FanDuel MLB: Picks and Pivots for September 9th
Jun 15, 2016; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw (22) throws during the first inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
FanDuel MLB: Picks and Pivots for September 9
Welcome to the Friday edition of Picks & Pivots, a daily fantasy baseball column focused on providing analysis and insights into the top FanDuel MLB lineups. The purpose of this column is to first identify key building blocks that can be used for any roster construction and then identify pivot points to help differentiate your lineup in hopes of a big payday!
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Friday’s MLB schedule kicks off at 7:05PM EST with a full 15 games on the Main FanDuel MLB slate!
I will continue to track winning Tournament lineups and compare trends over 5 day periods to help us understand what it takes to remain profitable. I HIGHLY recommend each of you do this each morning to look back on the previous night and understand how the winning lineups are constructed in the games you participate in.
The view below tracks GPP entries over various time periods, breaking out key metrics to understand the trends and compositions of GPP winning rosters:
| Time Period | Score | Pitcher Salary | Pitcher % | Hitter % | Hitter $/Player | Value |
| Season | 255.7 | $ 8,622 | 25% | 75% | $ 3,297 | 7.31 |
| 5 Day | 255.3 | $ 8,483 | 24% | 76% | $ 3,315 | 7.29 |
| Prev Day | 213.3 | $ 8,500 | 24% | 76% | $ 3,313 | 6.09 |
Now on to the picks…For more DFS Strategy insights, check out my latest article to help take your game to the next level! I highly recommend gamers track their game performance across the various types of games they play – GPP’s, Cash, Multipliers etc – as this simple exercise will help teach you more about profitable roster construction than you can imagine.
Aug 29, 2016; Milwaukee, WI, USA; St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Carlos Martinez throws a pitch in the first inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports
After a brutal Thursday MLB slate where the NFL took the main stage, baseball is back on Friday night in a big way with 15 games and a slew of aces taking the hill. Clayton Kershaw makes his long-awaited return from the DL and steps into the premier match up on the night against Jose Fernandez. Not to be out done, Friday night also brings us Yu Darvish, Jon Lester, Madison Bumgarner and Danny Salazar for a loaded pitching slate to choose from!
The one name I have not mentioned but I feel strongly will end the night as the best pitching option is St. Louis Cardinals RHP Carlos Martinez ($10,000).
Martinez gets a home start against the Milwaukee Brewers in the best possible match up for a right-handed starter as the Brewers strikeout at a league leading 25.6% against RHP.
Martinez has faced the Brewers three times this season and put up the following numbers:
So to recap, in three starts this season Martinez has put up 57 FanDuel points per start and just under 11 K’s. Martinez is amazingly the 6th highest priced pitcher on this slate but has already demonstrated that this is a match up he can dominate.
The fact Martinez is one of the largest favorites on the board (-220), faces the highest strikeout team against RHP and has dominated the Brewers in three previous starts, makes him my clear #1 pitching option in all formats on FanDuel.
Aug 12, 2016; Arlington, TX, USA; Texas Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre (29) and designated hitter Carlos Beltran (36) celebrate during the game against the Detroit Tigers at Globe Life Park in Arlington. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Looking over the Friday hitting options there are a handful of spots we will look to target and with so many aces on the hill we also have some clear spots to avoid!
Texas Rangers RHB versus LHP Tyler Skaggs: One of the top spots I will look for offense on Friday is in the Rangers lineup which has a variety of cost-effective high upside right-handed bats in a favorable match up. Tyler Skaggs has given up a .435 slugging percentage, .345 wOBA and 33% hard contact rate to opposing right-handed hitters and the Rangers offense as a result makes for a great stacking possibility.
Adrian Beltre ($3,600) continues to rake in the middle of the Texas lineup, averaging 16.6 points per game over the last two weeks which is the highest average of any 3B during that time.
Carlos Beltran ($3,800) is another red-hot Rangers bat, putting up 14.3 ppg over the last two weeks while riding a 10 game hitting streak where he has hit .439 with three home runs and 12 RBI’s.
Delino Deshields ($2,500) typically leads off against LHP and if he is in that spot Friday he makes for a great value option as part of any Rangers stack!
Indians against RHP Tyler Duffey: Initially when I looked over this slate, I intended to stack the left-handed bats of the Indians but digging into Duffey’s stats this year allowed me to uncover some interesting reverse splits statistics which have me leaning towards locking in Mike Napoli ($3,400).
Duffey has surrendered a .412 wOBA to RHB this season including a whopping .608 slugging percentage and a 37.3% hard contact rate. Duffey’s hard contact rate dips below 30% against LHB and with a .314 wOBA, the left-handed bats are still in play but using Napoli may be a sneaky way to get under the radar exposure to this game!
Sep 7, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve (27) breaks his bat on a groundout in the eighth inning against the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
Below you will find my initial lineup for Thursday’s FanDuel MLB slate including notes/comments on my roster construction.Want your voice heard? Join the Fantasy CPR team!
Best of luck tonight gamer’s! Make sure to review the lineups as they are announced before locking in your lineups!