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MLB Fantasy Lineup Today – June 27, 2017

by Austyn Varney 0 Comments

*Austyn Varney*

MLB Fantasy Lineup Today – June 27, 2017

Welcome to Lineup Lab’s Best MLB Fantasy 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

Max Scherzer
Opponent – Vs. CHC
Park – Nationals Park
Vegas Favorite (SEA -175)
Vegas Total (7.5)

Hey, I’m all for giving Clayton Kershaw the title of the best pitcher in baseball. We just might need to re-open the application process because Max Scherzer has something to say. He’s been absolutely fantastic this season, sporting a .289 wOBA against lefties and a crazy .168 against righties. He’s striking out over 12 batters per 9 innings, which is more than enough upside, even at his elevated price tag. Scherzer is match-up proof and when at home, I’m willing to almost ignore the match-up. The Cubs aren’t a good match-up, no matter the numbers people will throw at you. This is the Cubs and they’ll be battling with the Nats for the NL Championship. Expect Scherzer to take this game very seriously and for him to be stretched out to around 110 pitches if all is going well. Nationals Park is slighted towards pitching and Scherzer has held a .254 combined wOBA there. In cash games, Scherzer is always going to be the king. With that being said, you can also fade him on a slate with some other top options that have contending upside.

James Paxton
Opponent – Vs. PHI
Park – Safeco Field
Vegas Favorite (SF -120)
Vegas Total (8.5)

James Paxton is making his 4th start after returning from the DL, which did put him in a little bit of a rut. He struggled for 2 starts, but got on his right foot last week and struck out 9 batters. Paxton has an insane amount of upside, as shown by almost all of his starts at the beginning of the season. He’s held crazy numbers against both righties and lefties, combined with a 10.33 K/9. I’m not sure what the general perception of Paxton is, but he’s elite. He’s going to be one of the top SP’s in the game and in Safeco Field, he’s basically unhittable. Sure, he might get a little wild for an innings and let Franco or Joseph square one up. I don’t think, however, that the Phillies will be able to string together consistent runs. The Phillies are obviously one of the worst teams in baseball and get even worse with the move to Safeco Field. They hold a 22% K rate and Paxton will probably get them closer to 25 or 26%. Don’t shy away in either cash games or tournaments.

Offensive Stacks

Boston Red Sox Vs. Minnesota Twins (Hector Santiago L)
Park – Fenway Park

Hector Santiago is making his first start since coming off of the DL. For whatever reason, the Twins are throwing him in the fire of Fenway Park. Vegas currently has the Red Sox over 6 runs and are fully expecting a Hector Santiago meltdown. I don’t know why you wouldn’t. Santiago has been bad for 2 seasons, but not in a conventional way. He won’t typically get hit up for 7 runs and 12 hits. His struggles come in the form of the long ball. Santiago allowed 26 homers to righties in each of the last 2 season, which is simply insane. This Red Sox team is very lethal and the thought of Hanley facing this guy is great. You then work into Mookie Betts and Chris Young, who stand out as elite bats in the OF. Bogaerts and Pedroia are another 2 who will find themselves at the top of the order and make sense for both and tourneys. As a whole, this Red Sox team should be one that’s pretty easy to stack. You have 6 or 7 guys with talent and you should be able to find a combo that works if you’re putting forth the effort. The Red Sox are in one of their best spots all season.

Main Stack – Mookie Betts, Hanley Ramirez, Dustin Pedroia, Chris Young

Sneaky Stack – Mookie Betts, Hanley Ramirez, Chris Young, Xander Bogaerts

Toronto Blue Jays @ Baltimore Orioles (Kevin Gausman R)
Park – Rogers Centre

There has been a step fall for Kevin Gausman. Once a guy who was known for his upside and potential, he’s now trying to get his way out of the 4th innings. Gausman has been atrocious against everyone, but a .418 wOBA against righties is something that stands way out. He’s always been worse against righties, but it looks like he’s gotten even worse. The Blue Jays lineup is full of righties and at home, they rake. Gausman has also given up 14 home runs in just 70 innings of work. Plain and simple, horrible. Looking towards the Jays lineup, it’s pretty concentrated. Donaldson and Bautista are my 2 musts if you’re stacking the Jays, with Russell Martin a close 3rd. Smoak, Morales, and Tulowitzki all have a ton of upside, but by no means are on the same level as Donaldson or Joey Bats.

Main Stack – Josh Donaldson, Russell Martin, Jose Bautista, Justin Smoak

Sneaky Stack – Josh Donaldson, Jose Bautista, Kendrys Morales, Troy Tuowitzki

MLB Fantasy Lineup Today – June 26, 2017

by Austyn Varney 0 Comments

*Austyn Varney*

MLB Fantasy Lineup Today – June 26, 2017

Welcome to Lineup Lab’s Best MLB Fantasy 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 Fantasy Lineup Today - Chris Sale - Lineup Lab

Starting Pitchers

Chris Sale
Opponent – Vs. MIN
Park – Fenway Park
Vegas Favorite (BOS -193)
Vegas Total (8.5)

When Chris Sale is pitching you can certainly expect to find him in this spot. He is always going to be the top pitcher on the slate and I actually thought he would be more expensive tonight. That’s not to say he’s cheap, still forcing you to pay down in numerous spots to afford him. The problem is you don’t really have a strong alternative. Sure, there are some talented guys on the slate. There is nobody who compares to Chris Sale in Fenway Park. Sale has been absolutely dominant to start this ’17 campaign, posting a combined wOBA of .242. He’s also striking out 12.2 batters per 9 innings, which is very telling in itself. His peripherals suggest, if anything, he’s actually just getting a bit unlucky. The point is Chris Sale is amazing and he’s going to have some insane games on the season. This could certainly be one, facing off with the Twins at home in Fenway. The Twins offense is slightly scary, but hot too bad. Miguel Sano and Brian Dozier are the only 2 real worry spots, albeit very real ones On a side note, I actually don’t hate rostering either one of the guys in large-field tournaments. Getting back to this match-up, the Twins leave a lot to be desired. They strikeout 22% of the time against lefties and have a few guys who have simply no shot against Sale. Kepler, Polanco, Grossman, and Castro have all struck out over 25% of the time against lefties and have absolutely no chance against Sale. If you want to play cash games on this slate, I would advise finding a way to fit Sale. He’s the clear top options and makes for the top player in both formats.

 

Jeff Samardzija
Opponent – Vs. COL
Park – AT&T Park
Vegas Favorite (SF -120)
Vegas Total (8.5)

After Sale, we see a pretty steep fall to the number 2. There are definitely a lot of ways you can go here, but I ended up on Jeff Samardzija. Jeff “Shark” Samardzija is a guy who will consistently put up solid games, though he’ll rarely step out of that comfort zone and wow. He has a very safe match-up tonight, facing the Rockies porous offense in AT&T Park. A lot of people have the perception that the Rockies are an elite offense. If you put 25 of these MLB offenses in Coors Field for half of their games, they would be better. The Rockies ranked 26th in terms of wOBA in 2016 on the road and can’t get away from it at AT&T Park. It has ben in the bottom 3 for hitting for many years in a row now and against righties, good luck. Samardzija has held a .302 wOBA against righties, so the likes of Arenado, Reynolds, and LeMahieu should be held down at the top of the order. CarGo and Blackmon are the 2 obvious trouble pieces and it may come down to whether or not he can avoid them. When looking at the other options you have to choose from, I’ll take Samardzija in AT&T Park. Some may also make an argument for his counterpart in German Marquez, which I don’t hate, but only in tournaments.

MLB Fantasy Lineup Today - Cody Bellinger - Lineup Lab

Offensive Stacks

Los Angeles Dodgers Vs. Los Angeles Angels (Ricky Nolasco R)
Park – Dodger Stadium

The Dodgers are a pretty easy offense to love tonight. For god’s sake, they face Ricky Nolasco. Ricky Nolasco was a pitcher who used to stifle offenses, but that was about 50 years ago. He’s now posting a .390 wOBA against righties and a .360 against lefties. He moves into Dodger Stadium, which is actually a slight upgrade from Angels Stadium. The Dodgers are obviously one of the more lethal offenses in all of the league, possessing bats from both side of the plate that rakes righties. We start off with Babe Ruth. I mean Cody Bellinger. Bellinger and Corey Seager have been ridiculous against righties this season and look to be the future of this franchise. They will both remain in every Dodgers stack I create. You then work into Justin Turner, who is very safe as well. As a righty, he swings it better against opposing righties, which plays into Nolasco and his reverse splits. Once you get past Turner, you can go a ton of different ways, wait for the lineup to come out and take your pick.

Main Stack – Corey Seager, Justin Turner, Cody Bellinger, Logan Forsythe/Chase Utley (leadoff)

Sneaky Stack – Corey Seager, Cody Bellinger, Joc Pederson, Yasiel Puig

New York Yankees @ Chicago White Sox (Dylan Holmberg L)
Park – Guaranteed Rate Field

The Yankees offense is another pretty obvious one on this slate. This slate is a bit odd, with only a few games and a few offenses that stand far above the rest. Even if the Yankees do end up being popular, I see the merit in going here. They are raking what seems like every night and I certainly don’t see Dylan Holmberg slowing that down. Holmberg has been decent in hos own right, but not really. A .220 BABIP throws absolutely every number out of the window. The regression monster is going to come and it’s probably going to come tonight. Gary Sanchez may seem like the obvious choice, but he’s actually better against lefties. That’s not to say I’ll be avoiding him. I just think he sees an inflated ownership tag. Aaron Judge is my favorite of the bunch with Aaron Hicks emerging next, both holding a .400+ wOBA against lefties. You then get into Starlin Castro and Matt Holliday, who are very safe and have HR upside as well. After that, you don’t have a lot with this team. You know where to look and who to target. Guaranteed Rate Field is a + park for hitting and the righties should have a better time here than they do at home in Yankee Stadium. All in all, the Yankees are one of the top offenses on the day and you will want to make sure you get exposure one way or another.

Main Stack – Aaron Judge, Aaron Hicks, Starlin Castro, Matt Holliday

Sneaky Stack – Aaron Judge, Matt Holliday, Gary Sanchez, Aaron Hicks

Daily Fantasy Lineup Picks – June 22, 2017

by Austyn Varney 0 Comments

*Chris Durell*

Daily Fantasy Lineup Picks – June 22, 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.

Welcome back for another full day of Major League Baseball. The fun begins with a six games in the afternoon and is followed by six more games on the main slate. Let’s jump in and take a look at my top pitcher and stack for each slate.

Jun 16, 2014; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Carlos Martinez (44) throws to a New York Mets batter during the first inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

 

Starting Pitchers

Early Slate

Carlos Martinez
Opponent – @ PHI
Park – Citizens Bank Park (Hitters Park)
Vegas Favorite (STL -135)
Vegas Total (8.5)

With a smaller six-game slate, Martinez comes with a premium price but has the highest upside and best matchup of all 12 pitchers this afternoon. He has been a bit unlucky in the W/L column this season as the runs support just has not been there for the Cards who rank in the bottom five but do not be mistaken, Martinez is an elite option. He has only allowed an opponent to score more than three earned runs once in his last 10 starts and struck out seven or more batters in eight of those starts. He enters this afternoon’s game with a 10.2 K/9 rate, 11.0% swing strike rate with a 2.86 ERA that is backed up by a 3.36 xFIP. What makes the pick even more enticing is the fact he will face a Phillies team that ranks second to last in overall runs scored and 28th in wOBA and 29th in wRC+ vs. right-handed pitching with a 23.7% K rate. Much like yesterday, there should be more than enough value popping up to easily fit CarMart into your lineups in all formats.

Also Consider – David Paulino @ OAK

 

 

Jake-Arrieta-DFS-MLB-Lineup-Picks

Main Slate

Jake Arrieta
Opponent – @ MIA
Park – Marlins Park (Pitchers Park)
Vegas Favorite (CHI -140)
Vegas Total (9.0)

When look up and see Luis Severino as the top pitcher, over $12K on DraftKings, we know it is going to be a GPP slate. While I can make the case for Severino on FanDuel for just $300 more than Arrieta, I cannot help but take the $3,500 discount on DraftKings. Both have just over a 10.0 K/9 rate on the season and above average swinging strike rates over 10% and while the Trout-less Angels are a better matchup the discount can get you two or three upgraded bats throughout your lineup. The only issue with Arrieta this season has been the increase in fly balls which have resulted in him giving up some long balls but the good news is that he has increased his K rate while reducing the free passes. Arrieta faced the Marlins at the start of June and allowed just two earned runs in six innings with five strikeouts en route to his sixth win of the season. I would be more than happy with a repeat performance but also think he can top that today.

Also Consider – Hyun-Jin Ryu vs. NYM

 

Offensive Stacks

Early Slate

Chicago White Sox vs. Nik Turley(MIN)

The matchup could honestly not get any better if you are looking for a team to stack on Thursday afternoon. The White Sox, while sitting in the bottom third of the league in overall runs scored, lead all teams in wOBA(.356), wRC+(121), and OPS(.827) against left-handed pitching and get a matchup vs. one of the worst pitchers on the slate. Nik Turley was a career minor-leaguer(9 years) before being called up to spot start for the Twins and is somehow getting another opportunity. Through two starts, he has given up 12 earned runs in 8.2 innings striking out seven and walking four while giving up a 42% hard contact rate. Load up on White Sox today.

Top Players to Stack – Jose Abreu, Todd Frazier, Avisail Garcia

Also Consider: Toronto Blue Jays vs. Martin Perez (TEX)

 

Main Slate

New York Yankees vs. Jesse Chavez (LAA)

The Yankees highlight the night slate from a stacking perspective as they lead all of baseball in hitting vs. right-handed pitching with a .359 wOBA, 124 wRC+, and sit second in Isolated Power(.205). They struggled a bit over the last week losing seven in a row but got back on track last night beating the Angels 8-4. Tonight they face somewhat of a gas can in Jesse Chavez who is now with his sixth team in the majors and drastically under performing with a 4.85 ERA and 4.68 xFIP that suggests thing won’t be getting much better. He has dropped his strikeout rate below 6.8 K/9 for the first time since 2010 and is also giving up a career-high hard contact rate of 35% that has led to a 18.9% HR/FB rate. This is great news if you are stacking Yankees as they sit just one home run behind the league-leading Astros and Rays.

Top Players to Stack – Aaron Judge, Starlin Castro, Brett Gardner, Gary Sanchez

Also Consider: Cleveland Indians vs. Wade Miley (BAL)

Daily Fantasy Lineup Picks – June 21, 2017

by Austyn Varney 0 Comments

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.

Daily Fantasy Lineup Picks - Jose Berrios - Lineup 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.


Daily Fantasy Lineup Picks - Gary Sanchez - Lineup Lab

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