DFS MLB DraftKings GPP Lineup Advice: Monday 4/9/18

This Monday night brings us an awesome DraftKings GPP slate with 10 games scheduled and a lot of great pitching options. The top tier is stacked, but there are also some great low priced pitchers to help pay-up for some expensive hitters. Let’s take a dive into the matchups and look at some of the top selections tonight.

Pitchers

Noah Syndergaard (NYM): $12,300 @ MIA
Thor is one of the few elite arms in the MLB and is showing how filthy he can be with his 93mph slider. It is no secret that he is a top pitching option any night and he should come in as the highest owned pitcher. Feel confident locking the Mets ace in as an SP1 tonight and don’t worry too much about ownership. The Marlins are ranked last in wOBA and are in the bottom five in Strikeout percentage at 26.5%. The win is almost certainly against a bad opposing pitcher and the strikeout upside is massive. Of the top tier, Thor is my favorite pitching option and it is not particularly close.

Miles Mikolas (STL): $7,300 vs. MIL
Although he gave up four runs a week ago against this Brewers team, Miles Mikolas is an interesting GPP pitching option. In 2014, the starting pitcher was expected to be a top prospect and cruise through the MLB. After two unsuccessful seasons, he chose to move to Japan and try is luck there. After leading the league in ERA, WHIP, and K’s, we are now witnessing a refined talent. He throws hard. Mid to high 90’s with nasty breaking stuff. His command still needs work and he gives up the long ball often. However, with the loss of Christian Yelich and the much more appealing park change, Mikolas has a great opportunity for a lot of strikeouts and fantasy points. The Brew crew are striking out at a 25.1% rate which could increase without Yelich. There is risk attached to Mikolas, but as a low-owned, high-upside pivot, he does have GPP winning upside.

Garrett Richards (LAA): $6,700 @ TEX
Why has his price not risen? In his last outing against a tough Indians team, Richards struck out nine over five innings pitched, allowing just one run and picking up the win. At $6,700, we have seen 27.2 DraftKings points in a tough matchup. Now he will face a strikeout-prone Rangers team who will struggle to hit a very talented arm. Richards has shown a nasty sweeping slider. Texas has power and may take Richards deep a time or two, but at this price, the upside is among the highest on the board.

Hitting Stacks

Chalk – High Owned Stacks

1.) Colorado Rockies
The Rockies have the highest implied run total at 5.47 and are facing a left-handed starting pitcher. Nolan Arenado and Trevor Story absolutely demolish lefties and should be in store for another good night. Clayton Richard has far worse numbers against right-handed hitters, allowing a .377 wOBA against. Even though the top hitters on the Rockies are in great spots, there are reasons to fade. Richard is an extreme ground-ball pitcher (which helps a lot in Coors Field) and we could see ownership north of 30%. There are other bad pitchers on this slate and stacking less owned teams will work better for GPP’s.

2.) Washington Nationals
The last time the Nats squared up against Julio Teheran, they were able to score five runs on six hits and chasing the Braves pitcher out of the game in just 2.1 innings. Teheran continued to show his struggles against power hitters and has now allowed four homeruns in just eight innings of work. Bryce Harper is one of the top hitting options on the slate tonight but will have a fair share of ownership.

3.) Philadelphia Phillies 
The young talented Phillies lineup blew up on Saturday for 20 runs against Miami, showing off their skill and upside. They will be a dangerous team for years to come, no doubt. Tonight, they will take on the Cincinnati Reds who have looked to Cody Reed. The Reds have the worst team ERA in baseball and are in dire need of pitching help. In 22 MLB appearances, Reed is 1-8 with a 6.75 ERA and 1.776 WHIP. Even though they will be popular, having a Phillies stack is wise. The Reds bullpen is also terrible and the Phillies bats are on fire.

Low Owned Stacks

Cincinnati Reds
The best game stack is going down in Philadelphia. Both teams are in great spots against two bad starting pitchers. The Phillies will have more ownership, but the Reds are just as good, if not better. First of all, they are the road team. They are guaranteed the ninth inning at-bat and will take on Ben Lively. Although a solid outing in New York, Lively has struggled against lefties. With a .369 wOBA, eight homeruns and 17 walks against lefties in 43.1 innings of work, load up on the Reds left-handed bats. Jesse Winker, Joey Votto, and Scooter Gennett are all primed for a big game.

Arizona Diamondbacks 
One of my personal favorite teams to stack at low-ownership are the Arizona Diamondbacks. Always overlooked, the D-Backs have offensive upside and play their games at a later start. Even though they will play in a less desirable hitters park, the will see Derek Holland. In 2017 Holland surrendered a 2.07 HR/9 ratio with a 5.27 SIERA. Right-handed batters hit him for a .408 wOBA so look for the power righties to take advantage. The stack should come in at under 5% ownership with so many great options tonight. Load up on the D-Backs with confidence tonight in the late-night hammer.

Position-by-position

Catcher 
Chris Iannetta $4,000 vs. SD
Jorge Alfaro $3,200 vs. CIN
Tucker Barnhart $2,800

First Base
Joey Votto $4,200 @ PHI
Carlos Santana $4,700 vs. CIN
Paul Goldschmidt $4,800 @ SF
Ian Desmond $5,300 vs. SD

Second Base
Cesar Hernandez $4,200 vs. CIN
Scott Kingery $3,300 vs. CIN
Scooter Gennett $3,200 @ PHI
DJ LeMahieu $5,000 vs. SD
Chris Owings $3,800 @ SF

Third Base
Nolan Arenado $5,700 vs. SD
Maikel Franco $4,000 vs. CIN
Daniel Descalso $2,900 @ SF
Anthony Rendon $4,300 vs. ATL

Shortstop 
Trevor Story $4,400 vs. SD
Trea Turner $4,700 vs. ATL
Ketel Marte $3,500 @ SF

Outfield 
Bryce Harper $5,800 vs. ATL
Rhys Hoskins $5,600 vs. CIN
Adam Eaton $5,000 vs. ATL
A.J. Pollock $4,800 @ SF
Mike Trout $5,500 @ TEX
Justin Upton $4,100 @ TEX
Jesse Winker $3,000 @ PHI
Marcell Ozuna $3,700 vs. MIL
Jay Bruce $3,600 @ MIA

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