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. Also, make sure to monitor any potential weather concerns leading up to lock time.
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.
Justin Verlander , Chris Sale , and Mike Clevinger are the top pitching options tonight, and prefer Verlander over Sale, and believe the industry does as well. I like the discount with Clevinger more on FD than DK, as I feel like you can take the risk with a cheaper #2 SP on DK instead of loading up on two top pitchers.
For DK, that second pitcher spot could by wide open, but feel that you should pay up for at least one of them if playing cash games. Although both Rodriguez's are pitching for teams favored to win, I like Domingo Germán ’s price tag, and will likely be using him. Plenty of other options mentioned in the playbook, and pitching coach if you prefer a different route.
GPP wise, if not on any listed above, Freddy Peralta would be my preferred choice over a Rodriguez, Pena, Blackburn, or Straily type option.
Thoughts from the FantasyAlarm Team: Our pitching coach, Tom Vecchio, likes both Verlander and Clevinger as top priced targets, Weaver and Hamels are mid-priced pitchers, and Sraily and J. Rodriguez as his top value options.
Our projections have Sale leading the way over Clevinger, Verlander, and German.
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.
The game in Coors has an implied run total of two runs more than the rest of the field tonight, and will be the popular route to target hitters from. After that, the Yankees, Nationals, and Angels are all in solid spot if looking to pivot elsewhere. This doesn’t mean the other teams aren’t in play, as I mentioned plenty of other teams in the playbook, but it does help when trying to decide between players from different teams if playing cash games.
Catcher is starting to become a tough position to read, as FD combines it with first base, and DK is starting to tighten their pricing for catchers. I typically use this spot for salary relief, but could use any number of the top options depending on which teams you are targeting. Kevin Plawecki and Chris Iannetta are both in play for Coors exposure, while Gary Sánchez , or one of the Braves catchers makes for solid pivots. Punting wise, while I do like Austin Barnes or Raffy Lopez , both Spencer Keibom or Caleb Joseph could work for slightly cheaper.
Paul Goldschmidt leads the way if you can afford him at first, with Freddie Freeman right up there for me as well. Can go back to Coors with Ian Desmond , Flores, or Dominic Smith , or use multiple other solid options at first in their team stacks.
With no Altuve tonight, I suggest going either Asdrubal Cabrera , or DJ LeMahieu . Ozzie Albies works well in a Braves stack, while Jace Peterson fills the spot that Joseph had in the playbook as a cheaper DK option.
Nolan Arenado is the top third base option, with Adrián Béltre , Eugenio Suárez , Todd Frazier , and Matt Carpenter leading the long list of secondary options. Pablo Sandoval and Maikel Franco would be my cheap pivots.
Trevor Story and Amed Rosario lead the shortstop options, but the other top priced options could be in play for stacking. Elvis Andrus would be my preferred mid-priced play, with Diaz or Culberson as cheap options.
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. OF is open today in terms of routes to take. If paying up, I do prefer Mike Trout , but the Mets options in Brandon Nimmo and Michael Conforto or both in solid spots for the discount. Juan Soto and Andrew McCutchen are solid mid-priced options if not on Hicks and the Yankees, while Hernán Pérez could lead the value plays for players not from the top targeted teams.
Thoughts from the FantasyAlarm Team: Our hitting coach, Jon Impemba, likes both Nolan and Story from the Rockies, as well as Goldy and Trout if paying up. Descalso, Kike, and Pablo are his mid-priced options, with Calhoun, Adrianza, and Peterson are his value plays.
Our projections have Story, Goldy, and Freeman as the top three on FD, while DK has it Goldy, Freeman, and Story. Trout and J.D. round out the top five. Kiermaier is the top FD value play, while Peterson is the top DK option.
GPP
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. Of the teams listed above as the top targets, I like the game at Coors, but will be off the Yankees and Nationals, while turning to more affordable options like the Padres.
Thoughts from the FantasyAlarm Team: Our stacking coach, Brett Talley, provided good insight for the both sides of Coors being his top stack tonight, with the Nationals also as a top stack option. The Reds and Marlins are his top contrarian stacks.