Fantasy Baseball: Monday’s DFS advice – CBSSports.com

Note: Don’t whiff on this special FanDuel offer. Win your first contest or get your money back (up to $10) to keep playing. Try FanDuel now!

This MLB slate feels a lot like NBA thanks to Noah Syndergaard. Syndergaard is probably overpriced at $11,300, but his upside and sky high ownership make him nearly impossible to fade. That means you’ll need two or three value plays and there are a high number of cheap players with great matchups who may or may not be in the lineup. That makes creating lineups anytime before 4 p.m. nearly impossible. I’ll give a couple below, but know they’ll change.

Jordan Pacheco is one guy we know is playing, and will be a key to playing Joey Votto and Noah Syndergaard in cash games. Pacheco has an outstanding matchup and the added bonus of hitting second in the lineup.

Another lineup we’ll be anxiously waiting for is the White Sox. Hector Santiago presents a good opportunity for any right-handed hitters in the top half of the order.

Finally, we’ll be watching the weather in Minnesota. The Twins and Brewers both have lineups full of good values, but the forecast looks ominous. If it begins to look more like they’ll play, Brian Dozier will be a staple in my lineups.

Starting Pitchers

Noah Syndergaard ($11,300, $12,100)

I have a hard time believing Syndergaard’s ownership will be below 80 percent owned in cash games. He’s been one of the best pitchers in baseball and has a fantastic matchup. Just a word of caution. It’s been two starts. I’m still likely going to have 100 percent exposure to Syndergaard in cash games, but you should definitely diversify in tournaments. Similar (but better) lineups with Jose Fernandez are the first place I would start.

Jose Fernandez ($10,700, $11,300)

I love the idea of Fernandez as a contrarian play. He won’t be five percent owned or anything, but I’d guess he’s have half the ownership of Syndergaard in tournaments. Fernandez has been hurt by walks and BABIP so far this season, but he’s still striking batters out at a crazy high rate. His 15.2 K/9 leads all of baseball.

Carlos Rodon ($8,500, $9,100)

Speaking of walks, that’s been Carlos Rodon’s big issue since arriving in the big leagues. That doesn’t seem to have improved yet this year, but he should have no reason to dance around this Angels lineup. The only thing that concerns me about this matchup is the Angels paltry strikeout rate in 2016 (15.1 percent). If this was June or July, there’s no way I’d start a pitcher like Rodon against a team that strikes out this little.

Stack Attack

Reds vs. Rockies

Jordan Lyles is by far the worst pitcher of the day, and it has very little to do with Coors. Over his career, he has surrendered a .346 wOBA and sports a 5.14 ERA in road starts. He’s not good against righties or lefties, but he’s especially bad against LHH. In over 1,200 plate appearances, lefties have slashed .281/.366/.453 against Lyles. Joey Votto and Jay Bruce are both excellent plays that will be highly owned.

Giants vs. Diamondbacks

Archie Bradley is a decent tournament play because he’s so cheap, but the Giants hitters are even better plays. Bradley struggles mightily with walks, and if things go badly, he could have a short leash. That could mean a lot of at-bats against the Diamondbacks subpar bullpen. Denard Span and Joe Panik are my favorite plays, but any Giant hitting in the top six in the order is in play.

White Sox vs. Angels

Hector Santiago is tough on lefties, but he has been very hittable for right handed hitters. He’s given up a .746 OPS over his career and is more than three times as likely to give up the long ball. Jose Abreu is a nice pivot off of Joey Votto, and Austin Jackson is a good value. Jimmy Rollins may be the sneakiest White Sox play. Rollins is no longer the great player he was, but he still crushes LHP.

Lineups

I’m going to offer my early take on a cash game lineup, but of course you should always check out our Sportsline projections for lineup changes right up to lock. Also, check out our podcast on iTunes for extended thoughts on each slate from Chris Towers, Mike McClure and myself.

FanDuel

P Noah Syndergaard $11,300
C Jordan Pacheco $2,100
1B Joey Votto $3,900
2B Joe Panik $2,900
3B Jake Lamb $2,500
SS Zack Cozart $2,900
OF Curtis Granderson $3,000
OF Denard Span $3,900
OF Austin Jackson $2,500

DraftKings

P Noah Syndergaard $11,300
P Jake Peavy $7,300
C Jordan Pacheco $2,600
1B Joey Votto $4,600
2B Joe Panik $3,500
3B Matt Carpenter $4,100
SS Zack Cozart $3,100
OF Bryce Harper $4,200
OF Denard Span $3,900
OF Jay Bruce $4,200