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.
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.
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