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The top FanDuel daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for 5/04/17 by Dan Marcus. Expert MLB DFS advice, sleepers & player recommendations for FanDuel.
This Thursday's slate features a lot of day games, which means the most fun slate to play will be the all-day slate. Though generally it is advisable to pay up at pitcher, there should plenty of offense today, which means I'll be looking for a bargain on the mound. One situation to keep an eye on is at Wrigley Field, as Zach Eflin has a left-handed stack written all over him. However, the window is currently projected to be gusting in, and in that case, a stack is not advisable. Keep reading for more insights on today's slate.
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for FanDuel on 5/04/17. The DFS lineup picks will range from some of the elite players to mid-priced options, and of course, value plays.
You can read our DraftKings and Yahoo DFS lineup picks as well. If you want to contact me, send me a message on Twitter at @DanMarcus3.
Offensive Stacks
Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles
We've got an entire game to stack today. The Red Sox should be chalky with a matchup against Ubaldo Jimenez in the game with the highest projected total on the day. On the other hand, the Orioles are also a sneaky play as they draw Kyle Kendrick. As the away team, they could be under-owned. Seth Smith jumps out as a nice play as part of this stack, as he provides salary relief with the price point of just $2,800 and a matchup against a right-handed pitcher.
FanDuel DFS Pitchers
Dan Straily - P, vs TB ($8,300)
Straily has put up 30 or more Fanduel points in three of his five starts this season, and the highlight of his season was his 14-strikeout performance against the Padres. The Rays enter tomorrow’s game as the team most prone to striking out in all of baseball and are a bottom third offense in the major leagues in terms of runs per game. Straily isn’t the most reliable pitcher, he has only one quality start on the season, and he's not someone I'd normally target as a starter but this matchup is juicy. He'll offer plenty of savings that will be needed to get high-priced batters into lineups, as there should be plenty of offense today.
Others to Consider: John Lackey - P, vs. PHI ($8,900)
FanDuel DFS Infielders
Brian McCann - C, vs TEX ($3,100)
A.J. Griffin has gotten crushed by lefties since his return from injuries that cost him his 2014 and 2015 seasons. The Astros don’t have a lot of lefties to choose from, but McCann should be in the lineup and has shown he still has plenty of power left in his bat in the early going of the 2017 season
Albert Pujols - 1B, @SEA ($2,800)
In a continuation of recent seasons, Pujols has been a boom or bust option this season. However, with a price tag of just $2,800 he’s hard to pass up considering his matchup. Ariel Miranda has actually been rather solid this season overall, but he has allowed six home runs to right-handed batters in just 20.2 IP. That gives Pujols a good chance to be a boom in Thursday’s matchup.
Brian Dozier - 2B, vs. OAK ($4,100)
Dozier should be a sneaky play on Thursday for a couple of reasons. For one, the A’s and Twins matchup carries a surprisingly high run total of nine, which suggests there should be some offense. In addition, many may pick up on the total but miss that Jharel Cotton has carried reverse splits throughout his time in the majors. Brian Dozier, as a right-hander with plenty of pop, becomes a nice play for those reasons and he should be under-owned.
Others to Consider: Robinson Cano- 2B, vs. LAA ($4,100)
Wilmer Flores - 3B, @ATL ($2,400)
Flores is coming back from a staph infection in his knee, but with lefty Jaime Garcia on the mound, Flores becomes a good option for salary relief. Ignore Flores’ season-long line and instead focus on his line against left-handed pitching. In 2016, Flores posted a 1.093 OPS against lefties and in a very small sample size in 2017, Flores has kept that going to the tune of a 1.275 OPS. To make things even more positive, the wind is projected to be blowing out in Atlanta.
Others to Consider: Kyle Seager- 3B, vs. LAA ($3,700)
Xander Bogaerts - SS, vs BAL ($3,400)
Bogaerts has bounced all around the Red Sox lineup, but he has produced consistently, regardless of where he’s batting. He has relied heavily on the Red Sox lineup, to drive him in and put runners on base for him to drive in, as he has just one extra-base hit in his past 10 games. However, the Orioles-Red Sox matchup is the highest total on the day at 10, so betting on team context in this instance isn’t necessarily a bad idea. This pick is about finding a player at a good price point who has plenty of upside and one that has a lot of good context.
FanDuel DFS Outfielders
Ender Inciarte - OF, NYM ($3,800)
The price tag on Inciarte is reaching the range of prohibitive, but paying down at pitcher has its benefits. Zack Wheeler has been fairly effective in his return from Tommy John, but he has consistently carried a platoon split versus lefties both pre-and post-injury. Inciarte gets the nod over Freddie Freeman as the Atlanta lefty in lineups on Thursday’s slate because of Wheeler’s susceptibility to stolen bases. He has already allowed three stolen bases this season, which means Inciarte has great potential to produce with both his power and speed.
Delino DeShields - OF, @HOU ($2,900)
This is all about the playing the price point. DeShields has an everyday role officially, and he has taken advantage of it to this point, producing in a variety of ways. Joe Musgrove has struggled in the early going, which should allow DeShields to stay hot. Until his price rises, he’s a player to ride.
Mookie Betts - OF, @ MIA ($3,900)
Getting exposure against Ubaldo Jimenez, especially the way he has pitched to start the season, can never be a bad thing. Betts has showed off his ceiling more frequently of late, and there is a good chance he does so again in today’s matchup. The Red Sox should score plenty and Betts should play a major role in that.
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