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.

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.

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

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

*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.

**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.

**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

*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.

**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.

**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

*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.

**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.

**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

*Chris Durell*

Best MLB Draftkings Lineup for Tonight – June 08

Welcome back to the best MLB Draftkings lineup for tonight, today on tap we have another short-slate Thursday. I will be covering my top pitching options and my top stack to target for tonight’s eight-game main slate.

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**

Lance McCullers
Opponent – @KC
Park – Kauffman Stadium (Neutral)
Vegas Favorite (HOU -190)
Vegas Total (9.0)

McCullers is the second biggest favorite on the slate to Jon Lester and the Cubs but has the better matchup today. While Lester and Price face Top 5 offenses in the Rockies and Yankees, McCullers gets a date with the Royals who sit second to last in overall runs scored this season and rank 26th in wOBA and 27th in wRC+ vs. right-handed pitching this season. For McCullers, it has been a very positive start to the season with a 6-1 record and while he has given up some home runs (18% HR/FB rate), he sits with a 2.71 ERA and slightly lower 2.68 xFIP. Even more good news is that he has cut his walks almost in half from last season’s disaster while keeping the swinging strike rate above 12% and the K/9 rate above 10. He is the clear choice for me on FanDuel where the Top 3 are only separated by a couple hundred bucks but on DraftKings there is a case to be made for the other two options who come at a sizeable discount. I still trust him in all formats.

Jake Odorizzi
Opponent – vs. CWS
Park – Tropicana Field (Pitcher Positive)
Vegas Favorite (TB -166)
Vegas Total (8.0)

For tournaments, I love taking a shot with Jake Odorizzi tonight for a few reasons. First of all, he is in the exact same price range as Edinson Volquez who is coming off a no-hitter against the Diamondbacks which should have people chasing points. Not that I won’t have a few shares but I feel Odorizzi is a perfect pivot with projected lower ownership. He strikes out just over league average batters per nine but that should get a boost tonight as he faces a White Sox team who ranks right near the bottom of all offensive categories vs. right-handed pitching including a 23.7% strikeout rate. There is definitely downside to Odorizzi (not safe in cash) as he has had issues keeping the ball in the park (18% HR/FB rate) but he has been much better at home with an ERA of 2.90 vs. 4.50 on the road.

**STACK OF THE NIGHT**

Baltimore Orioles vs. Joe Ross (WSH)
Park – Nationals Park (Pitcher Positive)
Vegas – (BAL +142)
Vegas Total (9.0)

The Nats actually come in as early favorites in one of the highest projected Vegas totals on the slate. While Joe Ross has been a disaster this year, Alec Asher has not been any better is clearly the worse overall pitcher. Back to Joe Ross. While he does present some issues with his above average strikeout rate (8.5 K/9) he has been getting hit extremely hard this season to the tune of a 39.4% hard contact rate against. This has led to 22.5% of his fly balls to leave the yard, giving up nine home runs in his first six starts. The fact that the Orioles are also likely to be without Manny Machado tonight, after injuring his wrist last night, leads me to believe that they could come under-owned in tournaments. I think it is a mistake to overlook them as they come with a ton of power, even without their elite third basemen.

Top Stack – Seth Smith, Adam Jones, Mark Trumbo, Chris Davis

MLB Fanduel Lineup Today – June 07, 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

Clayton Kershaw vs Washinton Nationals
Park – Dodgers Park

Yep, a real sleeper. On this three game early slate, there really isn’t a better option. Kershaw faces the Nats at home today, in pitcher-friendly Dodgers Park. While the Nationals clearly have star-studded names in their lineup, they do not do great against southpaws and strikeout more than league average. Kershaw has pitches that will destroy any left-handed batter, so the likes of Bryce Harper and Daniel Murphy will be greatly decreased. Kerhsaw, instead, should draw his attention to Zimmerman and who both hold a .390+ wOBA against them in 2017. Kershaw has a tendency to strikeout around 9 or 10 batters per 9 innings. In the past three straight seasons he has help a .280 wOBA. Even though he is expensive, Kershaw always seems to be worth the play in cash and GPP’s, especially on this small early slate.

Dallas Keuchel vs. Kansas City Royals
Park – Kauffman Stadium

Dallas Keuchel comes in as the top and most expensive pitcher on this main 12-game slate. HE heads to one of the best pitching parks in baseball to face off with one of the worst lineups in the game. Kauffman Stadium is one of the bigger parks in baseball and ranked 2nd to last in terms of power since 2012. Keuchel is having a Cy Young season and while he may be getting a few lucky breaks, he is this good. He’s holding lefties to a .122 wOBA and righties to an amazing .250. He’s still not a huge strikeout guy, putting away just 8.26 per 9 by the K. The Royals offense is one of the absolute worst in baseball, like it or not. They hold a .277 team wOBA against lefties, which is second to last behind just the Padres. In this ballpark, Lorenzo Cain is really the only + hitter against lefties and he is even struggling at the plate. Keuchel will be very popular and rightfully so. In cash games, I wouldn’t get cute. If you need to go elsewhere in tournaments, Greinke and Odorizzi are intriguing.

Offensive Stacks

St. Louis Cardinals vs. Cincinnati Reds (Bronson Arroyo)
Park – Great American Ball Park

Bronson Arroyo is on the mound, so you have to love some of these Cardinals. While Arroyo hasn’t been thrashed in most of his starts, he isn’t very good either. He’s allowed at least 2 runs in each of his starts and usually gives up at least 4. He never lasts any longer than 5 or 6 innings and will rarely have a clean slate. He’s allowed 12 home runs in his last 5 starts, which is simply astonishing. He pitches at Great American Ballpark tonight, which has ranked in the top 5 for hitters in each of the last 3 seasons. The Cardinals are a team who gets a big upgrade with this park, as they are generally in the spacious Busch Stadium. A lot of these guys don’t have much power and this ballpark gives them a ton more upside. Matt Carpenter and Dexter Fowler are the easy calls. They both rake righties and have been swinging the bat well. You then have a whole bunch of different guys to choose from. Aledmys Diaz is a lot better than righties and he would be my other favorite if he sees the top of the order. Jedd Gyorko and Yadier Molina are the 2 Cardinals who will probably be over-owned, but are just fine in cash games. All in all, the Cardinals in Great American Ballpark against Bronson Arroyo is too good of a spot to ignore.

Main Stack – Dexter Fowler, Matt Carpenter, Yadier Molina, Stephen Piscotty

Sneaky Stack – Dexter Fowler, Matt Carpenter, Aledmys Diaz, Jhonny Peralta

Chicago Cubs vs. Miami Marlins (Jose Urena)
Park – Wrigley Field

The fact of the matter is that Jose Urena is not very good at all. He, like Arroyo, seems to give up at least a few runs every single start. He also has a problem with the HR ball and moves into a park that is a lot friendlier to hitters than Marlins Park. Wrigley Field, while heavily dependent on wind and degrees, ranked 9th for power in 2016. Yes, that probably has something to do with the home team being the power-heavy Cubs. Still, that’s who Urena is facing tonight, so it doesn’t really matter. Urena has sported a .417 wOBA against righties and has allowed 7 homers in just 25 innings (lol). The Cubs are obviously one of the more dangerous offenses in baseball and always have 8 guys you can play. Tonight is no different. Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant are still the top dogs, with whoever is in the 1/4 hole coming up next. Against righties, it should be Ian Happ and Kyle Schwarber/Ben Zobrist. In tournaments, you can definitely look lower in the order. Javier Baez has a ton of power against righties and always goes under-owned because of Addison Russell. The Cubs are the offense with the most upside tonight and you should be able to fit them without too many issues.

Main Stack – Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Javier Baez

Sneaky Stack – Kris Bryant, Wilson Contreras, Jason Heyward 

Best MLB Draftkings Lineup for Tonight – 06/06/2017

Welcome to Lineup Lab’s Best MLB Draftkings Lineup for 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.

Starting Pitchers

Chris Archer vs Chicago White Sox
Park – Tropicana Field

Max Scherzer is on this slate, so you can always make a very viable argument for him in cash games. He’s one of the best pitchers in the game and will more often than not get it done. However, he’s on the road facing the Dodgers, who have ranked in the 3 against righties so far this season. Instead, we’re going to look down a bit at Chris Archer. Archer is also one of the best pitchers in baseball, though his inconsistency in previous years has been his kryptonite. He’s been fantastic this season, striking out nearly 11 per 9 innings and walking just over 3. He’ll also take the mound at home, where he has been MUCH better over his career. The Rays are hosting the White Sox, who have ranked 28th in the league against righties with a .294 wOBA. They strikeout 23.2% of the time and have a hard time doing much damage (.150 ISO). Tropicana Field was a top 10 park for pitchers in 2016 and is typically a place where flyballs die. While Archer always has a bit more risk than a guy like Scherzer, his upside is identical and he has a much better match-up. Archer is my top option in all formats.

James Paxton vs Minnesota Twins
Park – Safeco Field

James Paxton is a beast. We know that. It just comes down to how limited he will be tonight. He came off the DL just a week and threw 74 pitches in a dominant 5.1 innings. He’s given up more than 1 ER in just 1 start this season and has struck out at least 8 in 4 of his 7 starts. Paxton has actually been slightly better against righties over his career, which is extremely rare for a left-handed pitcher. With that being said, he’s holding lefties to a .193 wOBA this season with strong peripherals, so who really knows. He faces off with the Minnesota Twins tonight, who are very lackluster against lefties. The rank 20th in the majors with a .298 wOBA against and have hit the 3rd least homers against southpaws. They also move into Safeco Field, which has always been a bottom 5 park for hitting. James Paxton should be able to get up around 90 pitches tonight, which gives him the upside to fit 7 innings. Make sure you keep an eye on Twitter as a pitch limit is something you want to fully avoid as it restricts upside 100% of the time.

Offensive Stacks

Colorado Rockies vs. Mike Clevinger
Park – Coors Field

Of course, Coors Field is going to be the top stack of the night. We do have Antonio Senzatela on one side, so the Indians aren’t a team we will be looking to target quite as much. That’s not to say the Indians offense can’t put up 10 runs in Coors Field. However, the Rockies are facing off with Mike Clevinger, who struggled mightily in 2016. He sported a .412 wOBA against righties and a .224 BABIP against lefties. He’s sure to see some regression very soon and will likely have a very tough time dealing with Coors Field. With a reverse-splits righty, you can target everyone. Charlie Blackmon and Carlos Gonzalez are both fantastic against righties and in Coors Field, have as much upside as anyone. Nolan Arenado could also end up being a bit lower owned than he should be in an R/R match-up. In Coors Field, the production can come from anywhere. If you want to get sneaky in a large field tournament, don’t be scared to target the bottom of the order. All in all, this is Coors Field and it’s almost always the best spot on the slate. The Rockies will be highly owned and you can certainly fade in tournaments. In cash games, this is a spot you might want to ride the chalk.

Main Stack – Charlie Blackmon, Carlos Gonzalez, Nolan Arenado, D.J. LeMahieu

Sneaky Stack – Charlie Blackmon, Carlos Gonzalez, Ian Desmond, Mark Reynolds

New York Mets vs. Dillon Gee
Park – Globe Life Park

For whatever reason, Dillon Gee is getting another chance to start. He was absolutely horrible last season and had a lot of trouble getting both lefties and righties out. He held a combined .348 wOBA and had big trouble keeping the ball in the park (24 in 120 innings). This entire Mets team is in play here and they are definitely my favorite stack outside of Coors Field. They’re a team who has actually been hitting well, although the circus around them has made it tough. Michael Conforto is truly the best hitter in this lineup right now and you can’t avoid him against righties. Further down, you can target a lot of different guys. Jay Bruce and Lucas Duda have a ton of HR potential and will be a lot lower-owned than expected. Neil Walker and Curtis Granderson are also really good against righties and have more than enough upside in Globe Life Park. Arlington is a huge upgrade for the Mets, who play their home games in the pitcher-friendly Citi Field. The Mets should be lower owned than both offenses in Coors Field and have similar upside in Globe Life.

Main Stack – Michael Conforto, Jay Bruce, Neil Walker, Lucas Duda

Sneaky Stack – Michael Conforto, Jay Bruce, Curtis Granderson, Wilmer Flores

Best MLB Draftkings Lineup for Tonight – June 05, 2017

Welcome to Lineup Lab’s Best MLB Draftkings Lineup for 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.

Starting Pitchers

Carlos Martinez vs Cincinnati Reds
Park – Great American Ball Park

This isn’t a slate where we’re able to choose from 100 different solid pitchers. We’re going to have to take what we can get and build solid lineups around guys that aren’t overly “safe”. Carlos Martinez is the first guy we’re going to take a peek at. He’s been absolutely great as of late, posting more than 40 FanDuel points in 6 straight contests. He emerged as an ace last year and it looks like he has no plans of regressing. He has held a .263 wOBA this season and with elite peripherals, it’s not going to go up. He faces a Reds team that is pretty weak as a whole. While Joey Votto and Adam Duvall are some scary bats, they are all the Reds have against righties. Eugenio Suarez and Zack Cozart are far superior against lefties and Scott Schebler is an HR or K almost every time. While Great American Ballpark is a lot worse for pitchers than Busch Stadium, Martinez has been fine there in the past. He profiles as the safest option on this slate and you can afford him n both sites. With that being said, his DraftKings price leaves a lot to be desired. If you feel the need to pay down, let’s take a look at a guy who can certainly be considered.

Junior Guerra vs. San Francisco Giants
Park – Miller Park

That guy is Junior Guerra. Guerra is a pretty interesting pitcher, playing just his 3rd year in the majors at 32 years old. He struggled early on and moved to the Mexican league to play professionally. He became a lot better while there and moved up the ranks quickly upon his return to the MLB. He’s been a little TOO GOOD against both righties and lefties, posting a sub .280 wOBA against both. While I’m not sure we can come to expect that, I do see Guerra as a solid 2 or 3 starter. He’s priced like a backend starter that’s going to go 5 innings and give up 3 runs. He faces off with the Giants, who have ranked dead last against righties so far in 2017. Miller Park has been neutral over the last 2 years and Guerra should be in for a very nice start. While I’m not expecting a clean slate out of Guerra, I expect him to strikeout at least 6 and go as many innings. His price is very fair on both sites and on DraftKings, he is a strong SP2. He should be highly owned and rightfully so. I don’t see anywhere else you can go while also paying down.

Offensive Stacks

St. Louis Cardinals vs. Cincinnati Reds
Park – Great American Ball Park

We touched on Carlos Martinez as our top pitcher and now we’ll take a look at the guys who will be responsible for providing him some run support. They shouldn’t have much of an issue, facing off with Asher Wojciechowski in the hitter-friendly Great American Ballpark. Woj has been absolutely horrible and it’s not too clear why he is even getting this opportunity. He has struggled in the minors and allowed a 5.31 xFIP in AAA for the Marlins last season. The Reds have decided to give him a shot in the majors for whatever reason and it’s not going well, as expected. He allowed 4 runs in 4 innings to the Blue Jays and will likely have a very similar outing here. The Cardinals are actually a pretty simple team to stack. We know where the production will come from and how it will come. Matt Carpenter, Dexter Fowler, and Aledmys Diaz are the 3 best bats against righties and all have plenty of power potential. After them, you can do a bit of mixing and matching. Yadi and Peralta are both full of power and should be pretty low-owned. All in all, the Cardinals are implied to score the most on this entire slate and are a team that will be in all of my cash games and tournaments.

Main Stack – Dexter Fowler, Matt Carpenter, Stephen Piscotty, Aledmys Diaz

Sneaky Stack – Dexter Fowler, Matt Carpenter, Yadier Molina, Jhonny Peralta

Houston Astros vs. Kansas City Royals
Park – Kauffman Stadium

The Astros are the only team with a comparable team total as the Cardinals, sitting at 4.73. They’re a team who is usually heavily owned and very variant. Even though there aren’t many other offenses to target, I don’t think the ‘Stros will be too heavily owned. Ian Kennedy has put up some very misleading stats (.190 BABIP) and I think there is a false thought of him being decent. They’re also in Kauffman Stadium, which is a lot worse of an environment than Minute Maid Park. These guys still have plenty of power and can hit an HR in any ballpark. Ian Kennedy has posted some solid surface stats, but it’s pretty clear a .190 BABIP is the reason why. The Astros, unlike the Cardinals, are a bit tougher to stack. They can produce from anywhere in the lineup and are priced up in 8 of 9 spots. Jose Altuve and Josh Redick are my two favorites, with Correa and Springer coming in next. Marwin Gonzalez and Brian McCann are both great tournament options and should be low owned. Bregman and Aoki are fine but lack any type of upside compared to the others. While the Astros aren’t a must to stack, they will be a bit lower-owned than they should be and have more potential than anyone on the slate.

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

Sneaky Stack – Jose Altuve, Josh Reddick, Evan Gattis, Carlos Beltran

*Mike Barner*

Daily Fantasy Baseball Stacks – Sunday, June 4

Sunday is a big day for starting pitchers as several elite strikeout hurlers are taking the mound. 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**

Justin Verlander vs. Chicago White Sox
Park – Comerica Park

Verlander’s numbers don’t look good at first glance as he has a 4.50 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP for the season. However, a lot of that damage was done over two starts against the Houston Astros and the Cleveland Indians where he gave up a total of 15 runs. His strikeouts have been solid as he has 63 over 68 innings for the season. He has already faced the White Sox once this season and he only allowed two runs in six innings to go along with 10 strikeouts. Look for him to have success against them again Sunday.

Trevor Bauer vs. Kansas City Royals
Park – Kauffman Stadium

Bauer has very odd numbers as his 6.00 ERA and 1.39 WHIP are very ugly. However, he is a big strikeout pitcher as he already has 73 in 57 innings. He is coming off of a start against the Oakland Athletics where he recorded 14 strikeouts in seven innings.  His recent numbers have been better as he has allowed three runs or less and recorded at least six strikeouts in each of his last four starts. The Royals have one of the worst offenses in all of baseball, making Bauer a nice value play Sunday.

**OFFENSIVE STACKS**

Colorado Rockies vs. Jarred Cosart (San Diego Padres)
Park – Petco Park

The Rockies crushed the Padres on Saturday, scoring 10 runs on 13 hits. Sunday they get to face Cosart who has an atrocious 1.80 WHIP for the season. He only has 10 strikeouts in his 20 innings this season, but he has issued 16 walks already. This is an epic mismatch, so look for big numbers from the Rockies again in this contest.

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

Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Vance Worley (Miami Marlins)
Park – Marlins Park

I’m going to go out on a limb and say the Diamondbacks will not be no-hit again on Sunday. Worley will be making his third start of the season on Sunday and while he only allowed two runs in his last start against the Los Angeles Angels, he only last five innings. In something you don’t see too often, he has allowed more runs (five) than he has recorded strikeouts (four) this season. His stuff is not overpowering to say the least, so expect the Diamondbacks offense to bounce back in a big way Sunday.

Players to consider stacking: Paul Goldschmidt, David Peralta and Nick Ahmed