RADIO
Kevin Luchansky highlights the top FanDuel MLB DFS lineup picks for 5/30/18, and a couple of sleepers to consider while building daily rosters.
If you were getting sick of the split-slate Wednesday, today is for you! Well, FanDuel is offering some All Day and Early Only tournaments, but with much less prize money as there are only three afternoon games in that slate. As such, I'll be concentrating this article on the more enticing 10 game slate we have on deck this evening.
What sort of Vegas lines look interesting this morning? Not surprisingly, the Rockies lead the slate for run projections with a 6.3 total, followed by the Nationals at Angels both at 5.1, and the Twins at 5.0. As for moneyline favorites, the Mariners are way out in front as heavy favorites at -268, followed by the Nationals at -209 and Angels at -201.
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for FanDuel on 5/30/18. The lineup picks will range from some of the elite players to mid-priced options and value plays. You can also read more DFS lineup picks for DraftKings and other sports too. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to contact me up on Twitter @kpLuch.
FanDuel DFS Pitchers
James Paxton - SP, vs TEX ($9,800)
I certainly didn't expect to find so many strong pitching options on a slate 2/3 the size of a normal weeknight contest. But this certainly isn't a complaint. The situation is a blessing, but it does require weighing everything before making a decision. Point-per-dollar, I truly think Paxton has a chance to be the top pitcher on this slate. He has been masterful of late, and in his last two starts he has somehow increased his strike percentage, his average fastball speed has moved up a tick (1.3 MPH), and he's limited the hard hit percentage to just 26% (down from a 31% average on the year). For the season, his WHIP (1.09), HR/9 (0.9) and K/9 (10.9) are all very impressive - particularly the strikeout per nine mark. But what seperates him just a tad from the pack today is the price being lower than Max Scherzers by a good margin (2k), while also facing a team with a projected lineup whose strikeout rate is at 27%, and the game being in a pitcher's park. The visiting Rangers currently have just a 3.1 run projection, making the Big Maple a strong option in cash and/or tournaments Wednesday night.
Ross Stripling - SP, vs PHI ($7,500)
Speaking of recent mastery, Stripling has been just that (among the mid-tier priced pitchers) this past month. The big right-hander has beaten his price implied value in six straight games - having absolutely crushed in in his past three. He's not without risk, but he certainly has a chance to put in another strong performance today against a visiting Phillies squad and their 3.3 run projection. In 2018, he's compiled a respectable 1.2 WHIP and owns a strong K/9 rate that currently sits at 9.8. Perhaps most impressive was the fact that he shut down the Nationals on the road just three starts ago, and including that start, he's gone for 97+ pitches and 9+ strikeouts in each. The Phillies are no stranger to going down via the K either, as their projected lineup has a 29.6% K rate against right-handed pitching this season.
Also Consider: Max Scherzer - SP, at BAL ($11,800); Shohei Ohtani - SP, at DET ($9,000)
FanDuel DFS Infielders
Max Muncy - 1B, vs PHI ($2,700)
Muncy is one of my favorite values of the slate and he boasts home run upside that could lead to a monster performance from a +/- perspective on his price implied value. For the season, he's posted a really strong wOBA and ISO splits (.371 and .290, respectively) and takes on a pitcher in Zach Eflin that has allowed these marks in his career to left-handed batters: a .384 wOBA and a .586 slugging percentage.
Ozzie Albies - 2B, vs NYM ($3,800)
Big fan of this price coming down, seeing as his two-hit performances hadn't given him a positive night from a +/- on his price in the past week. Jason Vargas is a pitcher we can target against, and the switch-hitting Albies is a much stronger hitter when he's on the right-side of the plate and facing a southpaw. For the season, he owns a really strong .410 wOBA and .283 ISO against lefties.
Trevor Story - SS, vs SFG ($4,400)
This is one of those matchup situations where my eyes lit up when I saw it. Trevor Story in Coors against a left-hander is always enticing - nearly a lock button situation - but especially against a pitcher like Derek Holland. Story has a 40% hard hit rate over his last 13 games and, more importantly, his splits are tremendous over the past 12 months against southpaws: .405 wOBA and a .302 ISO.
FanDuel DFS Outfielders
Kyle Schwarber - OF, at PIT ($3,800)
The slimmed-down big man (oxymoron maybe?) is pretty damn locked in right now, even before his double and a home run performance last night. He now has a 60% hard hit rate over his last 15 games, and his rolling 12 month splits are really strong at .396 in the wOBA deparment to go with a .329 ISO.
Bryce Harper - OF, at BAL ($5,300)
Bryce's tag has remained expensive thanks to a hot bat, but I like the idea of paying up for him in tournaments tonight as he's got a number of things going for him, including the park upgrade, platoon advantage and faces a pitcher who doesn't miss too many bats. Harper's 12 month splits are elite, highlighted by his .426 wOBA and .316 ISO.
