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

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It seems like it has been a theme early in the season that the top pitchers have been matched up against bad teams that also offer the best pitchers to stack against. This is a problem on FanDuel of course, because you can only play four players from each team. That’s the case again with Max Scherzer matching up against Bud Norris and the Atlanta Braves. It’s a bigger problem since the Nationals’ best hitter is the most expensive bat on the slate.

It’s not difficult to create a lineup with Bryce Harper and Max Scherzer today. There are plenty of value plays, but it definitely adds risk to your lineup. Hitters are never guaranteed, and playing these two leaves you with only $2,600 per player for your other seven lineup slots. That leaves us searching for value plays.

The top of the Nationals lineup is the first place to look for value. Michael Taylor has been bad this year (and really since he entered the majors), but he’s a young player with good pedigree facing a bad pitcher. He’s also $2,200. As long as Taylor is hitting leadoff, he’s one of the top values of the day.

Generally you don’t want cheap players against aces, but Devin Mesoraco may be the exception. At $2,300, he’s priced like a bad hitter or platoon player. We don’t think that’s the case, so I’m willing to roll him our against Jon Lester, a pitcher I’d generally avoid.

Starting Pitchers

Max Scherzer ($11,600, $13,100)

The only problem with Scherzer tonight is that I’d like to play several Nationals hitters. The Braves are one of the worst teams in baseball, and I feel like Scherzer’s ownership may actually be held down by the fact that Jon Lester is nearly $1,000 cheaper. The only place I don’t see Scherzer as a cinch is on DraftKings, where the price differential is much larger.

Jon Lester ($10,700, $10,500)

Lester being $2,600 cheaper than Scherzer is a huge value opportunity on DraftKings. Two of the Reds three best hitters are left handed and the bottom of their order is a cake walk. Lester got off to a solid start to the season and is the only pitcher other than Scherzer to have a money line of -200 backing his team. The Reds are projected to score the fewest runs of the night (3.1).

Steven Matz ($8,500, $9,200)

If you want to go cheaper at pitcher tonight, Matz is a fine option. Making his season debut, Matz is the least heralded of the Mets’ young pitchers, but he still has huge upside. The only concern I have for Matz is that this Marlins lineup is considerably better vs. LHP. It’s still not enough to make me fade him.

Stack Attack

Washington Nationals vs. Atlanta Braves

Bud Norris put on quite a show in his Braves debut against this same lineup. We can only hope that drives down ownership percentage. Norris is not a good pitcher, as evidenced by his 4.44 career ERA. He’s given up more than a home run per nine innings every year of his career. Bryce Harper is the obvious play, but I’d expect Neil Walker and Anthony Rendon to also have a significant ownership percentage. Michael Taylor is the contrarian way to get a piece of this lineup. Taylor can’t be as bad as he has been to start this season.

Seattle Mariners vs. Texas Rangers

If you’re a believer in BvP, this is the stack for you. Robinson Cano, Kyle Seager, Nelson Cruz and other have absolutely feasted on Colby Lewis. I don’t use BvP except for entertainment purposes, but I am a fan of making money, and stacking against Colby Lewis is a fine way to go about it.

Houston Astros vs. Kansas City Royals

I don’t feel great about this play, but it has a huge upside. Chris Young is a fly ball pitcher against a powerful offense in a hitter’s park. The problem is that Young is exactly the type of pitcher who can frustrate young, powerful hitters. Young faced this Astros lineup in the playoffs last year and struck out 7 in 4 innings while allowing 3 hits. That doesn’t mean much, but it does illustrate that this is not a slam dunk stack.

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 Max Scherzer $11,600
C Devin Mesoraco $2,300
1B Eric Hosmer $3,100
2B Neil Walker $2,700
3B Anthony Rendon $2,900
SS Alcides Escobar $2,400
OF Bryce Harper $5,200
OF Preston Tucker $2,500
OF Michael Taylor $2,200

DraftKings

P Jon Lester $10,500
P Sonny Gray $9,600
C David Ross $2,600
1B Eric Hosmer $4,300
2B Robinson Cano $4,400
3B Jed Lowrie $3,300
SS Alcides Escobar $3,500
OF Bryce Harper $4,900
OF Preston Tucker $3,300
OF Michael Taylor $3,400