For those unfamiliar with the single-game daily fantasy baseball format, scoring is identical to its full roster cousin, except you only roster hitters, and lineups consist of five flex spots. The one twist? One of the five roster spots is your designated "MVP," who receives 2-times his total fantasy points, along with a "STAR" slot that gets 1.5-times the points. Naturally, it's crucial that you choose your MVP and STAR carefully if you want to be at the top of the leaderboards when it's all said and done.
On that note, let's highlight some of the top options for today's FanDuel single-game slate.
Pitching Breakdown
While Zack Greinke is starting for the Houston Astros, we will likely see a ton of bullpen arms for both teams. The Atlanta Braves are going with a bullpen game, and as of early Saturday afternoon, the Braves have not yet announced who will open the game,
I suppose there's a scenario in which Greinke gets past five innings tonight, but he'd have to be absolutely dealing for that to occur. We will likely see Cristian Javier and/or Jake Odorizzi get in the game for Houston at some point.
For Atlanta, Drew Smyly, Kyle Wright, Jesse Chavez and A.J. Minter are all candidates to start, but regardless of who opens, no one is expected to toss more than an inning or two.
Slate Strategy
Our model has this being a 50-50 game, projecting Atlanta to win 4.54-4.53.
Given the uncertainty with who will be pitching, we can't really get into matchup stuff too much, and that makes for a wide-open slate.
We project Freddie Freeman ($9,000), Kyle Tucker ($7,500), Jose Altuve ($8,500) and Ozzie Albies ($8,000) as the top-four bats, per our algorithm. Tucker is the top point-per-dollar stick among hitters with a salary above $6,000.
In the value range, Dansby Swanson ($5,000), Joc Pederson ($5,000) and Adam Duvall are the best point-per-dollar bats on the slate, according to our numbers. Pederson could get pulled against a lefty.
Check for news regarding the Braves' pitching plans before locking in your lineup.