After looking at all of the tools available at FantasyAlarm, the example lineups page should be used to help validate your thoughts, as well as help you consider some options that may not have been on your radar for the slate. In addition to the example lineups, below you will find a breakdown of possible routes to take when building your MLB lineups tonight. While we are focused on FanDuel and DraftKings, this breakdown can be used for all sites. Please use our live chat feature to share your thoughts, and receive any feedback leading up to first pitch. Good luck!
Please note that this was written before all lineups have been posted, which may open up new routes to consider. Weather is worth monitoring up to lock time, but thinking all games should be played.
Pitching
I always start my lineup building with pitching, as it’s the most important part of building your lineups. I tend to look for pitchers who I believe can pitch six innings, strike out six, and give up no more than two runs. Feel free to set up whatever parameters you want to, but should set yourself some type of “floor” when it comes to how you select your pitchers.
Five Second Cheat Sheet: David Price and Zack Godley are my top options, but plenty of other options.
Thirty Second Cheat Sheet: If not on those two above, Mike Foltynewicz and Madison Bumgarner have solid matchups, with Rich Hill and Miles Mikolas rounding out the top options. I do like the two above more though, and both have solid price tags in order to fit in top bats. Feel free to take some risks with the low priced options in GPP’s though.
If playing cash games, I think Price and Godley are your best routes, with the rest mentioned above best suited for GPP’s. If going the more popular GPP route at this time of the year, I would stick with those two, but the case could be made for the others mentioned, with Bumgarner my preferred option. If looking to pay up for the top team stacks that you want, feel free to roll out cheap options, with Jefry Rodriguez and Brad Keller being my preferred plays. I made the case for them in the playbook, but could go elsewhere if your gut says something else.
Thoughts from the FantasyAlarm Team:
Our pitching coach, James Grande, likes Bumgarner if paying up, and Godley if looking to go the mid-priced route. Harvey would be his value pitcher.
Our projections have Folty leading the way, followed by Godley, and Price. Musgrove and Hill round out the top five, with Kohl Stewart as the top value play on both sites tonight.
Top Hitting Targets:
There are plenty of other routes to take with details given in the playbook, coaches, and our other tools if wanting to look elsewhere. I provided my overall options in the playbook, with some additional thoughts below.
Five Second Cheat Sheet: Nine out of the 11 games have run totals of 8.5 or higher, with the Nationals, Twins, and Angels the top projected scoring teams.
Thirty Second Cheat Sheet: The other two games on the slate have eight-run projected totals, which leaves plenty of GPP routes to go with. I would suggest targeting the top projected scoring teams if playing cash games, but the starting pitching price tags today allows you to take the bats that you want to. I suggest using second base as your top salary relief spot.
Positional Thoughts:
Catcher: Catcher is pretty top heavy tonight, with René Rivera being your best punt option over Spencer Kieboom . Salvador Pérez and Robinson Chirinos are my top priced options, but plenty of other routes listed in the playbook.
First Base: Paul Goldschmidt remains the top option, with some top priced pivots listed in the playbook. Ryan Zimmerman and José Abreu lead a list of solid mid-priced options, and suggest going back to a Chirinos or Bosey over a cheap Tyler Austin on FD, unless going the team stack route.
Second Base: I prefer using second baes to save some salary over paying up, and there are plenty to choose from tonight. Try to pair him up with a teammate you already have in your lineup tonight. For instance, Whit Merrifield with Perez, DJ LeMahieu with Blackmon, Joe Panik with any top Giants bat, and Logan Forsythe with Sano would be my top options, but plenty of others listed in the playbook.
Third Base: Wide open tonight, with no Ramirez on the slate, and Nolan in a tough matchup on paper. Anthony Rendón is my top option, but don’t be afraid to save salary in here as well by going with Miguel Sano , Colin Moran , or the other options in the playbook.
Shortstop: I’m fine sticking with the LAA/TEX for one more night, keeping Andrelton Simmons and Elvis Andrus as top options. Manny Machado is a top option, with Trea Turner as a solid pivot.
OutField: Way too many OF routes to tell you to go one way over another. Stick with your team targets would be my suggestion, meaning Bryce Harper if loading up on Nats, Justin Upton if loading up on the top projected scoring team, A.J. Pollock if rolling with Goldy, or Mookie Betts /J.D. Martínez if thinking Boston keeps doing damage. Starling Marte leads both OF groups in their game tonight as great mid-priced options, but players like Andrew McCutchen and Nick Castellanos are in great stand alone spots as well. I mentioned some cheap options in the playbook, with the KC/CWS game providing some top value routes.
Thoughts from the FantasyAlarm Team:
Our projections have Upton leading the way, followed by Carp, Goldy, Baez, and Yelich on FD. All five are only separated by 0.5 points on DK. Ervin and Hamilton lead the FD value options, while Kepler is the top DK one.
GPP’s:
If playing GPP’s, your best approach is stacking. Pick a game, or two teams that you think will blast off, then go all in on them. Yes, entering your cash lineup, or another type of lineup can cash in a GPP, but if looking to finish in the top 1%, you need to hit with a stack. As mentioned above, the slate is pretty wide open tonight, and I believe that will also lead to the ownership being more spread out than usual as well. I would focus more on four or so teams to build a core group of players around, but a four-by-four stack is likely your best route. I would look at the Angels, Pirates, Nationals, and Royals tonight, but plenty of other top routes to consider.
Our stacking coach, Brett Talley, likes the Nationals and Twins as the top options, with the Cardinals as his low owned route.