Welcome to the DFS Army MLB Full Count! You have to start your research somewhere, and oftentimes going game by game and breaking down every matchup and its key players is the first step in our process. My name is Michael aka @MadnessDFS on Twitter, make sure to give me a follow as I’ll occasionally make updates to the advice in the article out on Twitter as well as inside our coaching forums. With that said, let’s get it started!
My Take on a Consistent Process – Looking at Pitchers
I always start a slate by looking at pitching, not only do you get a grasp on who the pitchers are that you want to target. But it also gives you an idea of what offenses are in good spots against bad/vulnerable pitchers. I start my research by going straight to the Nilly’s MLB Carnage Report, this is where we can analyze all the pitchers on the slate in a compact, yet detailed manner. Below are three pitchers that I find particularly interesting and are in good spots here on this slate.
- Lance Lynn – Lynn is incredibly interesting to me here because of his recent outstanding form and because of his two starts against the Athletics this season. So, Lynn has 20+ Draftkings points in four of his last five games and gets a nice ballpark boost by going into Oakland here. However, in two starts against the A’s this season he is averaging just 5.8 Draftkings points per game. The A’s are really pretty average when it comes to striking out with a 21% strikeout rate. This rate is held down at home due to the massive foul ball territory there is in Oakland. That said, Lynn is striking out an elite 27% of batters this season. His price is the tricky part, he is almost $11k on Draftkings and $10k on FanDuel. Will I get there? I’m not sure, but I think we can look past his two starts against Oakland here and play the numbers.
- Zack Greinke – People will see Lynn’s price tag and immediately pivot to the cheaper Zack Greinke who draws a phenomenal matchup against the Miami Marlins in Miami. Greinke sees a ballpark boost here against a pretty bad offense. The Marlins have just a 3.2 implied run total here with a 28% strikeout rate against right-handed pitching this season. Greinke is striking batters out at a 23.7% rate this season, I think he is at the top of the list for cash games considering the matchup and the ballpark.
- Honorable mentions: Joey Lucchesi, Sandy Alcantara, Jose Urquidy
- These guys are all relatively cheap and draw pretty nice matchups considering the opposing lineups and ballparks. Alcantara draws the worst matchup of the three but has the best pitching ballpark on the slate. Urquidy is coming off the best outing of his career and isn’t priced as so and Lucchesi gets a Giants offense in a pitchers park.
We have a BRAND NEW MLB Domination Station lineup optimizer that is powered by DFS Army proprietary projections. The Domination Station will help you create 150 of the highest projected lineups in a matter of minutes. With features that allow you to Like 
Love 
or Dislike 
a player, you can create a fully unique pool of players to generate your lineups from every day. Combine the power of the Domination Station with our VIP Only Articles and the MLB Research Station to really take your game to the next level.
Full Count Article:
Colorado Rockies (+116) @ Cincinnati Reds (-126)
This game features a matchup of two very legit aces of their pitching staffs. The Rockies are notorious for being below average away from home, but going into Cincinnati can be a medicine for many struggling offenses. I think it’s smarter to attack the two pitchers in this game, but this game isn’t on the main slate so it will need to be played on a showdown. We have you covered for showdown coaches notes/player picks, so check out our page for core plays and strategy for this particular game!
-> COACHES NOTES/PLAYER PICKS <-
Atlanta Braves (-125) @ Philadelphia Phillies (+115)
Mike Soroka is a pitcher that I think has a lot of talent and a bright future in this league. He gets a matchup with an underperforming offense this season and I think is worth a look in GPPs at the very least. Arrieta can be avoided against this lethal Braves offense. I won’t be stacking against Mike Soroka, but Jake Arrieta can be had and the Braves offense is scary good so don’t be afraid to go there.
ATL 5-star plays: Freddie Freeman, Ronald Acuna, Josh Donaldson
4-star plays: Ozzie Albies, Dansby Swanson, Austin Riley
GPP Note: The Braves have an implied run total of 5.3 here and I always like stacking road teams more than home teams because they get guaranteed ninth-inning at-bats. They aren’t my favorite stack on the slate, but they will definitely make the pool for GPPs.
PHI 5-star plays: None
4-star plays: Bryce Harper, Scott Kingery, Rhys Hoskins
GPP Note: I don’t really want to stack against Mike Soroka here, but this field is great for home runs especially for lefties so targeting the power bats in this lineup as one-offs isn’t a bad idea to fill out a lineup.
Watching the weather is half the battle when it comes to MLB DFS. The DFS Army Weather Station has you covered, from games that have delay and postponement potential, to games that could have significant winds that will play a roll in selecting a team to stack or a pitcher to use.
Los Angeles Dodgers (-169) @ Washington Nationals (+155)
Hyun-Jin Ryu is the highest-priced pitcher on the slate, but if I’m being honest I likely won’t get to him here. This Nationals offense is capable of getting to anyone and there are better cheaper pitching options on this slate. If you want to get to bats that you want I think you’ll need to go elsewhere here. That said, I won’t be targeting any Nationals against Ryu, he has proven himself as one of the best in the league this season. The Dodgers have an implied run total of 5.5 runs here against Anibal Sanchez. They have one of the best offenses in the league and are in play pretty much every night and especially against a below-average pitcher on the road.
LAD 5-star plays: Cody Bellinger, Justin Turner, Max Muncy
4-star plays: Alex Verdugo, AJ Pollock, Joc Pederson
GPP Note: Anibal Sanchez seems to always find a way to avoid the big inning, but the Dodgers a different beast. Having Pollock back only makes their lineup better and he is relatively cheap and makes the stack easier to do. I like the Dodgers here.
WAS 5-star plays: None
4-star plays: None
GPP Note: I see no reason to use the Nats on a 14 game slate against Ryu
Tampa Bay Rays (-135) @ Toronto Blue Jays (+125)
I will have some interest in Ryan Yarbrough here especially if he ends up getting the start for FanDuel purposes. Regardless, he throws a slider 41.6% of the time to left-handed batters and 25% of the time to righties. This Blue Jays team really struggles against sliders, so for his price, I think you can squeeze him in as an SP2 or even pay down at pitcher and make him your SP1. The Rays get a nice matchup with Waguespack who has given up at least three earned runs in each of his last three starts. With an implied run total of 5.2, they won’t crack my elite stacks, but they will make my stacking pool for GPPs.
TBR 5-star plays: Austin Meadows, Tommy Pham
4-star plays: Ji-Man Choi, Nate Lowe
GPP Note: The Rays aren’t my favorite stack here, but they are a road team against an unproven pitcher. I don’t expect them to be highly owned, so it’s not a bad contrarian spot for GPPs.
TOR 5-star plays: None
4-star plays: None
GPP Note: I will definitely have some Yarbrough for GPPs at the very least and likely some cash game sprinkles as well, so no need to go with the Jays here.
New York Yankees (-131) @ Boston Red Sox (+121)
The Red Sox went bananas last night scoring 19 runs in a game that Masahiro mercifully started. Tonight they get James Paxton who I think is a very good pitcher, but Red Sox make a lot of good pitchers look mediocre, so for that reason, I won’t find myself getting to Paxton here. I also likely won’t get to the Red Sox as a stack either because of the respect I have for Paxton as a pitcher. I may bring my rule of not stacking against Andrew Cashner here with the Yankees. They have one of the most home run potent lineups in all of baseball and in a relatively small ballpark I can see them knocking Cashner around here.
NYY 5-star plays: DJ LeMahieu, Aaron Judge, Didi Gregorius
4-star plays: Aaron Hicks, Gleyber Torres, Luke Voit, Edwin Encarnacion
GPP Note: The Yankees have an implied run total of 5.9 runs in this spot and will be one of my favorite stacks on the slate give the matchup with Cashner. I normally don’t stack against Cashner because he wiggles his way out of tough spots more often than not, but he has given up at least four earned runs in two straight games. Count me in on the Yanks.
BOS 5-star plays: None
4-star plays: Mookie Betts, JD Martinez, Xander Bogaerts, Rafael Devers
GPP Note: I’m not going to be stacking against James Paxton, but getting yourself some low owned power one-offs isn’t a bad idea for GPPs.
Pittsburgh Pirates (+160) @ New York Mets (-174)
Zach Wheeler has been great this season and will be making his first start after coming off the IL here. It sounds like the Mets are wanting to get rid of at least one of either Wheeler or Syndergaard, so this may be Wheeler’s last start in a Mets uniform so look for him to go out there and prove himself. I don’t love the Mets offense, but Agrazal really isn’t great. This may just be a stay-away game for me outside of some Zach Wheeler GPP sprinkles.
PIT 5-star plays: None
4-star plays: Josh Bell
GPP Note: Zach Wheeler has proven himself as a solidified starter this season, I won’t have much if any, Pirates here.
NYM 5-star plays: None
4-star plays: Peter Alonso, Michael Conforto, Robinson Cano, Jeff McNeil
GPP Note: Not my favorite of stacks, but I think you can go here in GPPs and feel okay about it. Agrazal has given up a 35.6% hard contact rate on the season.
The MLB Research Station is my #1 source for research every single day and is one of the VIP Only tools our members have access to daily. The info in the MLB ReSearch Station includes today’s
DFS Army Projection, Adjusted BVP matchups and much more. This tool will cut your daily research time in half. If you’re familiar with CeeGee and Ben you already know the time they’ve put into the “Sheets” and are extremely happy to provide them as apart of your DFS Army VIP Membership this year.
Arizona Diamondbacks (-176) @ Miami Marlins (+161)
I wrote-up Zack Greinke in my pitchers’ section and he is probably my SP1 for cash games at the moment. The Marlins just are not good and the ballpark makes this spot even better for Greinke. I don’t mind getting to Alcantara either at his price tag in this big ballpark. With that said, don’t go wild with him, the Dbacks have a very legit offense, but he does make getting to bats much easier as some salary relief.
ARI 5-star plays: None
4-star plays: Ketel Marte, Eduardo Escobar, David Peralta
GPP Note: I don’t stack in Marlins Park and I’m not starting now, in fact, I may get to some Alcantara shares.
MIA 5-star plays: None
4-star plays: None
GPP Note: Greinke is my favorite pitcher on the slate, no Marlins for me.
Chicago Cubs (-107) @ Milwaukee Brewers (-101)
The ole I-94 rivalry is a big one this weekend as these two teams are a few games within each other of the division. Kyle Hendricks has some massive home/road splits on the season, averaging 14 more Draftkings points per game at home. In one start against the Brewers this season he scored 3.6 Draftkings points. This Brewers offense is elite, I won’t be going there. Gio Gonzalez is a guy that runs out there and gives the Brewers 5 innings of 2-3 run ball almost every time out there. That said, I won’t be stacking the Cubs, but they do have some intriguing one-off options.
CHC 5-star plays: Javier Baez, Anthony Rizzo
4-star plays: Kyle Schwarber, Albert Almora (value)
GPP Note: I almost hope the Cubs are a popular stack here against Gio, but I don’t see it happening with a 4.8 implied total. They have some nice one-off options with Baez and Rizzo who seemingly always produce against the Brewers, but no full stacks for me.
MIL 5-star plays: Christian Yelich, Keston Hiura
4-star plays: Yasmani Grandal, Mike Moustakas, Eric Thames
GPP Note: This Brewers stack is getting more and more intriguing by the day as they start to get cheaper. Yes, Yelich and Hiura are very expensive, but guys like Eric Thames, Grandal, and Moose have all seen a price drop making this stack much more affordable.
Minnesota Twins (-161) @ Chicago White Sox (+148)
Dylan Cease is one of the White Sox higher-ranked prospects in their system, but has given up at least three earned runs in each of his first three starts. I actually like the Twins a good amount on the road here. They’re an elite offense with a 5.7 implied run total. Michael Pineda has pitched well as of late and gets a good matchup with the White Sox, I think he is playable as an SP2.
MIN 5-star plays: Max Kepler, Nelson Cruz, Eddie Rosario
4-star plays: Miguel Sano, Jorge Polanco
GPP Note: The Twins will likely make my tier one of stacks with the Yankees at the moment, I think they can get to this kid early and often and their prices have come down as well. Nelson Cruz may start to be heating up after hitting three home runs last night.
CHW 5-star plays: None
4-star plays: None
GPP Note: The White Sox offense just really isn’t that great, I’ll have some Michael Pineda interest here.
Houston Astros (-114) @ St. Louis Cardinals (+105)
I touched on Urquidy briefly in my pitcher’s column, but he is coming off a career game in his last outing and gets a Cardinals team that has heated up as of late. I will probably get to him with at least a little amount because of his price and what he allows you to do on the offensive end, but the Cardinals bats warming up worries me (especially as a Brewers fan). Jack Flaherty has been up and down this season, I won’t be going with him against a very good Astros offense.
HOU 5-star plays: George Springer
4-star plays: Alex Bregman, Michael Brantley, Yordan Alvarez
GPP Note: The Astors will make my list of secondary stacks, but Flaherty is a good enough pitcher where I will likely be lower owned than the field.
STL 5-star plays: None
4-star plays: Paul DeJong, Paul Goldschmidt, Tyler O’Neil
GPP Note: This offense is starting to heat up, jump on them while they are still cheap and low-owned. They are my GPP special of the night.
Playing some cash games today? If you haven’t already, be sure to check out these 7 Tips for MLB Cash Games!
Cleveland Indians (-124) @ Kansas City Royals (+115)
Both of these pitchers are pretty blah for me given their matchups and price tags. They are both priced pretty awkwardly, to the point where there are cheaper options that I would rather get to. Junis has been pitching out of his mind over the past week and a half, so I’ll wait for him to cool down before I start to target offenses against him again. This ultimately just feels like a stay-away game for me if I’m being honest.
CLE 5-star plays: None
4-star plays: Francisco Lindor, Oscar Mercado, Carlos Santana
GPP Note: Junis is pitching to well right now for me to want to stack against him, there are some decent one-off options if you happen to fall on them, however.
KCR 5-star plays: None
4-star plays: Whit Merrifield, Jorge Soler, Hunter Dozier
GPP Note: Plesac may have some potential as a young pitcher and is flashing signs of that now, I don’t want to stack the Royals due to the bottom of the lineup being so bad, but they have some power one-offs I don’t mind getting to.
Texas Rangers (+100) @ Oakland Athletics (-109)
I’m a little surprised the A’s are favored in this game with Lance Lynn on the mound. I wrote-up Lynn as a nice option on this slate and makes sense as a nice pivot off of a chalkier Zack Greinke. The Rangers put up a good chunk of runs last night and get a nice matchup with Daniel Mengden here. They will be unowned, so I don’t mind going there for GPPs to set yourself apart.
TEX 5-star plays: Danny Santana, Shin-soo Choo
4-star plays: Hunter Pence, Nomar Mazara, Elvis Andrus
GPP Note: An implied total of just 4.2 runs here and I really don’t like stacking in this ballpark due to the massive foul ball territory that is a rally killer. But the Rangers will be unowned if you want to go there for GPPs.
OAK 5-star plays: None
4-star plays: None
GPP Note: Lance Lynn is cooking lately, I don’t want to pick on him.
Baltimore Orioles (+195) @ Los Angeles Angels (-213)
Griffin Canning is on my long list of SP2 options, but he probably is number one on that list. This is just a great matchup for him. As for the Angels, they get a matchup with Asher Wojciechowski who absolutely ripped my heart out last time he pitched and destroyed the Red Sox, the day the world stacked against him. He looked like he had nice stuff in that park, but I’ll wait for a better matchup to use him.
BAL 5-star plays: NONE
4-star plays: None
GPP Note: I love Griffin Canning here, no O’s for me UPDATE: DO NOT use him. He will not pitch tonight. Update coming soon….
LAA 5-star plays: Mike Trout
4-star plays: Shohei Ohtani, Justin Upton, Kole Calhoun
GPP Note: People may be afraid to stack against Woj after he burned them last time, but this is a good Angels offense that is really swinging the bats nicely here.
The starting lineups page is a useful tool to get a quick view of all of the teams, and I especially like the home run predictor to use for Monkey Knife Fight props!
Detroit Tigers (+118) @ Seattle Mariners (-128)
Two bad pitchers against two bad offenses, what’s not to like?! I hate to say that I actually might fall on some Daniel Norris here because of his price, but I don’t feel great about it. The Tigers are legitimately the worst offense in the league and I’ll be streaming pitchers against them for the rest of the season, but Kikuchi is just bad. I will likely stay away from this game except for some Norris as a punt SP2 and some hedge Mariners stacks.
DET 5-star plays: None
4-star plays: Nick Castellanos
GPP Note: They are just so bad right now, no thank you
SEA 5-star plays: None
4-star plays: Daniel Vogelbach, Tim Beckham, JP Crawford
GPP Note: I liked them a good amount yesterday, but I’ll jump off here. This slate is too big to be liking this team at home.
San Francisco Giants (+138) @ San Diego Padres (-150)
I like Joey Lucchesi a good deal here even though the Giants are playing excellent baseball right now. He is scoring 8.5 Draftkings points more per game at home this season, look for him to take advantage of this Giants offense. This is a pitchers only game for me because of the guys on the mound and these two offenses. Jeff Samardzija is also playable if you happen to fall on him as an SP2 as well, he is in very good form and this Padres team is striking out at a 26.2% rate on the season.
SFG 5-star plays: None
4-star plays: None
GPP Note: Just pitchers here for me
SDP 5-star plays: None
4-star plays: None
GPP Note: Just pitchers here for me
As always I appreciate everyone who gave the article a read! Feel free to mix it up with me in our coaching forums as news breaks and lock approaches.
The only thing you are missing at this point is the key to unlock the next level of your game. Come inside and check us out!! We have the experts sharing their secrets and experience on a daily basis. Combine that with the actual ability to ask them questions and get quick answers in return, and you have a recipe for success that puts our army hats on leaderboards all over the face of DFS.
