Greeting my fellow daily fantasy baseball aficionados. Welcome to another action packed Tuesday competition. We have a bevvy of aces to choose from a wide range of stacking opportunities, so there's much to break down. Every team will be in action today and this piece will focus on the 15 game Main slate that begins at 7:05 this evening.
Before we get into my player selections, let's take a look at some interesting Vegas lines to see what insights we can gather from them. There are a good amount of games with individual team run total projections over what I would consider "attractive" (5+ runs), starting with the Red Sox at the top of the list (5.7), followed by the Nationals (5.7), Twins (5.5), Orioles (5.4), White Sox (5.2), Blue Jays (5.1) and Mariners (5.1). As for the biggest favorites of the day - which are helpful in determining who to roster on the mound in your cash game contests - the Red Sox (-242) are the heaviest favorites, followed by the Nationals (-199), the Dodgers (-156) and the Blue Jays (-155).
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for FanDuel on 6/13/2017. The DFS lineup picks will range from some of the elite players to mid-priced options, and of course, value plays. Let's get to it, shall we?
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Offensive Stacks
Boston Red Sox versus Ben Lively
The Red Sox own the highest projection of the night and it's a mark I think they'll hit and surpass pretty easily. This team can be explosive at home in their hitter friendly ballpark - as we saw last night - and they have an excellent matchup against a weak pitcher in Ben Lively. Lively has been serviceable in two starts this year, but he has been the beneficiary of some batted ball luck and overall, he's a real non-prospect with a pair of mediocre pitches. There are a number of Boston guys I am targeting, but if I had to narrow it down to four favorites, I would roster Andrew Benintendi, Mookie Betts, Jackie Bradley, and Mitch Moreland.
Also Consider: Washington Nationals against R.A. Dickey and Baltimore Orioles versus Derek Holland
FanDuel DFS Pitchers
Marco Estrada - SP, vs TB ($8,500)
Estrada has quietly been one of the best pitchers in the league this season, posting some excellent primary and peripheral statistic marks. He's available today for a very moderate price, considering the matchup and the upside, and has posted a solid 1.2 WHIP and very strong 9.6 HR/9. His swinging strike rates are elite, and his strikeout projections are elevated tonight thanks to his own stuff and due to Tampa Bay's strikeout issues - as they currently have a projected lineup that has struck out in 28% of at-bats versus right-handed pitching this season.
Brad Peacock - SP, vs TEX ($7,000)
I think Peacock is pretty solid tournament option tonight in what is a pretty crowded middle and lower tier among the starting pitching options. Simply put, Peacock has re-invented his delivery and approach this season and those changes have yielded some pretty elite strikeout numbers (10.8 K/9) and lower home run marks (0.9 HR/9) which makes him a tournament-type pitcher. There is some risk attached here as he faces a powerful team, but that risk comes with equal reward, as so many Texas power hitters have a high strikeout rate.
Also Consider: Clayton Kershaw - SP, at CLE ($12,500), Zack Wheeler - SP, vs CHC ($8,400)
FanDuel DFS Infielders
Chris Herrmann - C, at DET ($2,400)
Herrmann is an incredible value tonight considering he possesses a high floor thanks to his impressive wOBA split differential that is more than 100 points higher than when he faces lefties, and he also possesses home run upside. His ISO split for the year - .205 - is pretty strong, and there is extra upside here as he owns a 46% hard hit rate in the past two weeks.
Yonder Alonso - 1B, at MIA ($3,200)
First base selections are often the hardest to make not because of a lack of strong options, but often because of it. With so many potentially lucrative paths you could head down, it clouds decision making a bit. I landed on Alonso today because I think he represents a good mix of a solid floor (.360 wOBA), good power (.211 ISO split), matchup upside, and a very cheap price - all things considered. Alonso owns a 41% hard hit rate over the past two weeks and his opponent, Jose Urena, has been giving up extra base hits in bunches.
Jonathan Schoop - 2B, at CWS ($3,400)
Schoop and his Baltimore teammates have one of the most fantastic matchups on deck this evening, and as such, I'll be stacking the Orioles but also mixing in my favorites as one-offs in tournaments and cash games alike. Schoop is one of my said favorites, as he's relatively cheap, has strong splits (.327 wOBA, .217 ISO) and a pretty impressive hard hit rate (35%) over the last two weeks.
Josh Donaldson - 3B, vs TB ($4,300)
With a few premier pitchers on the board today, I'm trying to focus many of my player selections on guys that have a cheap-ish price and upside. One position I have to ignore price at thanks to a tremendous matchup is third base, specifically with the case of Josh Donaldson. His hard hit rate over the past 15 days (43%) is massive, and he has some of the strongest splits at the position, especially in the power department (.425 wOBA, .285 ISO). On top of that, Donaldson is facing off against the largely inexperienced Jacob Faria.
Carlos Correa - SS, vs TEX ($4,200)
I imagine Mr. Correa is a little frustrated with his output and would love seeing a slump-buster on the mound tonight. Lucky for him, he's facing Nick Martinez, who can really help him out here. You see, Correa has been hitting the ball very hard (44% past 15 days), with absolutely nothing to show for it. I think the "nothing to show for it" streak ends tonight, and his .200 ISO split takes advantage of Martinez, who has allowed a .429 ISO over his last three starts.
Also Consider: Chad Pinder - 2B, at MIA ($2,600), Mike Zunino - C, at MIN ($2,800)
FanDuel DFS Outfielders
Trey Mancini - OF, at CWS ($3,000)
Mancini is really carving out a role as a lefty-masher and that is awesome for a few reasons. One, it keeps his price fairly low and keeps him fairly under the radar, as he's not yet an every day player. It also makes for an easy decision to roster him when he's facing a subpar southpaw, as is the case with tonight and his matchup with Derek Holland. For the year, Mancini boasts an amazing .301 ISO split .
Giancarlo Stanton - OF, vs OAK ($3,700)
Stanton has such amazing stats you have to blink, rub your eyes and double-check to make sure they're real. One thing I like looking at are stat differentials, but if I were to only focus on them, I'd miss a guy tonight like Giancarlo. His ISO split against right-handed pitching is slightly less than his mark against southpaws, but the fact remains that his lesser mark is still a .227 split. That's a massive number in that department. On top of the impressive split marks, Stanton also enters this game owning a 44% hard hit rate in the past two weeks.
Kyle Schwarber - OF, at NYM ($2,500)
If you're playing cash games only, this pick is probably a little too risky still, but the Great Schwarbino is starting to heat up. The outfielder had a day off yesterday, and I like him returning fresh in this opportune matchup. Despite his hitting woes, his splits against right-handers this season are still numbers many hitters would desire - he's posted a .309 wOBA and a .238 ISO - as well as a 76% fly ball rate. I like his chances of getting one out of the park, too, on this hot and humid day at Citi Field.
Also Consider: Aaron Judge - OF, at LAA ($5,000)
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