Header Image - PICK LIKE THE PROS
PICK LIKE THE PROSLineup Lab is an advanced MLB, NBA, NFL, and NHL daily fantasy lineup optimizer for Fanduel, Draftkings, and Yahoo. Pros use a DFS optimizer, so why don't you? Pick like the pros. Use the worlds most advanced projections and optimization techniques. Join today, and start winning!
start winning

Chris Durell

DraftKings FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks for July 28

by Chris Durell 0 Comments

*Chris Durell*

DraftKings / FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks for July 28, 2017

Welcome back to another TGIF edition of our daily fantasy baseball picks. Friday gives us another full 15-game slate to sort through and there will bea wrinkle with some weather issues thrown in the mix. Be sure to monitor the situations in Washington and Philadelphia as we get closer to lock. You can also follow me on Twitter(@Jager_Bombs9) as I will be updating the situations there as well. Let’s take a look at some of the top pitchers and stacks for tonight.

Starting Pitchers

Masahiro Tanaka
Opponent – vs. TB
Park – Yankee Stadium(Hitter Park)
Vegas Favorite (-175)
Vegas Total (9.0)

The Yankees are the third biggest favorite(-175) on the slate and Tanaka comes at a value price on both sites which give him huge PTS/$ value on this full slate. I will, however, only be using him in tournaments due to the inconsistency he has shown all season. He has given up 4+ earned runs seven times this season and sits with a 5.37 ERA but there are signs of positive regression working in his favor. First of all, the xFIP(3.74) sits over a run and a half better thanks to a below average walk rate(2.1 BB/9) and elite strikeout potential with a 9.18 K/9 and 14.6% swinging strike rate. While the Rays do rank inside the Top 10 vs. right-handed pitchers, they also K over 24% of the time and have been one of the coldest teams over the last 14 days(.290 wOBA, 81 wRC+).

Danny Salazar
Opponent – @ CWS
Park – Guaranteed Rate Field(Neutral)
Vegas Favorite (-215)
Vegas Total (9.5)

My top option tonight is the electric but wild Danny Salazar. Before a shoulder injury placed him on the disabled list for over a month, Salazar had a ton of issues walking batters(4.58 BB/9) and was punished for it with a 5.40 ERA and 22.4% HR/FB rate. He made his return to the rotation last Saturday and was very impressive giving up just one hit to the Jays over 7.1 innings while striking out eight and walking ZERO. He gets an even better matchup tonight facing a White Sox team that has lost 12 of their last 13 games and rank right near the bottom of the league vs. right-handed pitching with a .304 wOBA, 87 wRC+, and 22.3% strikeout rate.

Top Stack

Texas Rangers vs. Chris Tillman (BAL)

I absolutely love targeting against the Orioles pitching staff. Their bullpen sits in the middle of the pack with a 4.01 ERA but the starters hold the second worst ERA(5.90) and third worst HR/FB rate(16.5%) in the entire league. Tonight it’s the Texas Rangers who, despite getting shelled 22-10 yesterday, have scored 10+ runs in back to back games and face Chris Tillman who has been the worst of the O’s staff this season. He has walked a to of batters(4.48 BB/9) this season and has been punished with the long ball(17% HR/FB rate) resulting in a 7.01 ERA and equally bad 5.51 xFIP.

Top Players to Stack – Shin-Soo Choo, Adrian Beltre, Nomar Mazara, Roughned Odor

 

 

 

Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Matt Moore(SF)

I guess we can call this a sneaky snack? I mean the Dodgers, at this point, rank 9th in implied runs tonight and on the main slate the late games can sometimes be overlooked. This is good news as they rank third overall in wOBA and wRC+ vs. left-handed pitching this season and have been the league’s hottest team since the break. They have won They have won five straight and 10 of 12 games scoring an average of over five runs per game. Matt Moore is not a good pitcher with a 5.82 ERA and 5.15 xFIP and has given up at least one home run in three straight and four of his last five games. I think you can further separate yourself from the pack by leaving out the popular and expensive Bellinger and Seager. I will definitely have exposure to both but like the idea of fading them in a few spots to be contrarian.

Top Players to Stack – Justin Turner, Chris Taylor, Logan Forsythe, Enrique Hernandez

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DraftKings FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks for July 27, 2017

by Chris Durell 0 Comments

*Chris Durell*

DraftKings / FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks for July 27, 2017

Welcome back for another Thursday in daily fantasy baseball. Today is a bit of weird one with just eight games in total with three of them running in the afternoon. For the article below, I am going to give you my top pitcher and stack for tonight and we will get back to full-slate baseball on Friday. Let’s dig in.

Starting Pitchers

DraftKings FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks - Jon Lester - Lineuplab

Jon Lester
Opponent – @ CWS
Park – Guaranteed Rate Field (Neutral)
Vegas Favorite (CHC -225)
Vegas Total (10.5)

The vegas total is the highest of the entire day but don’t let that scare you off as the Cubs side of things makes up for over 61% of that. Lester takes the mound for the North siders tonight and has been brilliant lately. Over his last two starts, he has gone 15 innings, limiting the Braves and Cards to three hits each and three combined earned runs while striking out 16 batters and walking just one. Tonight he faces a White Sox team that started out the year destroying lefties but has fallen off lately since the trade of Todd Frazier. They currently rank 8th in wOBA and more telling is the 18th rank in Isolated Power. Trust Lester in all formats tonight.

Also Consider: C.C. Sabathia

 

Top Stack

DraftKings FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks - Matt Carpenter - Lineuplab

St. Louis Cardinals vs. Zack Godley (ARI)

The Cubs are clearly the top play tonight with their 6+ implied run total but I wanted to give you a secondary option to get away from the chalk. I am leaning in the Cardinals tonight who just finished off a three-game sweep of the Rockies outscoring them 21-9. Tonight they welcome another NL West team in the Diamondbacks who will be throwing Zack Godley to the mound. He had an excellent start to the season holding opponents to three earned runs or less in his first 11 starts but has been stumbling a bit lately. He has given up 10 earned runs over his last two starts despite showing some big K upside. The BABIP suggests he will regress back to normal but on a small slate, I will take a shot with a hot team and cold pitcher.

Top Players to Stack – Matt Carpenter, Paul DeJong, Jedd Gyorko, Tommy Pham

DraftKings FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks for July 21, 2017

by Chris Durell 0 Comments

*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

DraftKings FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks for July 14, 2017

by Chris Durell 0 Comments

*Chris Durell*

DraftKings / FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks for July 14, 2017

The All-Star break exhibition is now over and it’s time to get back to baseball. The second half starts tonight with a full 15-game slate that is not short of risk. With an early look at the weather, there are some concerns in New York(COL vs NYM), Baltimore(CHC vs. BAL) and Pittsburgh(STL vs. PIT). I am writing this early Thursday afternoon so be sure to check the LineupLab Weather Page closer to lineup lock. Let’s jump into the picks.

Starting Pitchers

DraftKings FanDuel MLB Lineup - Carlos Carrasco - Lineuplab

Carlos Carrasco
Opponent – @ OAK
Park – Oakland Coliseum(Pitcher Park)
Vegas Favorite (CLE -135)
Vegas Total (8.0)

Ranking pitching staffs by WAR, we find the Indians sitting second(14.2) as a group and it’s in large part to the top two in the rotation(Kluber & Carrasco). Both sit inside the Top 10 in CY Young voting going into the second half. Carassco hasn’t shown the elite upside of Kluber’s 11.9 K/9 rate but has still been dominant with a 9.8 K/9 rate and 12.8% swinging strike rate and has struck out 7+ batters in 11 of his 14 starts. There have been a few blips on the radar this season but overall he has been very consistent averaging 37.7 FanDuel and 20.9 DraftKings points per start. He is safe in all on FanDuel under $10K but should be reserved to GPP only on DraftKings as he has reached a season-high $12,100.

Jacob Faria
Opponent – @ LAA
Park – Angel Stadium of Anaheim(Pitcher Park)
Vegas Favorite (TB +105)
Vegas Total (8.5)

Targeting the Angels lately has been a profitable venture as they rank right at the bottom of the league in almost every category over the past 14 days. While they do get Mike Trout back tonight, I personally think it will take the team a game or two to get back in the groove. I also think Jacob Faria is far too under priced considering how impressive he has been early in his career. He has gone at least six innings in all six starts and has held opponents to two or less earned runs in five of them and is striking out just under a batter per inning. From a fantasy standpoint, he is averaging 41.2 FanDuel and 22.4 DraftKings points per start. He is safe in all formats. The Rays are early dogs on the road making this a contrarian GPP play.

Stack of the Night

 DraftKings FanDuel MLB Lineup - Lineuplab.com

Tampa Bay Rays vs. Ricky Nolasco (LAA)

The Rays strike out a ton vs. right-handed pitching(24.6%) making them a tough play in cash games but they are a perfect team to stack in GPP’s. The upside is most definitely there as they rank inside the Top 5 in wOBA(.339), wRC+(114), and ISO(.204) vs. righties and get somewhat of a batting practice session tonight vs. Ricky Nolasco has been downright awful in the first half. He sports a 5.06 ERA, 4.64 xFIP and most notably a 19.8% HR/FB rate so look for the Rays to tee off.

Top Players to Stack – Corey Dickerson, Logan Morrison, Steven Souza Jr, Evan Longoria

 

 

Also Consider: Seattle Mariners vs. James Shields (CWS)

DraftKings FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks for July 07, 2017

by Chris Durell 0 Comments

*Chris Durell*

DraftKings / FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks for July 07, 2017

With one early and one late afternoon game on Friday, we will turn our attention to the 13-game main slate and look at a couple of the top pitchers and stacks.

Starting Pitchers

Max Scherzer
Opponent – vs. ATL
Park – Nationals Park(Neutral)
Vegas Favorite (WSH -245)
Vegas Total (8.0)

First of all, there is much less chance of rain tonight so we shouldn’t have to deal with the Nats brass making any horrible weather decisions. For cash games, I don’t think there is any other way to go than Max Scherzer tonight who has a higher floor and almost more upside than any other pitcher in baseball this season(honorable mention to Kershaw & Sale). In my opinion, Scherzer is the clear CY Young in the national League at this point, at least from a fantasy perspective. Sure, Kershaw has a sparkling 13-2 record but Scherzer helps you where you need it most in the strikeout department. He is second in the entire MLB(qualified starters) with a 12.2 K/9 rate and is tied with Sale with a ridiculous 16.2% swinging strike rate. On paper the Braves don’t strikeout a ton but Gio was able to rack a K per inning last night so Scherzer should have no issues.

 

Jordan Montgomery
Opponent – vs. MIL
Park – Yankee Stadium(Hitters Park)
Vegas Favorite (-175)
Vegas Total (11.0)

For tournaments on DraftKings where you want to access Scherzer’s upside without totally handicapping your bats, take a close look at Jordan Montgomery tonight. There is definitely risk involved as the game has a huge 11 total but to be fair the majority of it is coming on the Yankee side. It has been a good season for the rookie and even better lately as he has gone at least five innings in six straight starts since the start of June with a 2.95 ERA and 8.6 K/9 rate. I believe he can even afford to give up a few earned runs and still hit value tonight as the Brewers boost his K upside as they strike out 26.1% of the time vs. left-handed pitching.

 

 

Stack of the Night

New York Yankees vs. Junior Guerra(MIL)

The other reason I like Montgomery so much tonight is the fact he gets a huge boost in win potential thanks to the potent Yankee offense. They are one of two teams(Rockies) projected to score north of six runs tonight and they get an elite matchup to do it. Junior Guerra has been awful lately walking over 6.5 batters per nine and has a 7.27 ERA over his last five starts. He is also giving up home runs at high rate(23.1% HR/FB). Combine the fact that the wind is projected to blow out to left field and Guerra has struggled more vs. right-handed batter and you have a very high upside stack that could be a tick lower owned than the Rockies.

Top Players to Stack – Gary Sanchez, Aaron Judge, Brett Gardner, Didi Gregorius

 

 

Baltimore Orioles vs. Felix Jorge(MIN)

My favorite stack of the night when using Scherzer is the Orioles with their terrific values at the top of the lineup. They also get a pretty good matchup tonight vs. rookie Felix Jorge making his second major league start after jumping straight from Double-A last week. Normally when we see this jump the pitcher has dominated making a trip to Triple-A meaningless. That is not the case for Jorge despite his 8-1 record in the minors this season. He also had a respectable 3.26 ERA and 3.43 xFIP but only struck out 6.4 batters per nine while giving up a 15% HR/FB rate. He won his first start going five innings but only struck out two and gave up seven hits and three earned runs but was back by an 11 run offensive output. I fully expect similar troubles in his second start vs. a powerful O’s team.

Top Players to Stack – Seth Smith, Adam Jones, Mark Trumbo, Jonathan Schoop

DraftKings FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks for July 06, 2017

by Chris Durell 0 Comments

*Chris Durell*

DraftKings / FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks for July 06, 2017

Thursday brings us a split slate and with four games early it leaves us with a nice sized seven-game main slate. This is where we will turn our attention in the following article as I cover my favorite pitchers and top stack of the night.


DraftKings FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks - Lineup Lab - Chris Sale - Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks

Starting Pitchers

Chris Sale
Opponent – @TB
Park – Tropicana Field
Vegas Favorite (BOS -160)
Vegas Total (7.0)

He comes at a heavy cost once again but is the clear choice for CY Young in the American League if the award were given out at the All-Star Break. He has completely dominated in his first season with the Rex Sox with a 2.61 ERA that is backed by a 2.70 xFIP but for fantasy, the biggest factor has been the elite 12.4 K/9 rate and 16% swinging strike rate. To put that into perspective for those who aren’t familiar with the swinging strike rate stat, there are only 32 qualified pitchers with over a 10% rate and only three(Sale, Scherzer, Kluber) over 15% in all of baseball. Tonight he faces a Rays team that has been much worse vs. left-handed pitching with a wOBA 36 points lower and a 26.5% strikeout rate that trails only the Texas Rangers vs. southpaws. Pay the steep price and find value to surround him with.

Gio Gonzalez
Opponent –  vs. ATL
Park – Nationals Park
Vegas Favorite (-160)
Vegas Total (9.0)

If you are looking to save some salary and upgrade some bats, there is a case to be made for Gio in all formats tonight. The Nationals are at home and the same -160 favorite as the Red Sox and while Gio doesn’t provide near the upside as Sale, he comes at a $2K+ discount which goes a long way if there is a lack of value popping up when lineups are released. Gio has also been having a terrific season despite losing two straight starts. First of all, in those two losses he allowed just one earned run in each and over the course of the season has only allowed over three earned runs twice in 17 starts. He does provide strikeout upside with 8+ in four of his last five and carries an 8.7 K/9 rate into tonight’s matchup with the Braves.


DraftKings FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks - Miguel Sano - Lineup Lab - Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks

Stack of the Night

Minnesota Twins vs. Dylan Bundy (BAL)

The Twins currently sit with the second highest implied runs of all 14 teams tonight. It starts with the splits as they have been much better against right-handed pitching with a wOBA 24 points higher and wRC+ 16 points higher. What really tips the scales in their favor is the matchup as they face Dylan Bundy who has been downright terrible lately after a strong start to the season in April. He has given up five home runs in his last two starts and has now given up at least one home run in 11 straight and 12 of his last 13 starts. For fantasy, this is exactly we are looking for as home runs pay the bills. Load up on Twins tonight.

Top Players to Stack – Miguel Sano, Max Kepler, Robbie Grossman, Eddie Rosario

Also Consider – Los Angeles Dodgers, Houston Astros

 

DraftKings FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks for June 30, 2017

by Chris Durell 0 Comments

*Chris Durell*

DraftKings / FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks for June 30, 2017

Welcome back for another huge night in daily fantasy baseball. Friday brings us a full 15-game slate tonight and while we don’t have that elite ace, there are still plenty of options to choose from not mention the bats in great spots. Let’s jump in and take a look at a couple pitching and stacking option.

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

Jacob deGrom
Opponent – vs. PHI
Park – Citi Field (Pitchers Park)
Vegas Favorite (NYM -245)
Vegas Total (8.5)

Without a clear elite ace on the mound, we get two pitchers at the top who have reached a season high salary. Alex Wood and Jacob deGrom have both been good this season but I lean on deGrom as he gets the slightly better matchup and has more of a track record of going deep into games. Since being blown up by the Rangers in early June, deGrom has been red hot winning three straight starts, going at least eight innings in all of them while allowing just two total earned runs despite walking seven batters. The strikeout has got him out of a lot of trouble as he has racked up 19 in that time to give him an elite 10.5 K/9 for the season. He now gets a great matchup vs. the Phillies who rank near the bottom of the league in runs scored and hitting against right-handed pitching. Go ahead and roll out deGrom in all formats tonight.

 

Sonny Gray
Opponent – vs. ATL
Park – Oakland Coliseum (Pitchers Park)
Vegas Favorite (OAK -160)
Vegas Total (8.5)

On the value end of things, I will be using Sonny Gray as my SP2 on DraftKings and as a GPP pivot on FanDuel tonight. He and the A’s are the fourth biggest favorite on the board currently and after a disaster of a 2016 season, Gray looks back near top form. He is striking out 9.1 batters per nine which is his highest K rate since his rookie season back in 2013. He has walked a few more batters than league average and had a few blips on the radar but overall has held opponents to three or less earned runs in eight of his 11 starts. He also pitches in a great pitchers environment and faces a team in the bottom third of the league in hitting vs. righties.

 

Stacks of the Night

Tampa Bay Ray vs. Chris Tillman (BAL)

Not only do the Rays sit with the highest implied run total of the day, they also get to tee off on Chris Tillman who, if the O’s had other options, would not be in the majors still. He strikes out less than 6.5 batters per nine while walking the ballpark(4.9 BB/9) and comes in with a 8.39 ERA on the season. Even the xFIP sits at 5.71 and he is giving up a career-high 36% hard contact rate and 17.9% HR/FB rate. The Rays are also a team that has more than one way to stack and allows you to get creative. Look for them to go ham tonight.

Top Players to Stack – Evan Longoria, Corey Dickerson, Logan Morrison

Value Options – Mallex Smith, Steven Souza Jr., Shane Peterson

 

Nelson Cruz - LineupLab

Seattle Mariners vs. Parker Bridwell (LAA)

The Mariners, in my opinion, make an excellent high upside stack tonight and could be low owned for a couple reasons on the main slate. First of all, the game is at 10:00 ET which usually helps wit ownership considering all the lineups aren’t always in before the 7:05 lock. Second, the Mariners sit in the middle of the pack today when looking at implied runs and the overall Vegas Total. I think these projections come from fact that the game is in a pitchers park and Parker Bridwell sits with an ERA below 3.00 for the season. Don’t fooled, however, as he has been getting extremely lucky when looking at the other metrics. He is striking out just five batters per nine and is holding runners on at a very unsustainable 95% rate and sits with a 5.32 xFIP. Best of all, he has been giving up over 35% hard contact with a 19.2% HR/FB rate. Load up on M’s.

Top Players to Stack – Nelson Cruz, Robinson Cano, Kyle Seager, Jean Segura

Value Options – Mitch Haniger, Ben Gamel

 

DraftKings FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks for June 29, 2017

by Chris Durell 0 Comments

*Chris Durell*

DraftKings / FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks for June 29, 2017

Welcome back for another split Thursday in daily fantasy baseball. In the article below, I will be looking at some of the top pitchers and stacks for the eight games main slate tonight. Let’s jump right in.

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


Clayton Kershaw
Opponent – @LAA
Park – Angel Stadium of Anaheim (Neutral)
Vegas Favorite (LAD -210)
Vegas Total (8.0)

Starting right at the top, we get the best pitcher on the planet tonight. The concern all season has been the price vs. the production and while it was close to sub-optimal early on, Kershaw appears back on an elite pace. He had a hiccup vs. the Mets two starts ago but has limited opponents to a .175 average in June while striking out 12.2 batters per nine with an elite 5.6 strikeout to walk ratio. The Angels have been a scrappy team since losing Mike Trout but still rank in the bottom third of the league in hitting vs. left-handed pitching and strike out right around league average. The Dodgers are huge -210 favorites boosting Kershaw’s win potential which makes him playable in all formats tonight.

 

J.A. Happ
Opponent – vs. BAL
Park – Rogers Center (Hitters Park)
Vegas Favorite (TOR -190)
Vegas Total (10.0)

If you are looking for a viable SP2 on DraftKings or a low-owned GPP pivot on FanDuel, target J.A. Happ who appears to be back on track after spending over a month on the disabled list. He was rusty in his first start giving up five earned runs to the A’s in early June but has limited opponents to just four earned runs in 19.1 innings pitched since. The best part about Happ is that he comes with added upside this season as he is carrying a 9.9 K/9 rate into this matchup with Orioles who are striking out over 25% of the time vs. left-handed pitching and rank in the bottom half of the league in wOBA and wRC+. There is definitely risk tied to this game with a high Vegas total but Happ should be easily low owned with two elite options above him making him a great GPP pivot with upside.

 

Stacks of the Night

Milwaukee Brewers vs. Homer Bailey (CIN)

Start your stacks tonight by targeting Homer Bailey who is still making his way back to full health after he had surgery to remove bone spurs in his elbow in the offseason. He wasn’t able to get in any spring training and missed the first two and half months of the season. He made his return to the Reds last Saturday and was greeted by the top offense in the league who scored eight earned runs off him in just 1.2 innings pitched. The Brewers aren’t quite at the level of the Nats this season but still rank Top 10 in overall runs scored and they also rank Top 10 in wOBA, wRC+ and ISO vs. right-handed pitching. The left-handed bats are the top target for the Brew Crew as Bailey has struggled much more vs. southpaws dating back to the 2013 season.

Top Players to Stack – Eric Sogard, Eric Thames, Travis Shaw, Ryan Braun

Value Options – Domingo Santana, Manuel Pina

 

 

 

Toronto Blue Jays vs. Ubaldo Jimenez (BAL)

The Blue Jays are likely to be the chalkier stack tonight but also come with a bit more upside considering their implied run total is almost a full run higher than the Brewers. The Jays offense has struggled in 2017 ranking 26th in overall runs scored but the run line has much more to do with the matchup vs. Ubaldo Jimenez. When stacking offenses we want home run potential and Ubaldo gives us just that. Since returning to the rotation in mid-June, he has given up 11 earned runs in 9.1 innings pitched with back to back games with multiple home runs giving him a 22.2% HR/FB rate for the season. Look for the Jays to tee off tonight.

Top Players to Stack – Jose Bautista, Josh Donaldson, Justin Smoak, Kendrys Morales

Value Options – Troy Tulowitzki, Russell Martin

DraftKings FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks for June 23, 2017

by Chris Durell 0 Comments

*Chris Durell*

DraftKings / FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks for June 23, 2017

Welcome back for another TGIF edition of my daily fantasy baseball picks. With no afternoon games today, we get a full 15 game slate tonight. This gives us tons of different slates on both sites so be sure to get your subscription to the tools here at LineupLab to help you build better lineups. Let’s jump in and take a look at a couple pitchers to build around and some stacking options for tournaments.

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

DraftKings FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks - Lineuplab - Chris Archer

Chris Archer
Opponent – vs. BAL
Park -Tropicana Field (Pitchers Park)
Vegas Favorite (TB -225)
Vegas Total (9.0)

The Rays are hanging on in the American League East thanks to their sparkling 23-16 home record which is second best in the league. After taking two of three from the Reds earlier in the week the Rays have now won seven of their last 10 home games and open a series with the Orioles tonight with their ace toeing the rubber. Chris Archer has given up some runs this year and sits with a 3.75 ERA but makes up for it in fantasy with his very high floor thanks to an elite 11.2 K/9 rate(4th in the league). The only knock on Archer this season has been the high walk rate(2.84 BB/9) but the good news is he faces an Orioles team that walks less than all but two teams in the league(6.6%) vs. right-handed pitching. Archer has also had some trouble with lefties(.335 wOBA) this season while dominating righties(.249 wOBA) and another bump in the projections is the fact Chris Davis(O’s most powerful LH bat) is out of the lineup. Look for Archer and the Rays to open the series with a dominating performance from their ace. He is safe in all formats.


J.A. Happ
Opponent – @ KC
Park – Kauffman Stadium (Pitchers Park)
Vegas Favorite (TOR -125)
Vegas Total (9.5)

His salary is back up in the $8K range on both sites but Happ still brings a lot of value to the table in this matchup. He spent a month and a half on the disabled list in April and May and struggled in his first two starts back but has been much better lately. Over his last two starts, Happ has allowed just three earned runs in 12.2 innings pitched with 17 strikeouts and just one walk while limiting the hard contact to 28%. He appears back in the form we saw last season when he posted a career-high 20 wins and the best part is the increase in strikeouts, even though I don’t think he maintains a rate over 10 per nine. As long as he keeps limiting the free passes (1.7 BB/9), he will give himself a much better shot at getting deeper into games and a shot at more wins. Tonight he gets a park upgrade as the Jays travel to Kauffman Stadium to take on a Royals team that ranks in the bottom third of the league vs. left-handed pitching. The opening line has Happ as a -125 favorite and I wouldn’t be surprised if it got even bigger closer to lineup lock. Happ makes an excellent SP2 on DraftKings or contrarian GPP play on FanDuel.

 

 

Stacks of the Night

DraftKings FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks - Lineuplab - Francisco Lindor

Cleveland Indians vs. Adalberto Mejia (MIN)

I will be targeting the Indians heavily as my top stack in tournaments and even some smaller two and three-man stacks in cash games. They currently sit as big -170 favorites with the third highest implied run projection tonight as the Twins come to town to open a weekend series. The Indians have been red hot lately winning eight of their last nine games while scoring 68 runs which is an average of 7.5 runs per game. They will be facing rookie start Adalberto Mejia who has struggled in his first attempt as a major league starter. He is walking over 4.5 batters per nine innings and while he has only had one blow up game (8 ER to the Mariners), he will not be able to sustain such a high walk rate. He enters tonight’s matchup with a 5.53 ERA and 5.31 xFIP while also giving up an 18% HR/FB rate. All signs point to the Indians having their way with Mejia tonight. They rank 12th in wOBA and 10th in wRC+ vs. left-handed pitching and have some hitters that can take us to GPP glory tonight.

Top Players to Stack – Edwin Encarnacion, Francisco Lindor, Jose Ramirez

Value Options – Austin Jackson, Yan Gomes

 

DraftKings FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks - Lineuplab - Corey Seager

Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Kyle Freeland (COL)

The Dodgers are down the list a bit when looking at implied run projections and I think this helps with their ownership tonight. Along with the Indians, they are arguably the hottest team in the league winning seven straight and 13 of their last 14 games. They have sustained the winning streak with some timely pitching but most of all from their consistent and powerful offense. During those last 14 games, they have scored a total of 98 runs on their opponents which works out to seven runs per game. Over the last 14 days, they sit with a .400 wOBA and 153 wRC+ as a team and should be able to keep that pace up going up against Kyle Freeland tonight. He is another pitcher who has struggled with his control(3.53 BB/9) but has gotten away with it for the most part. While you would think a pitcher for the Rockies would have splits favoring the road but it is a different story for Freeland who has an ERA close to a half run more on the road while allowing opponents a wOBA of .345 while holding them to a .309 wOBA in Coors. It doesn’t completely make sense over a small sample size but it is something to monitor. He could be in trouble tonight as the Dodgers lineup ranks 5th in wRC+ and 10th in wOBA against left-handed pitching and make a high upside and very affordable stack.

Top Players to Stack – Logan Forsythe, Justin Turner, Corey Seager, Chris Taylor

Value Options – Enrique Hernandez, Yasiel Puig

DraftKings FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks for June 16, 2017

by Chris Durell 0 Comments

*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.