FanDuel Lineup Constuction Tips for MLB for 8/21/15

I will be updating this blog entry throughout the day with more tips and advice for Friday's games.

We have a full slate tonight with 14 games so there is no need to worry about picking hitters with high ownership rates.

There are five aces on the mound tonight with Bumgarner, Price, Cueto, Sale, and Felix Hernandez.

Bumgarner goes up against the Pirates who do not hit lefties as well as righties. I'll have a LU with MadBum as my pitcher but he costs $12,800 and I know I won't get many big-time batters in my LU with him.

Sale goes up against the struggling Hernandez in Seattle while Price  pitches against the Angels on the road.

The Red Sox are on an offensive tear but Cueto can put an end to that tonight.

The Nationals return home after a long road trip out West and Gio Gonzalez could be a smart pick-up as the Brewers don't hit lefties well.

If you are looking for game stacks, you might want to take a close look at the Phillies/Marlins and the Mets/Rockies.

I don't know who these starting pitchers (Jared Eickoff and Kendry Flores) are in the Phillies/Marlins game and Bartolo Colon will be taking on Jonathan Gray at Coors.

Eickoff is only $3000 and Flores is $5000.  You might be tempted to make a LU with Eickoff and put in hitters such as Bryce Harper, Jose Bautista, and Carlos Gonzalez but I've realized that this idea doesn't seem to ever work out.

If you don't want to select any of the expensive aces, think about Chris Bassitt of Oakland who is throwing a lot of Ks and will face the Rays at home. Bassitt is only $7600.

I will be back later today with more tips and stats.

UPDATE: I am back with more stats and tips. Gio Gonzalez got rocked in San Francisco in his last start when he lost command of the strike zone but tonight he is at home where he has a 2.60 ERA and as I said previously, the Brewers don't hit lefties well.

Gonzalez knows he has to pitch better tonight as the Nationals' hitters might be tired coming off a long trip out West.

Another pitcher I like is Justin Verlander. Verlander is cheap at only $7700 and he can get you 7 innings and maybe 7 to 8 strikeouts tonight against the Rangers. I still believe in Verlander and I think he still has something left to prove this season.

Giants vs. Pirates 

I think the Giants are a sneaky stack tonight against Locke. The Giants are struggling on offense but I might take a chance with one LU and take four hitters from SF.

Marlon Byrd is 5-14 lifetime against Locke with a homer. Buster Posey always does damage against lefties and I'd include Matt Duffy and Brandon Crawford in my SF stack.

None of the Giants are on fire right now but Kelby Tomlinson is 8-20.

Aramis Ramirez is 6-18 lifetime with one homer against Bumgarner. Bumgarner is the hottest pitcher in the league right now and I would avoid all Pirates' hitters unless you want to fade him and go against the grain.


Nats vs. Brewers

Jimmy Nelson is weaker against left-handed hitters but the Nats don't have that many lefty hitters in their LU. Bryce Harper will cost you $4900.

I have a gut feeling that Gonzalez will pitch well so I won't have any Brewers in any of my LUs in GPPs.

Twins vs. Orioles

Tommy Milone has had a lot of success vs. the Orioles in his career so don't just assume the Orioles will crush this average lefty tonight.

The Twins are mashing right now and they get to hit once again in a small ballpark. Brian Dozier will be in my LUs as he hits well against lefties and is 5-13 in his career against Chen.

Chen has given up 24 homers this season and 21 of them have been to right-handed hitters.

Indians vs. Yankees

Carlos Carrasco and Masahiro Tanaka are two quality pitchers going against each other and I will assume both will pitch well tonight in a great pitching duel. This game will probably go down to the bullpens.

Rangers vs. Tigers

I really like Verlander tonight even though he is up against Colby Lewis. Lewis surprisingly has 13 wins! His ERA though is 4.49 and he can blow up at any time.

Victor Martinez is 9-17 with two doubles against Lewis while Miguel Cabrera and Rajai Davis have a combined 42 ABs against Lewis. Lewis won't be a mystery to most of the Tigers' batters.

Royals vs. Red Sox

Henry Owens struck out 10 batters in his last start but gave up 7 runs and 3 homers. Yes, I will have a Royals stack tonight!

Johnny Cueto is one of the best pitchers in baseball and I won't have any Red Sox hitter in any of my LUs.

Diamondbacks vs. Reds

I like taking hitters in small ballparks.  De la Rosa and Holmberg are both average pitchers.  This could be a 8-6 game but it could only be 5-4 as well. I just can't get a good read on these pitchers.

Wellington Castillo and Paul Goldschimdt has cooled off but AJ Pollock is still hot.

Joey Votto is 8 for his last 22.  Todd Frazier and Jay Bruce have been struggling and Brandon Phillips might be out for a few games.

Phillies vs Marlins

Eickhoff is one of the players the Phillies got in the Cole Hamels trade from the Rangers. He will be facing a red-hot Marlins offense led by Dee Gordon, Martin Prado, and Marcel Ozuna.

Dodgers vs. Astros

The Astros have not done much damage against lefties lately and Brett Anderson doesn't give up a ton of homers. The Astros have a lot of lefty hitters.

Jose Altuve is 13-33 but Carlos Gomez is 2-26 in the last 7 days.

Mike Fiers is a decent pitcher with good stuff and not a lot of history against many of the Dodgers.

Chase Utley might get the start today for the Dodgers and he is on a tear. I'll have Utley in some of my LUs if he starts.

Mets vs. Rockies

I'm looking to fade the 42-year-old Colon tonight at Coors. I don't know how much he has left and I will take four Rockies in a stack.

Jose Reyes and Nolan Arendo have been hitting well lately.

Gray for the Rockies has pitched well in three starts but he hasn't gone more than 6 innings yet.

Blue Jays vs. Angels

David Price is a true ace and I will have him in some GPPs. I won't select any Angels tonight.

We all know the Blue Jays smash lefties but Josh Donaldson is 2-16 lifetime against Hector Santiago and only Justin Smoak (5 for 8) has good numbers against Santiago.

Batter vs. Pitcher doesn't ever tell the whole story and you should never fully rely on previous history.

Rays. vs. Athletics

The A's are one of the worst teams against lefties but Billy Butler is 7-14 against Smyly.

Mark Canha is the hottest hitter for Oakland as he is 10-25 in the last week.

Chris Bassitt has improved this year and he has been striking out a lot of batters. He has the advantage tonight in that none of the Rays have ever hit against him.

White Sox vs. Mariners

Nelson Cruz has hit homers and is 6-13 against Sale and Mark Trumbo is 4-8.

King Felix has not pitched like an ace recently but he will be at home tonight and I know he will want to pitch well against Sale. I expect a pitching duel.

Cardinals vs. Padres

John Lackey is a solid pitcher for GPPs tonight as he gets to pitch in Petco Park. Andrew Cashner
has given up 12 homers to lefties this season.

The Cardinals have many injured players on offense and I expect a low-scoring game.

Matt Kemp is hot right now and is 11-23 for the past week.