Hey, everyone. Jared from Fantasy Cruncher here. I’ll be writing the Wednesday, Friday and Saturday FanDuel MLB Lineup Advice articles every week for FantasyPros this year. Really excited to share my thoughts and recommended plays with you throughout the season!
With only one afternoon affair, we have a nice group of 14 games tonight.
For reference throughout the season, be sure to bookmark our overview of MLB Park Factors and how to Use Weather to Your Advantage in MLB DFS. Also, check out our GPP and Cash Games Primers to learn more about different daily fantasy game types specific to MLB.
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Weather
There is weather risk in a few spots, and I am a little hesitant to recommend going all-in on Kluber right now as a result. That said, I am going to share a Kluber-led lineup as I have a good feeling this game gets in with minimal (if any) delays, and he is by far the top option for me on the slate.
Overall Thoughts
Lots of SP value available today, but Kluber is also fairly priced at $10,500 – and I have no problem paying up for him considering the plethora of value available at a variety of other positions. There are some extra dollars on the table with this lineup as it’s written, which can easily be deployed a number of different ways once lineups are announced. I don’t blame you for spending down at SP based on the Peacock and Delgado value in particular, which would really let you heavy-up on bats. That’s why I like this lineup for cash games (assuming no weather issues in Cleveland), and rolling with a Peacock/Delgado combo in multi-entry GPPs for your SP exposure.
Pitcher
Corey Kluber (CLE): $10,500 vs CWS
Kluber is the top chalk today by a pretty wide margin, but risk of rain in Cleveland makes this a slightly tricky situation to navigate. He faces a White Sox team that has been carved up by RHP all season long, and the Indians’ ace looked fantastic in his return from the DL with a great 6 IP outing with a big K total. The White Sox have a sub-.300 wOBA split vs RHP and a 24% K rate as well, making a high-skill pitcher like Kluber an easy target in DFS thanks to elite win probability and a low opponent total – not to mention a great match-up for their offense against Miguel Gonzalez. I have no problem pivoting down to Peacock or even Delgado if the weather makes this too risky to run him, though. Both have been excellent lately and have nice match-ups at great price points.
Other Notables
Catcher
Russell Martin (TOR): $2,400 @ SEA
If you are looking for value at the position, Martin tops the list for me. He faces a very hittable pitcher and the Jays have been getting hot as a unit of late. They are favored on the road and I feel as though they beat the 4.3 implied total. You can easily spend up higher if you decide to look elsewhere and/or have money left over after getting your other key plays in.
Other Notables
First Base
Lucas Duda (NYM): $3,000 @ ATL
I want exposure to Julio Teheran from a LHB standpoint, and there aren’t many values hitting the ball better than Duda is right now in a great split. Teheran has had trouble with lefties his entire career, and throwing at home in Atlanta is certainly no easy task thanks to the friendly hitting confines of the Braves’ new park.
Other Notables
Second Base
Brandon Drury (ARI): $2,200 vs MIL
Editor’s note: Pick updated to Brandon Phillips: $2,700 vs. NYM
I feel as though Drury is a bit of a ‘gimme’ if you need value at the keystone tonight. He hits in the 6 spot for a hot offense and gets a very hittable SP in Zach Davies tonight on home turf, where the Diamondbacks do some serious damage. He has a 3 game on base streak, and as long as he’s in the lineup tonight, makes for one of the better punts on the board.
Other Notables
Third Base
Logan Forsythe (LAD): $2,500 vs CIN
Amir Garrett is a key guy to have exposure against for me, and I’ll be playing Forsythe as long as he’s active and hitting in the top spot. I have some leftover cash right now as it stands, so you can easily see me pivoting to someone like a Nick Castellanos or even upping it to Sano or Donaldson if Forsythe is buried in the lineup or out altogether. That said, I like the skills and split numbers vs LHP for the Dodgers’ righty, and his contact rate makes him a nice high floor play.
Other Notables
Shortstop
Asdrubal Cabrera (NYM): $2,900 @ ATL
Another LHB piece of the Mets offense against the Braves, and one that I like the idea of pairing with Duda against Teheran. He hits in the #2 spot for the Mets and has 3 hits in his last 2 games. The match-up is excellent, and so is the ballpark. I’m happy to have exposure to him here.
Other Notables
Outfield
Bryce Harper (WAS): $4,500 vs TEX
This is a pretty big bet for me tonight, as Harper is expensive but in a really good spot against Andrew Cashner who has been outproducing his advanced metrics all season. Harper has hits in 3 of his last 4 games and is coming off a 3-hit night vs Alec Asher and company against Baltimore. I think it’s pretty safe to say that he’s locked in and deserves some serious love against a SP that has had all kinds of trouble vs LHB in his career.
Mookie Betts (BOS): $3,800 vs DET
You can go a few different ways with this spot tonight – by playing Betts or even Giancarlo Stanton who is a close #2 for me in my OF2 slot. I love attacking Jordan Zimmermann (who may be the most overrated SP in all of baseball, and I have been saying that for years), and the Red Sox have a gaudy team total to work with. You need BOS exposure, and who better to do that with than their leadoff bat.
Franklin Gutierrez (LAD): $2,500 vs CIN
I’m intrigued by stacking the Mets 3-deep with Granderson or even rolling with Pham who has been playing very well in his opportunities with St Louis. However, Garrett has some very bad numbers right now based on recent performance trends, which makes him right for the picking in my books. Guti mashes LHP, and as long as he’s in the heart of the order, he’s one of my favorite values on the slate.
Other Notables
- Tommy Pham (easy to swap with Gutierrez if you prefer)
- Curtis Granderson (also an option instead of Gutierrez)
- J.D. Martinez
- Stephen Piscotty
- Andrew McCutchen
- Giancarlo Stanton
- Michael Brantley
- Marcell Ozuna
- Jose Bautista
- Christian Yelich
- Corey Dickerson
- Justin Upton
My Lineup
- SP – Corey Kluber (CLE): $10,500 vs CWS
- C – Russell Martin (TOR): $2,400 @ SEA
- 1B – Lucas Duda (NYM): $3,000 @ ATL
- 2B – Brandon Phillips (ATL): $2,700 vs NYM
- 3B – Logan Forsythe (LAD): $2,500 vs CIN
- SS – Asdrubal Cabrera (NYM): $2,900 @ ATL
- OF – Bryce Harper (WAS): $4,500 vs TEX
- OF – Mookie Betts (BOS): $3,800 vs DET
- OF – Franklin Gutierrez (LAD): $2,500 vs CIN
Jared Kwart is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Jared, find his work at FantasyCruncher.com and follow him @FCJaredK.