MLB DFS Picks & Playbook For Today’s Games: Thursday, April 25

Today is a getaway day for many MLB teams, so the slate includes several early games.

Our writers have been crushing it this week, and I'll try to carry all that momentum into today's slate!

Check out today's MLB playbook below before you get your lineups in on DraftKings and FanDuel as we present our MLB DFS picks for today, April 25th!

MLB DFS Picks & Daily Fantasy Playbook Today, April 25

MLB Weather Today, 4/25

• Toronto Blue Jays vs. Kansas City Royals: 
  • It's unlikely that this game will be played on time due to heavy rain. With that, this game has the potential of being postponed. 
• San Diego Padres vs. Colorado Rockies: 
  • A few scattered showers are heading Colorado's way, but it's expected that they'll be able to play through these showers. 

MLB DFS Lineup Construction Thoughts

Realistically, Simeon Woods Richardson isn't a horrible idea against the White Sox. He won't give you Zack Wheeler numbers, but he'll allow you to add some of the best hitters on the slate into your lineup. 

If you really want to be risky, you can add Woods-Richardson as a pitcher and Dylan Moore as a hitter as your low-cost options. That way, you'd have a lot of salary to fill up the rest of your lineup. 

If you don't want to be risky and go the Woods-Richardson route, stick with a top-tier starter like the ones I mentioned below. There aren't many mid-tier guys I'd suggest with today's slate. 

Also, as a reminder, the Dodgers-Nationals game is only on the main slate for DraftKings and not FanDuel. 

Recommended MLB DFS Starting Pitchers

Top Options For Strikeouts

• Zack Wheeler (7.5, -130) vs. Philadelphia Phillies
• Yoshinobu Yamamoto (6.5, +115) vs. Washington Nationals
• Justin Verlander (6.5, +145) vs. Chicago Cubs
• MacKenzie Gore (5.5, -130) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

Best Odds For A Win

• Zack Wheeler (-125) vs. Philadelphia Phillies
• Yoshinobu Yamamoto (+115) vs. Washington Nationals
• Justin Verlander (+145) vs. Chicago Cubs
• Luis Castillo (+145) vs. Texas Rangers

Core MLB DFS Pitchers

Zack Wheeler, Philadelphia Phillies

Zack Wheeler is undoubtedly the best pitcher on this slate. He's struck out over 30% of batters to begin the season and has held teams to a .095 ISO and wOBA of .232 in that span. 

Wheeler has also limited walks to 5.6% and has added nearly 52% of ground balls.

While he's facing a powerful Reds lineup, Cincinnati's projected lineup has also struck out 25.2% of the time against righties since last year. 

Since last season, the Reds have had just one batter in the lineup who has struck out under 21% of the time against righties.

In addition, the Reds have only walked 8.2% of walks against righties since last year. It's unlikely that Wheeler will give many free passes to the Reds tonight. 

If Wheeler continues his dominant season, the Reds should struggle to get much of anything going against the Phillies today. 

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Los Angeles Dodgers

To begin the season, Yoshinobu Yamamoto has allowed too much power to right-handed batters. He's also not getting many grounders against lefties. 

But he's ultimately going to improve as the season goes on. He needs to get acclimated. 

A matchup against the Nationals should help. Yamamoto has struck out 33.3% of batters and will face a Nationals projected lineup that has struck out 24.5% of the time against righties since last season.

The Nationals ultimately have six high strikeout targets for Yamamoto and have collectively hit just a .155 ISO and wOBA of .309 against righties since last season. 

Justin Verlander, Houston Astros

In Verlander's first start of the season, he went six innings and allowed just two runs against the Nationals. He only struck out four batters and struggled against righties. 

However, he's facing a Cubs projected lineup that has hit just a .146 ISO against righties since last season. Chicago's projected lineup has also hit just a 298 wOBA and has struck out nearly 26% of the time against righties. 

Another six-inning quality start is in store for Verlander. This time, the strikeouts will likely creep up a bit. 

Simeon Woods Richardson, Minnesota Twins

What's stopping Simeon Woods Richardson from having a solid five-inning start against the White Sox today?

Woods-Richardson allowed just one run in six innings against the Tigers in his first start of the season. Now he's taking on the Chicago White Sox, who have collectively hit a .125 ISO and wOBA of .289 against righties since last year. 

Chicago's projected lineup has also struck out more than 21% of the time and has earned just 7.4% of walks against righties. 

On the other hand, Woods-Richardson allowed a .000 ISO and a .118 wOBA to his first 21 batters in the MLB. 

This is a terrific buy-low spot if you want to fill up your lineup with star hitters. 

Recommended MLB DFS Hitters

Highest Expected Run Totals 

• San Diego Padres (5.5, -130) vs. Colorado Rockies
• Colorado Rockies (4.5, -125) vs. San Diego Padres
• Minnesota Twins (4.5, -120) vs. Minnesota Twins
• Los Angeles Dodgers (4.5, -115) vs. Washington Nationals
• Seattle Mariners (4.5, -110) vs. Texas Rangers

Core MLB DFS Hitters

Rafael Devers, 3B, Boston Red Sox

Fresh off a long ball yesterday, consider Rafael Devers again today. 

Devers has smashed a .236 ISO and wOBA of .366 against his last 500 righties. He's also struck out just 19% of the time against righties since the previous year. 

Today, he'll face Triston McKenzie of the Guardians, who has looked horrible against lefties this season.

His first 50 lefties faced have hit a .238 ISO and wOBA of .351 with nearly 30% of fly balls. More importantly, McKenzie only earned 10% of strikeouts against those first 50 lefties. 

Edouard Julien, 2B, Trevor Larnach, OF, Max Kepler, OF

Honestly, any player by Kyle Farmer in this Twins lineup is a go today. 

The Twins are facing Michael Soroka of the White Sox, who has been unable to figure it out this season.

Soroka has allowed a .229 ISO and wOBA of .399, which is already bad. But he's also added just 10.7% of strikeouts while walking 13.4% of batters to begin the year. 

The Twins have heavy strikeout numbers against righties. But with Soroka's below-average strikeout rate, it's more likely the Twins put the ball in play. 

As a projected lineup, the Twins have hit a .198 ISO and wOBA of .341 against righties since last season. The main contributors are the ones mentioned above. Edouard Julien has hit a .224 ISO and wOBA of .375 against righties since the previous year. 

Meanwhile, since last season, Trevor Larnach has slugged a .233 ISO and wOBA of .354 against righties.

Finally, Max Kepler has socked a .223 ISO and wOBA of .352 against his last 417 righties. 

Stack the Twins today! You likely won't regret it!

Yordan Alvarez, OF, Kyle Tucker, OF, Houston Astros

The Chicago Cubs will roll with Javier Assad. He's a righty, who has really looked bad against lefties to begin the season. 

Assad has allowed a .205 ISO and wOBA of .345, with 41.4% of fly balls and just 17.2% of ground balls to lefties this season.

Assad also has low strikeout numbers against lefties, earning only 22.7% of strikeouts against them this season.

Meanwhile, Yordan Alvarez and Kyle Tucker are the lone lefties in the Houston order. Those two should have a day. 

Alvarez has hit a .294 ISO and wOBA of .416 against his last 381 righties, and Tucker has smashed a .209 ISO and wOBA of .362 against his last 490 righties. Both have kept strikeouts down to 16% or below. 

Dylan Moore, OF, Seattle Mariners

Dylan Moore is a cheaper bat on the slate with a lot of potential. 

Moore is a right-handed slugger who has hit a .268 ISO and wOBA of .357 against his last 114 lefties. He's set to take on a lefty in Andrew Heaney. 

While Heaney has pitched well against righties to begin the season, he's still allowed 38.1% of fly balls with only 33.3% of ground balls. 

Last year, he finished the year with below-average numbers against righties, allowing a .203 ISO and wOBA of .337 with 34.1% of fly balls. 

Heaney's numbers will start to dip a little against righties, and Moore is the most powerful righty in the Seattle lineup today. 

Player Pool

• DraftKings
• FanDuel

$ Tier	SP	C	1B	2B	3B	SS	OF
High	Zack Wheeler $10,600	Jonah Heim $3,000	Josh Naylor $3,700	Jose Altuve $4,000	José Ramírez $3,700	Corey Seager $3,400	Fernando Tatis $4,500
	Justin Verlander $10,100		Bryce Harper $3,500				Kyle Tucker $4,100
							Tyler O'Neill $3,600
							Kyle Schwarber $3,500
Medium	Nick Martinez $7,600	Yainer Diaz $2,900	Jake Cronenworth $3,600	Edouard Julien $3,000	Ryan McMahon $3,400	Dansby Swanson $2,900	Jarren Duran $3,300
					Rafael Devers $3,200		Julio Rodríguez $3,300
							Ian Happ $3,000
							Brandon Marsh $3,000
							Evan Carter $3,000
Low	Simeon Woods Richardson $5,500	Ryan Jeffers $3,100	Nathaniel Lowe $2,700	Dylan Moore $2,700	Alex Bregman $2,700	Willi Castro $2,300	Alex Kirilloff $2,900
		Mitch Garver $2,500					Chas McCormick $2,800
							Wilyer Abreu $2,700
							Trevor Larnach $2,600
							Max Kepler $2,500
							Leody Taveras $2,500

Stacks

Red Sox	Enmanuel Valdez	Tyler O'Neill	Wilyer Abreu	Jarren Duran	Rafael Devers
DraftKings	3400	5100	3500	4900	5000
Fanduel	2500	3600	2700	3300	3200

Twins	Ryan Jeffers	Trevor Larnach	Alex Kirilloff	Max Kepler	Byron Buxton	Edouard Julien
DraftKings	3800	3100	4100	3700	4400	3800
Fanduel	3100	2600	2900	2500	2700	3000

Astros	Jose Altuve	Alex Bregman	Yainer Diaz	Kyle Tucker	Yordan Alvarez
DraftKings	5600	4600	4300	5700	5500
Fanduel	4000	2700	2900	4100	3700