)
Park – Minute Maid Park

The Twins are right in the hunt for a playoff spot, but it has been in spite of Gibson’s performance so far. He enters Sunday with an ugly 6.31 ERA and 1.77 WHIP. Not only is he allowing a lot of base runners, but he has only recorded 51 strikeouts in 81.1 innings. This ins’t really a fluke either as he had a 5.07 ERA and 1.56 WHIP last season. The Astros can clobber even the best starting pitchers, so expect them to do a lot of damage against Gibson in this contest.

Players to consider stacking: George Springer, Carlos Correa and Marwin Gonzalez

Daily Fantasy Baseball Stacks for 07/15/2017

by Mike Barner 0 Comments

*Mike Barner*

Daily Fantasy Baseball Stacks – Saturday, July 15

Saturday’s schedule is loaded with great starting pitcher options, which could lead to some difficult decisions when trying to select your hitters. 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**

Corey Kluber vs. Oakland Athletics
Park – Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum

Kluber has been nothing short of dominant for the Indians this season as he is 7-3 with a 2.80 ERA, 0.99 WHIP and 123 strikeouts in 93.1 innings. His current 11.9 K/9 would be the highest mark of his career. While his overall numbers are great, he has been even better lately as he has only allowed three runs total over his last five starts. Saturday he gets to face an Oakland squad that he already mastered earlier this season when he struck out 10 batters over six shutout innings. Look for another great outing from Kluber in this one.

Jimmy Nelson vs. Philadelphia Phillies
Park – Miller Park

Nelson is having the best season of his career by far as he is 8-4 with a 3.30 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 118 strikeouts in 109 innings. The biggest improvement has been his strikeout rate which currently sits at 9.7 per nine innings. He has never had a K/9 over 7.5 in any of the previous four seasons of his career. Not only have his strikeouts increased, but his BB/9 is down to 2.2 after it was 4.3 last season. Nelson has two big factors working in his favor Saturday. First, he has been excellent at home as he has a 2.35 ERA and 1.23 WHIP at Miller Park this season. Second, he gets to face off against a very poor Philadelphia offense. If you don’t want to pay the price for Kluber, Nelson should be your man Saturday.

**OFFENSIVE STACKS**

Detroit Tigers vs. Francisco Liriano (Toronto Blue Jays)
Park – Comerica Park

To say Francisco Liriano has struggled this season is an understatement. He enters Saturday with a staggering 5.56 ERA and 1.62 WHIP. His biggest problem is his control as he has already issued 35 walks in only 68 innings. It’s hard to imagine, but Liriano has been even worse on the road this season as he has a 7.20 ERA and 1.96 WHIP away from the Rogers Centre. This has the makings of an offensive explosion for the Tigers.

Players to consider stacking: Miguel Cabrera, JD Martinez and Nicholas Castellanos

Chicago Cubs vs. Wade Miley (Baltimore Orioles)
Park – Oriole Park at Camden Yards

Miley is not having a good season with the Orioles as he is 4-7 with a 4.97 ERA and a bloated 1.75 WHIP. He walks a ton of batters as he already has issued 51 walks in only 88.2 innings. That eliminates his ability to pitch deep into games as well as he is averaging only 5 innings per start. The Cubs entered Friday with a .358 OBP against left handed pitchers this season, so Miley could be in for a lot of trouble Saturday. Make sure you have some of the defending champs in your lineup.

Players to consider stacking: Kris Bryant, Ian Happ and Ben Zobrist

DraftKings FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks for July 14, 2017

by Chris Durell 0 Comments

*Chris Durell*

DraftKings / FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks for July 14, 2017

The All-Star break exhibition is now over and it’s time to get back to baseball. The second half starts tonight with a full 15-game slate that is not short of risk. With an early look at the weather, there are some concerns in New York(COL vs NYM), Baltimore(CHC vs. BAL) and Pittsburgh(STL vs. PIT). I am writing this early Thursday afternoon so be sure to check the LineupLab Weather Page closer to lineup lock. Let’s jump into the picks.

Starting Pitchers

DraftKings FanDuel MLB Lineup - Carlos Carrasco - Lineuplab

Carlos Carrasco
Opponent – @ OAK
Park – Oakland Coliseum(Pitcher Park)
Vegas Favorite (CLE -135)
Vegas Total (8.0)

Ranking pitching staffs by WAR, we find the Indians sitting second(14.2) as a group and it’s in large part to the top two in the rotation(Kluber & Carrasco). Both sit inside the Top 10 in CY Young voting going into the second half. Carassco hasn’t shown the elite upside of Kluber’s 11.9 K/9 rate but has still been dominant with a 9.8 K/9 rate and 12.8% swinging strike rate and has struck out 7+ batters in 11 of his 14 starts. There have been a few blips on the radar this season but overall he has been very consistent averaging 37.7 FanDuel and 20.9 DraftKings points per start. He is safe in all on FanDuel under $10K but should be reserved to GPP only on DraftKings as he has reached a season-high $12,100.

Jacob Faria
Opponent – @ LAA
Park – Angel Stadium of Anaheim(Pitcher Park)
Vegas Favorite (TB +105)
Vegas Total (8.5)

Targeting the Angels lately has been a profitable venture as they rank right at the bottom of the league in almost every category over the past 14 days. While they do get Mike Trout back tonight, I personally think it will take the team a game or two to get back in the groove. I also think Jacob Faria is far too under priced considering how impressive he has been early in his career. He has gone at least six innings in all six starts and has held opponents to two or less earned runs in five of them and is striking out just under a batter per inning. From a fantasy standpoint, he is averaging 41.2 FanDuel and 22.4 DraftKings points per start. He is safe in all formats. The Rays are early dogs on the road making this a contrarian GPP play.

Stack of the Night

 DraftKings FanDuel MLB Lineup - Lineuplab.com

Tampa Bay Rays vs. Ricky Nolasco (LAA)

The Rays strike out a ton vs. right-handed pitching(24.6%) making them a tough play in cash games but they are a perfect team to stack in GPP’s. The upside is most definitely there as they rank inside the Top 5 in wOBA(.339), wRC+(114), and ISO(.204) vs. righties and get somewhat of a batting practice session tonight vs. Ricky Nolasco has been downright awful in the first half. He sports a 5.06 ERA, 4.64 xFIP and most notably a 19.8% HR/FB rate so look for the Rays to tee off.

Top Players to Stack – Corey Dickerson, Logan Morrison, Steven Souza Jr, Evan Longoria

 

 

Also Consider: Seattle Mariners vs. James Shields (CWS)

Daily Fantasy Baseball Stacks for 07/09/2017

by Mike Barner 0 Comments

*Mike Barner*

Daily Fantasy Baseball Stacks – Sunday, July 9

Make sure you get your DFS fix Sunday as the All-Star break begins Monday. 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.

Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw delivers in the first inning of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates in Pittsburgh, Sunday, June 26, 2016. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

**STARTING PITCHERS**

Clayton Kershaw vs. Kansas City Royals
Park – Dodger Stadium

Kershaw looks to wrap up another stellar first half on a high note Sunday against the Royals. He enters the game 13-2 with a 2.19 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 146 strikeouts in 123.1 innings. While it’s hard to imagine he could pitch any better, he has not allowed a run over his last three starts, striking out 31 batters in the process. The Royals don’t score a ton of runs in the first place as they are towards the bottom of the league, so expect Kershaw to put together a great performance.

Trevor Cahill vs. Philadelphia Phillies
Park – Citizens Bank Park

Cahill has quietly been a reliable starter for the Padres as he is 3-2 with a 2.96 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 55 strikeouts in 45.2 innings. He has done an excellent job keeping the ball in the park as he has only allowed three home runs all season. While Cahill doesn’t jump out as a DFS option on most nights, he has value Sunday against the Phillies as they have one of the least potent offenses in all of baseball. If you want a cheap starting pitcher, Cahill has a chance to pitch well in this contest.

**OFFENSIVE STACKS**

Colorado Rockies vs. Carlos Rodon (Chicago White Sox)
Parks – Coors Field

Rodon has missed most of this season due to injury and has only made two starts as a result. While he only allowed two runs, he did walk nine batters in 11.1 innings over those two contests. He struggles to keep runners off base in general as he has a 1.41 WHIP for his career. The Rockies hit left handed pitchers well as they entered Saturday batting .273 against southpaws. This has the makings of the first really poor outing of the season for Rodon.

Players to consider stacking: Nolan Arenado, Mark Reynolds and DJ LeMahieu

Seattle Mariners vs. Daniel Gossett (Oakland Athletics)
Park – Safeco Field

Gossett has made five starts for Oakland this season, but he allowed at least five runs in three of them. While his 6.23 ERA and 1.39 WHIP are ugly, maybe his most concerning stat is that he has allowed seven home runs in only 26 innings. He had only given up 29 home runs in 383 career innings in the minors, so he appears to be having issues adjusting to hitters in the big leagues. Make sure you get some Mariners in your lineup.

Players to consider stacking: Robinson Cano, Nelson Cruz and Jean Segura

Daily Fantasy Baseball Stacks for 07/08/2017

by Mike Barner 0 Comments

*Mike Barner*

Daily Fantasy Baseball Stacks – Saturday, July 8

While there aren’t a lot of big name starters pitching Saturday, there are still a few great options available. 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**

Stephen Strasburg vs. Atlanta Braves
Park – Nationals Park

Strasburg enters Saturday looking for his tenth win of the season after winning 15 games total in 2016. His numbers have been excellent as he has a 3.28 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 128 strikeouts in 109.2 innings this year. Strasburg has already faced the Braves three times this season, but his ERA against them is not impressive at 4.58. However, his strikeout numbers against them have been excellent as he has 31 in only 19.2 innings. He will cost you a lot Saturday, but he should be worth the price.

Aaron Nola vs. San Diego Padres
Park – Citizens Bank Park

Nola has really impressed in his last three starts as he has only allowed three runs to go along with 25 strikeouts over 21.1 innings. He has 72 strikeouts in 72.1 innings overall this season after missing some time because of injury. Not only is Nola on a hot streak, but he gets to face a very weak offense in the Padres. If you don’t want to spend the money on Strasburg, go with Nola as he could have a big performance.

**OFFENSIVE STACKS**

Minnesota Twins vs. Wade Miley (Baltimore Orioles)
Park – Target Field

Like most of the the Orioles starting rotation, Miley has struggled this season. His record stands at 3-7 to go along with a 5.20 ERA and a whopping 1.74 WHIP. Walks are his big problem as he has already issued 48 free passes in 83 innings. He doesn’t give the Orioles much length either as he has pitched 2.2 innings or less in three of his last six starts. To pile on a little more, Miley has a 6.70 ERA and 1.86 WHIP on the road this season. In summary, make sure to have some Twins in your lineup.

Players to consider stacking: Miguel Sano, Brian Dozier and Robbie Grossman

Seattle Mariners vs. Chris Smith (Oakland Athletics)
Park – Safeco Field

Smith is making his first appearance in the majors this season. His numbers in the minors are solid as he has a 3.16 ERA and 1.30 WHIP this year, but he only has 64 strikeouts in 74 innings. He is also 36 years old, so he is not a high upside prospect by any means. Other than his 13 relief appearances for Oakland last season, he had not pitched in the majors since 2010 as a member of the Milwaukee Brewers. Look for the Mariners offense to do some damage against him Saturday.

Players to consider stacking: Robinson Cano, Jean Segura and Ben Gamel

DraftKings FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks for July 07, 2017

by Chris Durell 0 Comments

*Chris Durell*

DraftKings / FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks for July 07, 2017

With one early and one late afternoon game on Friday, we will turn our attention to the 13-game main slate and look at a couple of the top pitchers and stacks.

Starting Pitchers

Max Scherzer
Opponent – vs. ATL
Park – Nationals Park(Neutral)
Vegas Favorite (WSH -245)
Vegas Total (8.0)

First of all, there is much less chance of rain tonight so we shouldn’t have to deal with the Nats brass making any horrible weather decisions. For cash games, I don’t think there is any other way to go than Max Scherzer tonight who has a higher floor and almost more upside than any other pitcher in baseball this season(honorable mention to Kershaw & Sale). In my opinion, Scherzer is the clear CY Young in the national League at this point, at least from a fantasy perspective. Sure, Kershaw has a sparkling 13-2 record but Scherzer helps you where you need it most in the strikeout department. He is second in the entire MLB(qualified starters) with a 12.2 K/9 rate and is tied with Sale with a ridiculous 16.2% swinging strike rate. On paper the Braves don’t strikeout a ton but Gio was able to rack a K per inning last night so Scherzer should have no issues.

 

Jordan Montgomery
Opponent – vs. MIL
Park – Yankee Stadium(Hitters Park)
Vegas Favorite (-175)
Vegas Total (11.0)

For tournaments on DraftKings where you want to access Scherzer’s upside without totally handicapping your bats, take a close look at Jordan Montgomery tonight. There is definitely risk involved as the game has a huge 11 total but to be fair the majority of it is coming on the Yankee side. It has been a good season for the rookie and even better lately as he has gone at least five innings in six straight starts since the start of June with a 2.95 ERA and 8.6 K/9 rate. I believe he can even afford to give up a few earned runs and still hit value tonight as the Brewers boost his K upside as they strike out 26.1% of the time vs. left-handed pitching.

 

 

Stack of the Night

New York Yankees vs. Junior Guerra(MIL)

The other reason I like Montgomery so much tonight is the fact he gets a huge boost in win potential thanks to the potent Yankee offense. They are one of two teams(Rockies) projected to score north of six runs tonight and they get an elite matchup to do it. Junior Guerra has been awful lately walking over 6.5 batters per nine and has a 7.27 ERA over his last five starts. He is also giving up home runs at high rate(23.1% HR/FB). Combine the fact that the wind is projected to blow out to left field and Guerra has struggled more vs. right-handed batter and you have a very high upside stack that could be a tick lower owned than the Rockies.

Top Players to Stack – Gary Sanchez, Aaron Judge, Brett Gardner, Didi Gregorius

 

 

Baltimore Orioles vs. Felix Jorge(MIN)

My favorite stack of the night when using Scherzer is the Orioles with their terrific values at the top of the lineup. They also get a pretty good matchup tonight vs. rookie Felix Jorge making his second major league start after jumping straight from Double-A last week. Normally when we see this jump the pitcher has dominated making a trip to Triple-A meaningless. That is not the case for Jorge despite his 8-1 record in the minors this season. He also had a respectable 3.26 ERA and 3.43 xFIP but only struck out 6.4 batters per nine while giving up a 15% HR/FB rate. He won his first start going five innings but only struck out two and gave up seven hits and three earned runs but was back by an 11 run offensive output. I fully expect similar troubles in his second start vs. a powerful O’s team.

Top Players to Stack – Seth Smith, Adam Jones, Mark Trumbo, Jonathan Schoop