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.
Nothing easy about deciding which route to take with pitching tonight. When in doubt, it never hurts to take the top priced option, which goes to Justin Verlander tonight. He’s had great success vs Texas, as well as most of the league this season. Outside of Verlander, Chris Sale , Jacob deGrom , and Trevor Bauer are all in play, but would rather not use Stephen Strasburg if playing cash games tonight. J.A. Happ is the other top priced option in a solid spot tonight.
After the top priced options, I can see plenty of mid-priced pitchers being used in order to grab exposure to some higher priced bats. Masahiro Tanaka and Caleb Smith may be your higher risk options, but the Mets have scored just seven runs over their last six games, and Smith has the high K upside that you need for DFS. If looking elsewhere, Vincent Velasquez, and Marco Gonzales would be my preferred options, but could see a case being made for Frankie Montás and Garrett Richards as well.
Overall, I really don’t see one pitcher in that much of a better spot than another if trying to decide. I’ll likely be using Sale and Gonzales on DK, but could see going Verlander over Sale on FD if playing cash games.
Thoughts from the Fantasy Alarm Team: Our pitching coach, Howard Bender, likes Verlander, Sale, and Bauer at the top, but also feels that Happ and Strasburg shouldn’t be overlooked. Monras and Smith would be his mid-priced targets, while Lauer would be his value play.
Our projections have Sale leading the way, followed by deGrom, Strasburg, and Buehler. Bauer lands in the fifth spot on FD, while Richards makes the top five over him on DK. Richards also checks in as the top value play for both sites.
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 Diamondbacks, Astros, and Red Sox check in as the top tier of teams to target, with the Cardinals, Rockies, Blue Jays, and Indians checking as solid targets as well. If stuck deciding between certain players, I would look at the teams listed above first for cash games, followed by teams you already are targeting players from.
For gpp’s, it’s more wide open for tonight’s larger slate, with plenty of targets listed throughout the playbook, and our other tools.
You’re going to have to pick and choose where to spend up tonight. I’ll give my recommendations for a top priced, as well as a mid or value option for each position, but can’t really say pay up for Murphy at catcher, but not for Benintendi in the OF. As mentioned above, feel free to use the playbook and coaches for additional thoughts.
I think you can use catcher as a position to save some salary at tonight. J.R. Murphy will likely be the popular option if paying up, with his teammate Jeff Mathis being the popular punt option if in the lineup instead. If looking to go a different route, J.T. Realmuto , and Evan Gattis would be my top options if paying up, while Russell Martin would be my punt option.
As mentioned in the playbook, I think it’s Paul Goldschmidt or the field at first base tonight. He’ll be one that I’ll look to pay up if targeting Coors, while Mitch Moreland , Cody Bellinger , and Matt Olson are all top home run threats tonight. Yulieski Gurriel is a top value option if targeting Houston.
José Altuve would be my preferred play at second for roughly the same price as Daniel Descalso , Scooter Gennett , and Ozzie Albies if paying up at second. Depending on how you feel about certain pitchers, Whit Merrifield , Eduardo Núñez , Ian Kinsler , and Dee Gordon could all be solid options. If looking to punt, I’ll stick with Kolten Wong .
As mentioned in the playbook, third base is similar to first base for me in terms of routes to take. José Ramírez would be my preferred top priced play over Nolan Arenado , but Anthony Rendón has a very solid price tag for his matchup tonight. Matt Carpenter and Jake Lamb are solid pivots, with Christian Villanueva , Seager, Chapman, and Anderson best used in their team stacks only for me.
Nick Ahmed may provide some cheap Coors exposure if in the lineup, while Trevor Story has fared well vs Greinke in the past. Of course, Manny Machado , Trea Turner , Francisco Lindor , and Xander Bogaerts are all top options as well. Brock Holt batting second for Boston could be a popular value route, as well as a few others listed in the playbook.
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 Bryce Harper are all solid options, but Andrew Benintendi or George Springer may be the better OF options for slightly cheaper. Curtis Granderson , Josh Reddick , Carlos González , and the Arizona starters all make for solid value plays tonight. There were plenty of other value routes listed in the playbook, but thinking those listed will be the popular options to target tonight over a late night hammer in Joc Pederson .
Thoughts from the Fantasy Alarm Team: Our hitting coach, Tom Vecchio, likes Benintendi and Goldschmidt if paying up, with Carpenter and Rendon as his top mid-priced options. Granderson and Seager would be his top value plays.
Our projections have Trout leading the way, with J.D. Martínez , Correa, Upton, and Ramirez rounding out the top five on FD. Khris Davis replaces Upton in the top five on DK. Reddick and Granderson are the top FD value plays, with Soler and Molina joining Reddick as the top DK value options.
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. Of the teams listed above as the top targets, I like a mix of the D-Backs and Blue Jays for stacking tonight. Outside of those seven teams, I like Seattle and Miami.
Thoughts from the Fantasy Alarm Team: Our stacking coach, James Grande, likes the Cardinals tonight as his top team, with the Reds and Mets being his top contrarian stacks.
Final Thoughts:
FanDuel: I don’t mind any of the top priced pitchers, and will likely being going Sale if paying up, and Gonzales or Velasquez if looking for a value play. I would go with Goldschmidt at first, Rendon, Lamb, or Carp at third, and then Granderson in one of the OF spots.
If paying up for pitching, that means punting a few more spots with another cheap OF player or two like Reddick, Joc, or even Rickard, and then a Holt and Wong as your middle IF. If going with a cheaper pitcher, then I suggest going back to targeting players from the top teams listed above. A Benintendi, Cargo, or top 2B option would be where I use the extra salary.
DraftKings: Plenty of routes you could take depending on how you want to attack pitching. As mentioned above, I’ll be going with Sale and Gonzales, which leaves a little under $4K per hitter. I’ll punt the catcher spot with Mathis or Martin, stick with Goldy at first, and use either Rendon or Carp at third. You can go back to Carp out second if you want, use Descalso. There are some cheaper 2B options though if you need it. Add in Ahmed or Holt at SS, and you’re likely left with enough to grab a higher priced OF bat or two. If not looking to go cheaper with your #2 SP, there are plenty of cheaper hitter in order to save up for pitching.