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. While there could be some weather delays tonight, it’s looking like all games will be played. Best to always monitoring the weather leading up to lock time if you can.
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.
Five Second Cheat Sheet: Gerrit Cole and Zack Wheeler lead the pitching field price wise, but no real must play pitcher tonight.
Thirty Second Cheat Sheet: I prefer Wheeler out of the two, but the O’s implied run total keeps creeping up, while the Rockies have the lowest one of the slate. Pretty solid drop in talent from the top priced options, but doesn’t mean some don’t have plus matchups, with Kevin Gausman likely the popular one from the group.
The line movement in the NYM/BAL game scares me enough to strongly consider Cole over Wheeler on FD, but may stick with the discounted Wheeler price tag on DK, and then use Gausman as a #2 on DK, or the FD cash game pivot if not looking to spend up. Shane Bieber would be my pivot option, but not sure how popular he will be tonight, as some may go with Hyun-Jin Ryu , or even cheaper with a Luis Cessa type play. PLenty of other routes are given in the playbook and tools.
Thoughts from the FantasyAlarm Team:
Our pitching coach, Jon Impemba, likes Wheeler if paying up, while Gausman and Ryu would be his mid-priced plays. Cessa and Bundy would be his value routes to consider.
Our projections are taking a slightly different approach, as Wheeler doesn’t even make the top 12. Cole leads the way, followed by Gausman, Erlin, Ryu, and Bieber. Erlin is the top value play on both sites tonight.
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.
Five Second Cheat Sheet: The Yankees, Braves, and Indians check in as your top teams to target, but plenty of salary relief teams are in play as well.
Thirty Second Cheat Sheet: With pitching being wide open tonight, you will have plenty of opportunities to grab the big bats, especially if thinking those mid-priced targets struggle, and the points are in the bats tonight. Having said that, there are plenty of value plays available, and will still likely be needed across your lineups.
Catcher: Yadier Molina remains your best option if fully paying up, but Salvador Pérez would be my cash game play. A returning Wilson Ramos makes for a nice sentimental pick, while Roberto Pérez or Jose Briceno would be my punts.
First Base: Freddie Freeman and Matt Carpenter are both top options if you are paying up, while Yonder Alonso and Justin Smoak make for cheaper pivots. Greg Bird will likely be a popular value play, but prefer Gurriel myself.
Second Base: I prefer using second to save some salary over paying up for Ozzie Albies . That includes his teammate Charlie Culberson on FD, Kolten Wong , Jeff McNeil, and a few others provided in the playbook. Brian Dozier is a great late night hammer option in a Dodgers stack.
Third Base: José Ramírez is a top option if you can afford him, with Nolan Arenado and Alex Bregman best suited for gpp pivots. I mentioned some other routes in the playbook depending on your team targets, with Justin Turner leading the field.
Shortstop: Francisco Lindor is right up there price wise with Ramirez, while Didi Gregorius , Paul DeJong , and Manny Machado are my top pivots. Other routes were mentioned in the playbook, including Correa, and feel like you should pay up at SS tonight.
Outfield: Outside of Ronald Acuna in cash games, OF is extremely wide open tonight, and likely comes down to which of the top projected scoring teams you prefer the most tonight. I prefer sticking to the higher projected scoring teams if playing cash games, which places Giancarlo Stanton , Michael Brantley , Ender Inciarte , Melky Cabrera , and Curtis Granderson as top potential targets, but plenty of other stand alone players have been swinging a hot bat, with Justin Upton as my preferred target. Plenty of other routes were provided in the playbook.
Thoughts from the FantasyAlarm Team:
Our hitting coach, James Grande, likes Acuna and Ramirez if paying up, while Upton and Reddick are his mid-priced targets. Wong and Hunter Pence would be his value plays.
Our projections have Ramirez and Linor leading the way, with Smoak, Benintendi, and Machado rounding out the top five. Chris Davis leads the value plays on both sites.
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. Out of those top team targets, I like the Indians the best for one more night, and the Braves more than the Yankees. It’s a tough slate tonight, as the case could possibly be made to stack mostly every team tonight. If you feel that way, choose four teams, with half being top projected teams, and the other half being a little more in the middle of the pack to target, as well as one gut call team if not chosen as one of the four instead of trying to keep up with those that max enter contests. If interested, mine would be the Indians, Braves, Dodgers, Angels, and Cardinals.
Our stacking coach, Tom Vecchio, likes the Rays, Dodgers, and Blue Jays.