After looking at all of the tools available at Fantasy Alarm, 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.
Top Pitching Targets:
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.
The Chris Sale vs Gerrit Cole matchup checks in as the lowest total game, and are your top two options if looking to pay up tonight. There’s also Stephen Strasburg and Carlos Carrasco , who have both shut down their opponents tonight earlier this year. I don’t really see anyone as a must tonight, and could come down more to a personal preference. Nick Pivetta provides a discount from the top priced options in a plus matchup vs the Giants, and is priced best on FD if not looking to spend up.
I spoke about it in the playbook, but more of a gpp slate for me tonight. In addition to the pitchers listed above, there’s a solid group of other options available depending on how you see the games being played out. Sonny Gray , Miles Mikolas , Chase Anderson , Mike Leake , and Jaime García are some of the options I like. As you can see from looking at our tools for tonight, there are different thoughts on how the slate will play out tonight, which makes for an even stronger case I feel for gpp’s.
Thoughts from the Fantasy Alarm Team: Our pitching coach, James Grande, likes Carrasco and Pivetta is looking to spend up outside of the big three. Mahle and Taillon are his mid-priced options, while Gray and Stratton would be his top value plays.
Our projections have Sale leading the way over Strasburg on FD, but DK has it flipped around. After those two, Cole, Pivetta, and Carrasco round out the top five. Buckholtz is the top value play on FD, while Leake and Gray top the list on DK.
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.
For me, the Dodgers, Rockies, and Yankees are the top three teams to target tonight. After those three, it’s pretty open in terms of routes to go depending on how you see the games being played out.
Most positions tonight will come down to if you want a player from the three teams above, or looking to go elsewhere. I’ll give my recommendations from those three games, and then one or two players I like in other spots. As mentioned above, feel free to use the playbook and coaches for additional thoughts.
At catcher, I think you can go with either Austin Barnes or Chris Iannetta if you’re not looking to pay up for Gary Sánchez if back in the Yankees lineup. Raffy Lopez over Chris Gimenez looks to be my top punt option at the moment, while players like J.R. Murphy , J.T. Realmuto , or Salvador Pérez are all solid pivot options.
Ian Desmond would be my preferred play over Cody Bellinger , but it’s hard to pass up on the salary relief that Greg Bird provides on FD tonight. Paul Goldschmidt , Albert Pujols , and Matt Olson all work best in their team stacks.
As mentioned in the playbook, D.J. LeMahieu, if back tonight, makes for a solid FD play, and can go the other route with Logan Forsythe if starting for cheaper on DK. Second base is pretty loaded tonight from top to value. José Altuve and Scooter Gennett are in play, with Dee Gordon and Jed Lowrie cheaper 2B option in their team stacks. Other cheap options that I like include Ian Kinsler , Daniel Descalso , and José Pirela .
The Dodgers are going the bullpen route, but starting off with a lefty, which could drive more towards paying up for Nolan Arenado . I’m a fan of Justin Turner ’s spot for cheaper across the board over paying up for Nolan Arenado . Matt Carpenter , José Ramírez , and Luis Valbuena are some of my top options if not on the game in Coors.
Shortstop may come down to a personal preference, or based on how much salary you have to play around with. Didi Gregorius , Manny Machado , and Jean Segura lead a stacked list of SS options, but have to first look at a possible leading off Chris Taylor , or on the other side of the game at Coors, Trevor Story . As mentioned above, depending on the site you play on, you may be best going with the option that fits into your salary restrictions best.
OF is always wide open in terms of routes to consider taking. If not stacking, I prefer to pay up for one spot, punt the other, and use the last spot to pick a player from a team that I’m already targeting. I mentioned in the playbook about how you have plenty of top options that are all in plus spots tonight. Mike Trout , Charlie Blackmon , and Aaron Judge are all top options, as well as whichever Rockies and Dodger players make their lineups. I think you may be able to get away with a slightly cheaper option like Lorenzo Cain, but know that more may be going with Matt Kemp , David Dahl , Carlos González , and company at a similar price tag. There are a ton of value options that are in play tonight, with the Cubs/Mets game, as well as the A’s providing some strong punts. Hernán Pérez will be popular on FD if starting, but can find plenty of others if looking to target other teams tonight.
Thoughts from the Fantasy Alarm Team: Our hitting coach, Jon Impemba, likes Mike Trout , Aaron Judge , and Andrew Benintendi if paying up, with Kiki Hernandez and Greg Bird as top mid-priced plays. He’s a fan of the mid-priced Mets, as well as a cheaper Jay Bruce . Iannetta and Kinsler would be his value plays.
Our projections have Judge, Charlie Blackmon , Sanchez, and Trout in the top five on both sites, with Nolan Arenado making it in the top five on FD, and Cain on DK. Perez and Martin are the top FD value plays, with Jay and Matt Joyce as the top DK ones.
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. I like the Angels and D-Backs tonight outside of the top options.
Thoughts from the Fantasy Alarm Team: Our stacking coach, Brett Talley, likes the both sides of the game at Coors, as well as the Yankees as the top stack options. Oakland and Seattle would be his teams if looking to be different.
Final Thoughts:
As mentioned above, the slate is too wide open for me to play cash games. Below is a quick look at a lower owned GPP route. If playing cash game, just focus on the top three teams, while adding in a few solid punt options.
FanDuel: Pivetta as pitcher, and a four pack of Albert Pujols , Trout, Kinsler, and Andrelton Simmons . That leaves you with a little over $3K for the other four spots. Filling it in with four Oakland bats is affordable, but could also go a Kemp and Turner combo for Coors exposure, and then punt the last two spots. Yasiel Puig over Kemp allows enough to grab Bird, or can stick with Kemp and use Neil Walker over Bird.
DraftKings: Mike Leake and Sonny Gray as your pitchers allows for a full lineup of hitters from the Yankees, Dodgers, and Rockies. Can also go with Trout or Harper if wanting to pay up for them as well. Going with one or two of the non-top priced bats from this group of teams does allow for a pitcher upgrade if you want. This is just one route, and can easily flip it by going with two top pitchers, paired up with the large amount of solid value options listed throughout our tools.
Player News
Kyren Paris hit a two-run homer in Wednesday’s win for the Angels over the Blue Jays.
That’s the first homer for Paris since April 9 when he went deep twice against Tampa Bay and caused everyone to lose all sense of rational thought. The 23-year-old did also single and walk to improve his on-base percentage to .311,, while the homer bumps his slugging mark to .378. There is long-term upside in Paris with flashes that suggest he can be a fantasy option. Fantasy managers should still absolutely looking elsewhere for options up the middle.
Jorge Soler hit a three-run double in the bottom of the ninth to give the Angels a 5-4 win over the Blue Jays on Wednesday.
Trent Grisham went 1-for-1 with a game-tying two-run home run in the eighth inning of a 4-3 win over the Padres on Wednesday.
While the Yankees won this game on a walk-off in the 10th inning, Grisham’s game-tying home run in the eighth was the biggest moment. He came on as a pinch-hitter for Jorbit Vibas against the usually stout Jason Adam and smashed a two-strike changeup into the right field seats. This clutch shot will only continue to push Grisham’s playing time in the right direction after he just started eight of the last 10 games, hit either first or second in each, and already has 10 homers in 31 games played this season.
Jeff Hoffman blew a save and picked up a loss Wednesday against the Angels.
Devin Williams struck out three batters with one walk and hit another in a scoreless 10th inning to earn the win against the Padres on Wednesday.
The Yankees entrusted Williams with the all important 10th inning and the inherited ghost runner on second base after their dramatic comeback. While he loaded the bases and had some tense moments, he left the inning unscathed and opened the door for them to win it right after. It should be noted that Luke Weaver came on for what were the most important outs of this game at the time, after Ian Hamilton walked two to begin the eighth inning and Weaver allowed both of those inherited runners to score. He was called upon as the fireman though and will likely get the next save opportunity. Still, this was a massive step in the right direction for Williams.
Max Fried allowed five hits and one run with no walks and eight strikeouts over seven innings in a no-decision against the Padres on Wednesday.
Fried’s excellent season continued as he set down the Padres easily besides for a mammoth solo home run by Jackson Merrill. It was no matter though, as they rarely threatened otherwise and Fried continued to find his strikeout stuff. This was his fourth outing of the year with at least seven strikeouts, a mark he only hit 10 times last season in 29 starts. Fried with a strikeout rate that’s better than league average – which is where he’s at right now – is a clear top-10 pitcher in fantasy baseball. He’s set for a two-start week coming up against the Mariners and Mets.