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Daily Fantasy Baseball Stacks for 06/18/2017

*Mike Barner*

Daily Fantasy Baseball Stacks – Sunday, June 18

Let’s finish the week off strong and put some money in your pocket Sunday. 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**

Robbie Ray vs. Philadelphia Phillies
Park – Citizens Bank Park

Ray had a rough 2016 campaign, finishing 8-15 with a 4.90 ERA and 1.47 WHIP. However, he showed potential as he recorded 218 strikeouts in 174.1 innings. He has put it all together in 2017 as he enters Sunday 7-3 with a 2.62 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 107 strikeouts in 82.1 innings. While those numbers are fantastic, he has been even better of late as he has allowed one earned run over his last five game combined and recorded at least 10 strikeouts in three straight starts. This is a mismatch against the Phillies dismal offense, making Ray an excellent play.

Jacob Faria vs. Detroit Tigers
Park – Comerica Park

Faria has been excellent in his first two starts with the Rays as he allowed two runs to go along with 13 strikeouts in 12.2 innings. He was fantastic in Triple-A before being called up as he had a 3.07 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 84 strikeouts in 58.2 innings. His career numbers in the minor leagues are great as well as he struck out 626 batters in 599 innings. If you want to save money at starting pitcher Sunday, Faria is your guy.

**OFFENSIVE STACKS**

Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Bronson Arroyo (Cincinnati Reds)
Park – Great American Ball Park

Coming into this season, Bronson Arroyo had not pitched in the majors since 2014. His return has not been a successful one as he entered Sunday with a 7.01 ERA and 1.56 WHIP. He is not a strikeout pitcher either as he only has 47 strikeouts in 86 innings. His last start came against the anemic San Diego Padres offense, but he still managed to give up nine runs on 13 hits. Arroyo is only in the Reds rotation because they have so few quality options, so expect the Dodgers to put up plenty of offense in this game.

Players to consider stacking: Cody Bellinger, Corey Seager and Chris Taylor

Oakland Athletics vs. Luis Cessa (New York Yankees)
Park – Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum

Cessa will be making his first start of the season for the Yankees in place of the injured C.C. Sabathia. Cessa started nine games for the Yankees in 2016 and posted a 4.01 ERA and 1.07 WHIP. However, he only recorded 35 strikeouts in 51.2 innings. His numbers at Triple-A were not great this year as he posted a 4.15 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and only 47 strikeouts in 65 innings. He doesn’t have the kind of stuff to slow down a hot Oakland offense, so take advantage of him in this game.

Players to consider stacking: Ryon Healy, Yonder Alonso and Jed Lowrie

Daily Fantasy Baseball Stacks for 06/17/2017

*Mike Barner*

Daily Fantasy Baseball Stacks – Saturday, June 17

Saturday’s schedule is filled with bad starting pitchers, so get ready for some big offensive performances. 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. New York Mets
Park – Citi Field

Strasburg was roughed up for six runs over five innings in his last start against the Atlanta Braves, but he still managed to record 10 strikeouts in the outing. He has been an excellent source of strikeouts as he has piled up at least 10 strikeouts in three of his last five games. Strasburg has been impressive on the road this season as he is 5-1 with a 2.53 ERA away from Nationals Park. The Mets are dealing with injuries to their offense, evident by their lineup Friday where their fourth through sixth hitters were Wilmer Flores, Lucas Duda and T.J Rivera, respectively. Expect a big outing from Strasburg Saturday.

Chase Anderson vs. San Diego Padres
Park – Miller Park

Anderson is on an impressive hot streak where he has allowed only one earned run over his last four starts combined. Two of those four starts came against the potent Arizona Diamondbacks offense as well. His overall numbers for the season are now impressive as he has a 2.83 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 71 strikeouts in 76.1 innings. Saturday he gets to face a Padres offense that struggles to score and strikes out a ton. This has the makings off another strong performance from Anderson.

**OFFENSIVE STACKS**

Colorado Rockies vs. Matt Cain (San Francisco Giants)
Park – Coors Field

Well, this is an epic mismatch. Cain has been terrible this season as he has a 5.22 ERA, 1.65 WHIP and only 43 strikeouts in 69 innings. Over his last two starts, he has allowed 10 runs and only recorded four strikeouts. His road stats (8.40 ERA and 2.03 WHIP) as well as his stats in day games (8.53 ERA and 1.95 WHIP) are atrocious this season. As if that’s not bad enough, he will be facing one of the best offenses in baseball. Load up your lineup with Rockies and enjoy the show.

Players to consider stacking: Nolan Arenado, Charlie Blackmon and DJ LeMahieu

Toronto Blue Jays vs. Mike Pelfrey (Chicago White Sox)
Park – Rogers Centre

Pelfrey has struggled to give the White Sox length all season as he has only pitched 48.2 innings over 10 starts. His numbers aren’t terrible as he has a 3.81 ERA and 1.33 WHIP, but his stuff is not overpowering as he only has 30 strikeouts. Most of his success has been at home as he has a 4.50 ERA on the road. The Blue Jays are a better team at home than on the road, so don’t be surprised if they rough up Pelfrey Saturday.

Players to consider stacking: Josh Donaldson, Justin Smoak and Jose Bautista

DraftKings FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks for June 16, 2017

*Chris Durell*

DraftKings / FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks for June 16, 2017

Welcome back for another Friday in daily fantasy baseball. We have a full 15-game slate on our hands tonight with some top pitching options to choose from as well as another game in Coors Field with a very high run line. The good news is there are a few other games with high totals that will make some nice pivots off Coors in tournaments. Let’s dig in and start to navigate the DFS landscape and look at some of the top picks for tonight.

Put your favorite Draftkings / Fanduel MLB Lineup Picks from the article below in our lineup optimizer and hit calculate. You can let it fill in the rest of the spots for you or choose your personal favorites from the MLB Player Lab.

Starting Pitchers

Max Scherzer @ New York Mets
Park – Citi Field (Pitcher Positive)
Vegas Favorite (WSH -160)
Vegas Total (7.5)

The night starts off with Mad Max who is not only the top pitcher on the slate, but one of the best in the game. Since giving up five earned runs to these Mets back at the end of April he has been absolutely dominant. He has made eight starts since holding opponents to under three earned runs in all of them and comes into tonight having struck out 10+ in four straight and in six of those eight starts. He trails only Chris Sale among qualified starters in K/9 rate(12.2) and Swinging Strike rate(15.6%) and sits with a sparkling 2.36 ERA that is backed up by his 3.05 xFIP. While his salary started to come back down DraftKings, it has reached a season high on FanDuel which leaves you with a choice to make in cash games. A case can definitely be made for some other options but none come with the upside that Scherzer brings to the table. With a huge 15 game slate there should be no problem finding enough value to feel comfortable with Scherzer in all formats.

James Paxton - LineupLab

James Paxton @ TEX
Park – Globe life Park in Arlington(Hitter Positive)
Vegas Favorite (SEA -140)
Vegas Total (10.0)

This pick is more of a GPP play tonight as the Mariners leave the pitcher-friendly confines of Safeco Field and head to Arlington where the balls have been know to fly out of the park. I believe it is fully worth the risk today as Paxton has the ability to shut down almost anyone and provides us with some big upside with his 10.1 K/9 rate and 12.9% swinging strike rate. He has struggled a bit coming into this game having given up seven earned runs in his last two starts but has held opponents to one earned run or less in six of his nine starts this season giving him an elite 2.25 ERA. The good news is that the Rangers have been struggling offensively with a .304 wOBA, 85 wRC+, and 32% K rate over the last seven days and looking at the splits they have really struggled vs. left-handed pitching overall, ranking 28th in wOBA, last in wRC+ and strikeout rate.

Stacks of the Night

Once again we start with the Coors Field game which comes with highest Vegas Total(11) on the slate. If it’s anything like last night, we could be in for more fireworks as both teams put up runs with the Rockies eventually taking the game 10-9 in the bottom of the ninth. Samardzija has a better profile than Moore so there’s definitely more risk tonight in rostering Rockies but like Moore, the Shark has really struggled with the Rockies this season giving up 11 earned runs in back to back starts vs. them back in April. The thing with him will be trying to keep the ball down and not letting the Rockies have their way for a third time. I don’t see this happening whatsoever as the Rockie bats are red-hot at home right now scoring 29 runs in three home games in June. Target Charlie Blackmon, DJ Lemahieu, Carlos Gonzalez, Nolan Arenado to start with and even Mark Reynolds and Ian Desmond as secondary options.

After the Rockies l will be turning to the Milwaukee Brewers bats tonight. They are pretty big home favorites in a game with the second highest run line and face a pitcher making just his second career start. He started the season out of the bullpen making 21 appearances and struggled mightily. The biggest issue for Diaz has been the control as he is walking over five batters per nine while failing to miss bats with a 6.5 K/9 rate. In 26 innings pitched he has also given up five home runs(15.6%) and now faces one of the most potent power teams in the league. Chances are he won’t be going more than two or three innings and when this is the case I always like to take a peek at that team’s bullpen. Great news for Brewers stackers today as the Padres have one of the worst bullpens in the league with a 4.90 ERA and 15% HR/FB rate. If Eric Sogard is back at the top of the order I like starting my stack with him and following it up with Eric Thames, Domingo Santana and Travis Shaw.

 

DraftKings FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks for June 15, 2017

*Chris Durell*

DraftKings / FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks for June 15, 2017

Welcome back to another day of daily fantasy baseball. Tonight we have a mid-sized seven-game slate including the start of another series in Coors Field as Matt Moore and the San Francisco Giants come to town. The interesting part about this slate is that for pitching we have Chris Sale at the top with a big gap down to the next tier. This will make the decisions very interesting for tournaments as there is no way to fit them all.

Put your favorite Draftkings / Fanduel MLB Lineup Picks 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.

DraftKings FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks - Jordan Montgomery - Lineuplab

Like I mentioned above, Chris Sale is the elite arm on the slate and while his price has stayed consistent on FanDuel all season, it has reached a season high $14,100 on DraftKings. It makes sense as he is arguably the best pitcher in the game at the moment. Sale leads the league in strikeouts rate(12.5 K/9), swinging strike rate (16%), and xFIP (2.57). He is an elite play in all formats vs. the Phillies. If you are looking to pivot off Sale tonight, I like what Jordan Montgomery brings to the table. He has an above average strikeout rate (8.7 K/9) and has held opponents under three earned runs in four straight starts. He gets a park upgrade in Oakland facing an A’s team that ranks near the bottom in hitting vs. lefties and strikes out over 25% of the time. If you are looking to pay down at the position, especially on DraftKings to pair with Sale, I suggest Michael Wacha tonight. The Cardinals are currently -145 favorites at home where Wacha can really only be considered in fantasy right now with a 2.95 ERA vs. 7.52 on the road. There is a definite risk of a blowup as he has given up six earned runs twice in his last four starts but the upside and price are in the right spots for consideration in all formats.

DraftKings FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks - Nolan Arenado - Lineuplab

Hitting

Whenever there is a game in Coors Field it takes center stage from a fantasy perspective. That holds even truer today as Matt Moore and Jeff Hoffman go head to head. Hoffman has shown upside with 7+ strikeouts in four straight starts but the last three have been on the road. The side I like best tonight is obviously the Rockies who get to face one of the worst pitchers on the slate. Moore comes in with a 5.24 xFIP, average K rate(7.0 K/9) and has given up 49% hard contact on the year. This will also be the third time he will face the Rockies this season and the first two didn’t go so well as he gave up 11 earned runs(4 HR) in 9.2 innings pitched. Nolan Arenado, DJ Lemahieu, and Charlie Blackmon are my top choices but Mark Reynolds, Ian Desmond are also in play tonight.

After the Rockies, I like pivoting to the Tigers hitters vs. Alex Cobb who has struggled on the road this season with a 5.01 ERA and .357 wOBA against. I will lean on their leaders in hitting vs. right-handed pitching with Alex Avila, Miguel Cabrera, JD Martinez, and Justin Upton. All of them have a wOBA greater than .330 and outside of Miggy, who has dropped some power this season, all have an ISO over .260 for the year vs. righties.

If you are looking for a value stack to make it easier to roster Sale, consider the Angels in one of the two late games. They have been mid-pack in hitting over the last seven days and specifically vs. left-handed pitching this season. Tonight they face a young pitcher in Matt Strahm who will be making his first major league start on a pitch count. In 20 appearances out of the pen this season, Strahm has shown upside with a 10.6 K/9 rate but the walks have been a problem(7.4 BB/9) and so has the long ball (21.1% HR/FB rate). Even if they don’t fully get to Strahm they should get a healthy sample of the Royals bullpen that sits in the bottom third of the league. Target C.J. Cron who leads the team in hitting vs. southpaws with a .499 wOBA and 225 wRC+ and combine him with leadoff hitter Cameron Maybin, cleanup hitter Yunel Escobar and future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols.

Best MLB Draftkings Lineup Tonight – June 14, 2017

Best MLB Draftkings Lineup Tonight – June 14, 2017

Welcome to Lineup Lab’s Best MLB Draftkings lineup tonight, where we feature our top players for our MLB Lineup Optimizer on Fanduel and Draftkings. Put your favorite stacks from the article below in our lineup optimizer and hit calculate. You can let it fill in the rest of the spots for you or choose your personal favorites from the MLB Player Lab.

Best MLB Draftkings Lineup Tonight - Michael Pineda - Lineuplab

Starting Pitchers

Corey Kluber vs Los Angeles Dodgers
Park – Progressive Field

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

Michael Pineda vs. Los Angeles Angels
Park – Angels Stadium

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

Best MLB Draftkings Lineup Tonight - George Springer - Lineuplab

Offensive Stacks

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

DraftKings FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks – June 13, 2017

DraftKings FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks – June 13, 2017

Welcome to Lineup Lab’s Best MLB Fanduel lineup today, where we feature our top players for our MLB Lineup Optimizer on Fanduel and Draftkings. Put your favorite stacks from the article below in our lineup optimizer and hit calculate. You can let it fill in the rest of the spots for you or choose your personal favorites from the MLB Player Lab.

DraftKings FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks - Clayton Kershaw - lineuplab

Starting Pitchers

Clayton Kershaw vs Cleveland Indians
Park – Progressive Field

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

Joe Ross vs. Atlanta Braves
Park – Nationals Park

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

DraftKings FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks - Mookie Bets - Lineuplab.com

Offensive Stacks

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

MLB Fanduel Lineup Today – June 12, 2017

MLB Fanduel Lineup Today – June 12, 2017

Welcome to Lineup Lab’s Best MLB Fanduel lineup today, where we feature our top players for our MLB Lineup Optimizer on Fanduel and Draftkings. Put your favorite stacks from the article below in our lineup optimizer and hit calculate. You can let it fill in the rest of the spots for you or choose your personal favorites from the MLB Player Lab.

MLB Fanduel Lineup Today - Stephen Strasburg

Starting Pitchers

Stephen Strasburg vs Atlanta Braves
Park – Nationals Park

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

Masahiro Tanaka vs. Los Angeles Angels
Park – Angels Stadium

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

MLB Fanduel Lineup Today - Chris Davis - Lineuplab

Offensive Stacks

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

Top MLB Daily Fantasy Stacks for 06/11/2017

*Mike Barner*

TOP MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Stacks – Sunday, June 11

Sunday’s slate of games looks to be top-heavy when it comes to starting pitchers, leaving plenty of offensive opportunities against several lesser starters. Put your favorite daily fantasy baseball stacks from the article below in our lineup optimizer and hit calculate. You can let it fill in the rest of the spots for you or choose your personal favorites from the MLB Player Lab.

Top MLB Daily Fantasy Stacks - Max Scherzer - Washington Nationals - Lineuplab

**STARTING PITCHERS**

Max Scherzer vs. Texas Rangers
Park – Nationals Park

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

Adam Wainwright vs. Philadelphia Phillies
Park – Busch Stadium

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

TOP MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Stacks - Aaron Judge - Yankees - Lineuplab

**OFFENSIVE STACKS**

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

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

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

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

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

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

Daily Fantasy Baseball Stacks for 06/10/2017

*Mike Barner*

Daily Fantasy Baseball Stacks – Saturday, June 10

Saturday’s schedule is packed with 17 games, leaving a lot of options to choose from for your DFS entry. Put your favorite daily fantasy baseball stacks from the article below in our lineup optimizer and hit calculate. You can let it fill in the rest of the spots for you or choose your personal favorites from the MLB Player Lab.

daily fantasy baseball stacks - Carlos Martinez - MLB - Lineuplab.com

**STARTING PITCHERS**

Carlos Martinez vs. Philadelphia Phillies
Park – Busch Stadium

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

Sonny Gray vs. Tampa Bay Rays
Stadium – Tropicana Field

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

daily fantasy baseball stacks - Aaron Judge - Lineuplab

**OFFENSIVE STACKS**

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

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

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

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

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

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

DraftKings & FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks for June 9, 2017

*Chris Durell*

DraftKings & FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks for June 9, 2017

Welcome back to another full-Friday slate in daily fantasy baseball. Put your favorite stacks from the article below in our lineup optimizer and hit calculate. You can let it fill in the rest of the spots for you or choose your personal favorites from the MLB Player Lab.

DraftKings FanDuel MLB Lineups Picks - Corey Kluber - lineuplab

**STARTING PITCHERS**

Corey Kluber
Opponent – vs. CWS
Park – Progressive Field (Hitters Park)
Vegas Favorite (CLE -250)
Vegas Total (8.0)

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

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

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

DraftKings FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks - Xander - Bogaerts - Lineuplab

**OFFENSIVE STACKS**

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

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

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

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

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

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