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MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Lineup Stacks for July 25, 2017

*Austyn Varney*

MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Lineup Stacks – Tuesday, July 25, 2017

*STARTING PITCHERS*

Madison Bumgarner Vs. Pittsburgh Pirates
Park – AT&T Park
Vegas O/U – 7.5

Since Bumgarner has returned from injury, he hasn’t been great. While he isn’t getting blown up or absolutely stinking, he’s simply been meh. He’s getting a bit unlucky and has also allowed 2 HR’s that were barely over the fence down the line. This is still by far the best pitcher on the slate and you have to like him in both cash games and tournaments. The Pirates have ranked 17th in the league against righties with a .311 wOBA and don’t offer much upside outside of McCutchen and Marte. They have plenty of strikeouts up for grabs and Bumgarner should have a floor around 7 K’s. He also gets the honor of playing at home in AT&T Park, where the ball absolutely dies. Bumgarner is still the best option on the slate and a guy whom deserves consideration in both cash games and tournaments.

Mike Clevinger @ Los Angeles Angels
Park – Angels Stadium
Vegas O/U – 8

Mike Clevinger is pretty good. He has a wacky reputation and for whatever reason, isn’t looked at like a good pitcher. Clevinger has been solid against both sides of the plate this season, posting a .289 wOBA against lefties and a .257 against righties. He’s struck out 10 batters per 9 innings, but also walks nearly 4. You’ll get a few walks here and there, but Clevinger typically works out of jams very well. This matchup with the Angels is a very interesting one with Mike Trout back. Against a righty, Trout and Calhoun are the only 2 guys that scare me. The rest of the order is full of strikeouts and/or weak grounders. Clevinger should be able to have another quality start here and at his price, that’s all you need. If you’re hesitant to pay all the way up for Bumgarner, Clevinger gives you a cost effective option with some safety and upside.

*OFFENSIVE STACKS*

Houston Astros vs Nick Pivetta (Philadelphia Phillies)
Park – Minute Maid Park
Implied Total – 5.41

We don’t have a whole bunch of offenses in great spots tonight. While there are plenty of them in “good spots”, few stand out. One of those few is the Houston Astros. The Astros face off with Nick Pivetta, who is not very good. While good against lefties, he’s posted a crazy .429 wOBA against righties in somewhat substantial innings. This gives guys like Altuve and Springer a ton of upsides Evan Gattis also gets some HR upside. To fill out your stack, I wouldn’t hesistate with a lefty. While he has been better against them, we’re expecting to see the bullpen a lot and most of them are right-handed. Josh Reddick and Carlos Beltran always go underowned and have a ton to offer in this one. All in all, the Astros are easily the most explosive offense in a big spot. You’ll likely need some exposure in both cash and tourneys.

Arizona Diamondbacks vs Mike Foltynewixs (Atlanta Braves)
Park – Chase Field
Implied Total – 5.03

Like I said, there isn’t a ton to choose from in therms of stacks on this slate. The Astros are pretty obvious and should definitely be somewhat popular. Next, we’ll look at the D-Backs. It’s actually just a few of them that are standing off the page. They face off with Mike Foltynewicz, who is a cut and dry pitcher. He sucks against lefties and obliterates righties. Really that simple. With a .373 wOBA so far in 2017, you have to love the lefties in this order. Jake Lamb and Peralta are 2 of the top options on the slate and I wouldn’t leave them off any stack. Paul Goldscmidt and J.D. Martinez are also interesting, but I may go value with some other lefties (Blanco,Descalso, Hermmann).

DraftKings FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks for July 21, 2017

*Chris Durell*

DraftKings / FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks for July 21, 2017

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

Starting Pitchers

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

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

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

 

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

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

Top Stacks

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

Houston Astros vs. Ubaldo Jimenez (BAL)

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

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

Miami Marlins vs. Homer Bailey (CIN)

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

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

MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Lineup Stacks for July 17, 2017

*Austyn Varney*

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

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

PITCHERS

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

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

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

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

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

OFFENSIVE STACKS

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

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

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

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

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

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