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.

Corey Kluber is the top pitcher taking the mound tonight, but as mentioned in the playbook, he’ll cost you salary wise.  If playing cash games on FD, I think he’ll be the highest owned SP, and worth paying up for. If not on Kluber, both Charlie Morton and Ross Stripling are in better spots for me than James Paxton, while I feel it’s wide open after those top four pitchers.  I made the case for and against some in the playbook, and Brett makes the case for some as well in the hitting coach. As mentioned in the playbook, I do like an Indians stack with Jonathan Loaisiga as the cheap pitcher.

DK is slightly more wide open as I feel there is enough value out there hitting wise if you want to pay up for two of the four pitchers listed above, but Striplong should be one of those.  You won’t be able to fit a top bat in, but could feel comfortable with your hitters. If wanting to grab a few bigger bats, then you’ll have to take a shot with a pitcher. Seth Lugo may be more popular than Loasiaga and Brandon McCarthy as the cheapest route, but theres a solid group on pitchers in the $8K range as well.  

Thoughts from the Fantasy Alarm Team: Our pitching coach, Brett Talley, likes Kluber and Stripling as top priced pitchers, and Gauman as a mid-priced target.  Lugo and Loasiaga are joined by Urena as his value plitchers.

Our projections have Kluber leading the way, followed by Stripling, Paxton, Morton, and Lugo.  Lugo checks in as the top FD value pitcher, while McCarthy leads the way 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.

The Astros, Rockies, and Yankees look to be the top targets, but on a large slate, teams like the Nationals, Rangers, Indians, Pirates, and Dodgers could all see solid exposure tonight as well.  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.  You also have two poor teams checking in as favorites in the O’s and White Sox. They have plenty of cheap salaries, and could see some targeting those teams.

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. Currently, Brian McCann , Tom Murphy , and Austin Barnes look to be the best of the cheaper options, while I’m ready to stay with Gary Sánchez or Evan Gattis if paying up.

I like the Indians more of a gpp stack tonight, but they have plenty of solid numbers vs Gibson, including a decent priced Edwin Encarnación .  Anthony Rizzo , Joey Votto , Matt Adams , and Paul Goldschmidt are in play, as well as some cheaper DK options in Josh Bell , Justin Bour , and Ian Desmond .

I’m more in line with Howard tonight in using Ozzie Albies over José Altuve if paying up, but can’t go wrong with either. I mentioned in the playbook that second base could be a good spot for salary relief by using one of the solid options priced just under $3K on FD, or all the way down to a cheap Rougned Odor .  On DK, I would rather pivot off Odor to a more popular DJ LeMahieu , or for even Jason Kipnis , Kiki Hernandez, and Jonathan Schoop .

Third base is a tough one tonight with Nolan Arenado , Kris Bryant , and José Ramírez at the top.  I prefer them in that order, but Adrián Béltre also makes for a solid play with a discounted price.  Colin Moran could end up a sneaky bargain play, while Max Muncy and Justin Turner could be be late night hammer options.  

Shortstop could be the most stacked position tonight with the top priced options.  I do like Francisco Lindor , Manny Machado , and Carlos Correa the most from the large group.  Nolan Fontana is a decent salary relief option, while Tim Anderson could be a sneaky gpp pivot in a White Sox stack.

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 , Charlie Blackmon , or Bryce Harper slightly more than the bats from the Yankees and Red Sox OF options. The Yankees bats will be popular though, but there are multiple other players to take as well.

Players like Josh Reddick , Gerardo Parra , Lonnie Chisenhall , Brett Gardner , Joey Gallo , Corey Dickerson , and Ian Happ all have solid price tags,as mid to lower priced OF options.  

Thoughts from the FantasyAlarm Team:  Our hitting coach, Howard Bender, likes Bryce Harper , and the Nats bats tonight.  Votto, Ozzie, and Hoskins are his other top priced players, while he also shows how stacked the mid-priced hitters are by highlighting Taylor, Hosmer, Realmuto, Abreu, and Beltre as his favorites in that ranges.  Suzuki, Bour, Dickerson, and Asdrubal Cabrera are his top value plays.

Our projections have Trout, Judge, Trea Turner , and Altuve as the top four.  Story and Springer are either fifth or sixth depending on the site you play on. McCann and Severino lead the way for value on FD, and José Peraza for DK.

 

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 Houston, Colorado, and Cleveland bats the most.

Thoughts from the FantasyAlarm Team:  Our stacking coach, James Grande, provided good insight for the Rockies being his top stack tonight, and the Marlins and Nationals being his top contrarian stacks.

 

Final Thoughts

FanDuel: Suggest paying up for Kluber if paying cash games, which leaves you with $2,875 per hitter.  I would go a cheap Odor at second, and use Reddick in one of the OF spots. You won’t be able to get a top bat, but could find solid options to fill out the rest, including a decent pairing up Dickerson and Moran if you can’t fit Beltre with Odor.

Bonus:  Loaisiga with Lindor, Brantley, Ramirez, and Kipnis leaves you with a solid four pack of Pirates.  Can go Lugo as well, but would need Chisenhall over Brantley.

DraftKings:  I use a Kluber and Stripling pairing for an example, but note that I think you can go a different direction if wanting some big bats.  As mentioned above, you’re left with a little over $3.3K per hitter. A catcher around $3K, paired with Chisenhall, Moran, Parra, and Fontana leaves you with over $3.7K for the last three spots.