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. Jacob deGrom has been scratched for the Mets tonight.
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.
I believe that the top two priced options in Trevor Bauer and Gerrit Cole are top options, as well as a cheaper Patrick Corbin on FD. I do prefer Bauer or Corbin more than Cole, but more of a personal preference. While I think you could go Corbin with one of the top two priced SP’s on DK, going cheaper with your second pitcher allows you to grab a few extra hitters tonight. I listed a bunch of choices in the paybook, and Jon made the case for a few other options in the pitching coach. From that group, I prefer Marco Gonzalez or Joe Musgrove if playing cash games, but could see the field also using Rich Hill and Marcus Stroman . For gpp’s I like Felix Pena and Sandy Alcantara .
Thoughts from the Fantasy Alarm Team: Our pitching coach, Jon Impemba, likes Bauer if paying up, and Gonzalez and Musgrove if going mid-priced. For value, he likes Stroman and Pena.
Our projections have Bauer leading the way, with Corbin, Cole, and Hill following him. Hill is the top FD value option, and is joined by Alcantara and Stroman for top DK value options.
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.
With thirteen teams having implied run totals of over 4.5 runs, as well as hot temperatures in just about every game not on the west coast, there are plenty of routes to take when it comes to hitting. I mentioned in the playbook that if not a max entry type player, it’s best to pick a small amount of teams to target over trying to find exposure to every plus matchup.
Overall, the Angels, Rangers, and Blue Jays have the highest implied run totals, and would add in the Brewers/Reds game, the White Sox, and the Red Sox/Yankees game. This doesn’t mean you can’t target the Diamondbacks, Astros, Mariners, and others, but just helps when trying to decide between similar priced players.
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. J.T. Realmuto receives a bump with deGrom scratched but could go cheaper with Robinson Chirinos , or the other players in his price range that were mentioned in the playbook. Christian Vázquez , Russell Martin , or maybe Keegan Smith work as punt options outside of team stacks.
Paul Goldschmidt leads the way if you can afford him at first, with four Brewers players as first base options in a plus matchup vs Cincy. Jesus Aguilar and Eric Thames are your top priced options, while a cheaper Brad Miller is leading off for them. I like Justin Bour and Justin Smoak if looking to go cheaper.
Plenty of other routes to take at first if you are thinking other pitchers are worth targeting. José Abreu and Cody Bellinger are two of those top options.
Second base is one of those positions I think that you can stay away from the top priced options. Yoan Moncada , Rougned Odor , Starlin Castro , Ian Kinsler , and Dee Gordon are solid mid-priced options. José Altuve would be my preferred option if fully paying up.
A hot hitting Matt Carpenter and Nolan Arenado are both top options, with Luis Valbuena my preferred punt play. Justin Turner , Yangervis Solarte , Travis Shaw , and Adrián Béltre are other solid options. I listed plenty of pivots for stacking in the playbook, or if not on the two above.
I prefer Manny Machado if paying up, but as mentioned in the playbook, Marwin González on FD, and Orlando Arcia on DK have great salary relief price tags if paying up for pitching. Nick Ahmed for FD, and Chris Taylor on DK are also in play with cheaper price tags. Elvis Andrus could be the popular mid-priced option though.
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. If paying up, I mentioned a few different routes to take in the playbook, and really comes down to which teams you want to target. Mookie Betts and J.D. Martínez from Boston, and Aaron Hicks , Giancarlo Stanton , and Aaron Judge from the Yankees could all have big games tonight, but could also all be faded fro players like Nelson Cruz , Mike Trout , Rhys Hoskins , Ryan Braun , Bryce Harper , and many more. The problem is that they’ll cost you if looking to load up on pitching. You can pivot to cheap options like Avisail García , Kole Calhoun , Randal Grichuk , Steve Pearce , Marcell Ozuna , or Kiké Hernández for cheaper depending on the site you play on.
Thoughts from the Fantasy Alarm Team: Our hitting coach, James Grande, likes Cruz, Goldschmidt, and the Brewers lefties in Thames and Aguilar. Tim Anderson and Ozuna are his mid-priced options, with Calhoun, Hernandez, and Elias Diaz as his value plays.
Our projections have Betts and Aguilar as the top two, with Trout, Ramirez, and Nimmo rounding out the top five. Pillar and Palka were the top FD value plays, and joined by Marisnick as 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 targeting a few underdogs on paper in the White Sox and Brewers, and can pay up for the Astros at possibly extremely low ownership.
Thoughts from the Fantasy Alarm Team: Our stacking coach, Brett Talley, likes the Angels and Rangers as his top stacks, and the Astros and Phillies if looking to be different.
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.