Happy Saturday, everyone! The Masters may be in full swing, but I think that weekend baseball is also a tradition unlike any other. We are a good two weeks into the season now, which is around the time when most people need to be reminded not to overreact. There is a lot of season left and plenty of time for players and teams to completely change their season very quickly (for good or bad). We do get the rough news today of Spencer Strider officially being done for the season, but hopefully, we can drown our sorrows of not getting to watch Strider pitch again this season with some winning MLB DFS lineups! 

 

 

 

Today, we will focus on the 7-game slate for both DraftKings  and FanDuel, which will be underway at 4:05 PM ET. It has been a couple of rough days with weather postponements and small slates, but it looks like the weather should mostly cooperate with us today, and we can have a great day of baseball. Whether you are playing cash games or getting in on some tournaments, I am sure we can win some money today, so let’s dive right into today’s playbook and some of my favorite MLB DFS plays for the day! 

 

*Editor's Note: Don't forget to subscribe to the Fantasy Alarm YouTube channel to stay updated on all the shows! Additionally, join the Fantasy Alarm Discord to have your DFS lineup questions answered by our MLB team. And of course, make sure to utilize our MLB DFS Tools, including the Daily MLB Projections, MLB DFS Rostership Projections, and MLB DFS Lineup Generator, to assist you in selecting the right players for your lineups today!

 

MLB DFS Picks & Daily Fantasy Playbook Today, April 13

MLB Weather Today, 4/13

Washington Nationals vs Oakland Athletics: This is the only game with some weather concerns. It looks like they will definitely play though and what are the odds you are targeting many players from this game anyway? 

MLB DFS Lineup Construction Thoughts

There are not a lot of top-end pitchers on today’s slate, but that means we will have more money to spend on the offense with plenty of less-than-great pitchers to target. You may be on the Ronel Blanco train, which is completely reasonable; he has been amazing, but I continue not fully to believe it and am willing to be wrong if he goes out and dominates again. I am giving an honorable mention to MacKenzie Gore, who has great upside against Oakland, but with small weather concerns and other pitchers I like a bit better, he doesn’t quite make the cut for my favorites. On the offensive side, some good lineups to target today include the Baltimore Orioles, Philadelphia Phillies, Atlanta Braves, Boston Red Sox, and Houston Astros.

 

 

 

Recommended MLB DFS Starting Pitchers

Top Options For Strikeouts

Best Odds For A Win

Core MLB DFS Pitchers

Ryan Pepiot, Tampa Bay Rays

Ryan Pepiot didn’t just survive Coors; he dominated. 11 strikeouts through six innings with only 3 hits, giving up no walks or runs. He now gets a great matchup with facing the San Francsico Giants. He has amazing strikeout upside and win potential today and comes in reasonably priced. He is easily my favorite pitcher of the day, and I don’t think there is a single lineup build I wouldn’t put him in.

Chris Sale, Atlanta Braves

Two solid outings to start the season for Chris Sale. 13 strikeouts in 10.2 innings with a 3.38 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP. If he goes out and does exactly the same today, you won’t complain about that, but facing the Miami Marlins, there is potential for even more strikeouts, and he easily has the best chance of any pitcher at getting a win today. Chris Sale still has 10+ strikeout potential on any given day and now gets supported by one of the best offenses in baseball; he is worth the price as the top pitcher on the slate today. 

Logan Webb, San Francisco Giants

Logan Webb hasn’t exactly been great yet. From a real baseball standpoint, going 7 innings and only giving up 2 runs is fantastic, but from a fantasy perspective, giving up 10 hits and only 3 strikeouts is not what you want. I think we will see better results today. Webb might not have the strikeouts of other aces, but he is still an ace. Tampa Bay’s offense has been pretty weak so far in the bottom 10 in runs scored, OPS, and K%; I’m expecting better fantasy production out of Webb today. 

 

 

 

Recommended MLB DFS Hitters

Highest Expected Run Totals 

Core MLB DFS Hitters

Triston Casas, 1B Boston Red Sox

With only two homers thus far, Casas hasn’t been producing quite to the level we know he can so far, but he hasn’t been bad either. Griffin Canning has already given up four homers through 9.2 innings this season, including three to Boston in his last outing. Oh, and one of those two homers Casas has this season was one of those three against Canning. I am willing to bet Casas gets to Canning again today and has a productive day at the plate against the Angels. 

Jose Altuve, 2B Houston Astros

Jose Altuve continues to be really good at hitting baseballs. So far, he has slashed .345/.433/.603 to start the season with 3 homers and 10 runs scored. This is a great matchup today, facing the weak part of the Rangers rotation in Andrew Heaney, who comes into this start with a 7.56 ERA on the season already. This Houston Astros offense should score a lot of runs today and Altuve will almost certainly be a part of that.

Jeremy Pena, SS Houston Astros

Going to the other half of the Astros middle infield this is also a great matchup for Jeremy Pena who is also hitting great to start the season and is much better against lefties in his career so far. He has found himself creeping up in the lineup as well batting 6th twice and 7th once over his last three games. At this price in this matchup, it is hard to not go after Pena today even if you aren’t stacking with other Astros teammates. 

Colton Cowser, OF Baltimore Orioles

Colton Cowser did it once again. He was a lock in lineups yesterday coming in at $2,500 on DraftKings and while his price has been boosted up, it isn’t enough in my opinion. He now has 5 hits with 3 homers in his last two games. Over his last 4 games, that is now 8 hits (7 for extra bases), 4 runs, 11 RBIs, and a stolen base. He found himself up in the second spot of the lineup yesterday as well, and I am guessing he could stay today with him hitting like this. The small price jump isn’t shying me away; I am all in on Colton Cowser right now. 

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