Peter dremonas 
FanDuel MLB Daily Lineups for Thursday, July 23
It’s here! It’s finally here! This is really happening…I think. It IS 2020, so who the hell knows what happens next. But, it feels like this really could happen. After almost FOUR MONTHS of waiting, we now have a MLB Opening Day set for Thursday, July 23rd. Which means, we finally have FanDuel MLB in 2020!
We’re safe to begin discussing top pitching plays or sneaky SP value moves for FanDuel MLB. We can talk about our favorite FanDuel MLB stacks again, value nuggets to make great plays affordable, and players most likely to hit bombs!
If feels so great to pour over advanced MLB statistics again, digging for the right FanDuel MLB GPP moves, hoping no one else found them. Or, who’s the chalk for cash games and is that THE route I want to take?
Unfortunately, we only have two games on Thursday night, so frankly, the options do feel quite limited. However, we do have some appealing FanDuel MLB options, like a $3 buy-in for $1M payout.
At the time of writing this article, there are still plenty of spots open in the $1M tournament. Also, I haven’t seen this many DFS multipliers available in many months! Lastly, I was also given free money from FanDuel, to spend on MLB…so, that’s always a plus! Check to see if you got some too!
Alright, alright, alright…let’s get to the Daily Lineup top plays of the slate.
FanDuel MLB: Top Pitching Plays
Honestly, Friday’s Main FanDuel MLB slate will be more fun to play. While we have some great starting pitchers on the mound to start the season this Thursday night, picking between just four pitchers makes differentiating your lineup for GPP or Cash, quite difficult.
The top three starting pitchers are obvious, Gerrit Cole ($11,400), Max Scherzer ($10,700), and Clayton Kershaw ($10,300). FanDuel MLB has them priced in the correct order.
Cole was, arguably, the best MLB DFS pitcher last season, Scherzer has a competing K-rate, and Kershaw had a great second half of 2019, but still struggles at time (compared to his career).
It may be July, but I did look at the first half stats of last season because it often takes time for some pitchers to hit their stride.
Interestingly, Max started the season well (2.83 xFIP) and struggled in the second half (4.81 xFIP) of the season. Although, some of that was due to injury but also, likely, wear and tear from the 1st half of the season.
Cole started the season almost as well as Max, then became one of the hardest pitchers in baseball to hit, during the second half of 2019. So, while Mad Max often starts well, Cole is still the better overall pitcher.
Also, Scherzer was violently crushed by Phillies bats in his ‘camp’ debut late last week. That worries me. Max is an incredible competitor and likely will bounce back, but the Yankees offense stacks up better compared to the Phillies.
For GPP, the obvious pivot from ‘great’ is Cueto. But, over each of the four careers, Cueto’s overall metrics are nowhere near close to any of the top three picks. He’s worth a flier, but likely a better offensive stacking target (will get to that in a minute).
This leads me to Kershaw as a potential move from Cole. As a Nats fan, it’s very difficult to suggest Cole or Clayton have a better outing than Max to open this season. And, Kershaw’s xFIP, and overall metrics, aren’t as good as Max’s over the last two seasons.
However, Cole should be the top MLB DFS play, with Kershaw as a second, safer option. Scherzer is the riskier play, but still has high upside. And, Cueto is your desperate GPP move.
Scherzer’s WHIP and low HR/FB rate early last season were the best in baseball. But, from the second half of the season, into this preseason and ‘camp’ period, we’ve seen a higher WHIP and HR/9 inning rate. Hence the risk.
So, here’s how I’d break down the SP plays for FanDuel MLB:
Cash: Cole, top play, or Kershaw, safe play.
GPP: Scherzer or Cueto. It’s likely Scherzer and Cueto have the lowest ownership in most slates, oddly with Cueto having higher ownership in GPP. Of the two, Scherzer is oddly somehow the sneakier GPP pick.
FanDuel MLB: Hitting Stacks, Value, and Best Plays
Picking your SP for Cash or GPP, will help you define your offensive focus for the rest of your roster.
Newbie note, you shouldn’t pick too many, or any, offensive players facing your SP. However, there are some caveats.
They’re going to be chalky, but the Dodgers are the glaring obvious offensive stack play for this slate.
Even better, with Cueto as a RHP, I’d focus mostly on finding a way to plug Corey Seager ($3,200) SS, Joc Pederson ($2,800) OF, and Cody Bellinger ($4,500) OF into your lineups. With some of our value plays, you can even have these three in the same lineup as Cole, for a SP pick. Yes, really!
Now, you can continue to focus on lefties against Cueto, but Justin Turner ($3,100) 3B is a right-handed bat likely slated in third position of the Dodgers lineup.
If the Dodgers get hot, Turner is likely a part of the production, and still worth a solid mid-range salary to complete your Dodgers stack.
If you have a cheap enough SP, and a boat-load of value in the rest of your offensive picks, you should also consider Max Muncy ($3,900) 1B to complete your Dodgers stack. However, between Muncy and Bellinger, Cody is your safer play.
To afford some of the big bats with the expensive arms, we’re going to need offensive value plays. There’s plenty in this slate, which suddenly makes the Opening Day for FanDuel MLB more interesting.
First of all, as our Win Daily Sport MLB DFS buddy Brian Tulloch mentions in his MLB DFS Picks and Pivots post, Wilmer Flores ($2,100) is a ‘must have’ when facing lefty bats.
To summarize a different way, if Flores only faced right-handed pitchers, he’d never see the light of day in the majors. However, if he only faced lefty pitchers, he’d likely be a hall of fame hitter. The kid crushes lefties! And, he’s dirt-cheap in this slate (likely intentional).
Another, more sneaky, value play is Brett Gardner ($2,700) OF likely hitting 3rd in a great Yankees lineup with a lefty bat against Scherzer. There’s risk here. In 19 plate appearances, Gardner struck out five times, and reached base six times with three walks and three singles.
Those aren’t sexy stats, but they haven’t faced each other in five years, and all three of Gardner’s hits (and one walk) were within his last eight plate appearances against Scherzer, once with the Nats. This is a potential sneaky low-ownership value play in a very obvious slate.
Also, while we love Cole for this small slate, there are two big Nationals Caveats I have to consider. First of all, Howie Kendrick ($2,500) 2B is quite possibly the most underrated DH in the National league for this COVID season.
Kendrick has been nearly the sole offensive production for the Nats during camp, and the righty could be a sneaky value play at 2B or Utility for FanDuel MLB. Kendrick is 2-6 with a double and 3 RBI’s in his last two games facing Cole. And he’s been red-hot to start this July season.
From the other side of the plate, and with Eric Thames ($2,400) 1B is now a National. He’s also a lefty monster bomb bat facing a right-handed pitcher. But, again Cole is one of the top DFS MLB pitchers.
Still, one thing we haven’t really covered yet (mostly b/c I think all pitchers are in the same situation and therefore it doesn’t impact the SP play much), is that the Starting Pitchers will likely get less time on the mound for a 60-game season in MLB.
So, while guys like Thames and Kendrick may seem counter to the Cole top play at pitcher, especially for cash games, it’s potentially still a good offensive pick for the slate.
We likely won’t see Cole on the mound for more than five innings, which means Thames and Kendrick will get a shot at any of the other Yankees relief pitchers. And…there are holes there!
FanDuel MLB Opening Day 2020 Season (*COVID) Summary
Cole is your best overall SP, but Kershaw will help you differentiate at least with GPP plays, and potentially make some sneaky moves into the top cash-game slots.
Cueto is likely going to be a popular GPP desperate grab, but Scherzer is oddly your better GPP play for this slate.
With that in mind, remember that none of these pitchers may pitch more than five innings, but they’re all in a similar position. That point is mute for MLB DFS.
For offense, you can’t ignore the chalky Dodgers in a small slate like this. Just pack it up, water it down, and drink the chalk for the night!
But there are several interesting offensive differentiations to consider, especially for value. Flores is an obvious top value play, but not all MLB DFS players are on to that pick.
Also, guys like Kendrick, Gardner, and Thames are sneaky plays as well. Any one, or all three, could explode your lineup to a top spot with just one at-bat.
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