Welcome to the Fantasy Alarm MLB DFS Playbook for Monday, March 31st! 

We’re breaking down the 8-game main slate on DraftKings and FanDuel that starts at 7:05 EST, to help you start the week strong with some winning lineups. With a full day of baseball action ahead, our expert analysis highlights the top pitchers, value plays, and stackable offenses to target. 

Whether chasing big GPP prizes or grinding cash games, we’ve got you covered with insights tailored to today’s matchups. Let’s dive into the key plays and strategies to dominate the slate!

 

 

 

This season's MLB DFS picks and playbook will consist of a pitcher and hitter core players section with written analysis, player pool grid and core stacks section.

The core player section should be used as a starting point for all lineups, you may not be able to use all players in the same lineup, but those players should be the building blocks for you on a given night.

The player pool grid will feature both players from the core player section along with additional plays to help you build a complete lineup. The grid will be broken into top priced players, mid-priced players and value tier players.

The stacks section will bring you are favorite lineups stacks for the day and which players we would look to include in those stacks based on matchups and pricing.

There will also be a daily MLB DFS Show with a variety of hosts ranging from myself, Jon Impemba, Howard Bender, and James Grande. The MLB DFS Show will give you an initial outlook on the day's MLB DFS slate and should give you a good base for the start of your research each day! 

Make sure you subscribe to the Fantasy Alarm YouTube channel so you never miss a show! Also, join the Fantasy Alarm Discord to get your DFS lineup questions answered by our MLB DFS team! Plus, as always, be sure to check in with our MLB DFS Tools, with the Daily MLB Projections, MLB DFS Rostership Projections, and our MLB DFS Lineup Generator when building those lineups today to help you decide which players you should be targeting!

 

 

 

MLB DFS Picks & MLB Playbook

 

MLB Weather: Monday, 3/31

It doesn't look like there should be any weather issues on today's slate.

 

 

 

Recommended MLB DFS Starting Pitchers

We are at the back end of rotations, but there are still many intriguing options today from top to bottom. It helps when you have some rotations as deep as the Dodgers, so you get someone like Tyler Glasnow as their 4th starter, and then we have some intriguing up-and-comers who round out today’s pitching options. 

Let's dive into today's core pitching plays for our DFS lineups.

Core MLB DFS Pitchers

Tyler Glasnow, Los Angeles Dodgers

Tyler Glasnow would be a Cy Young contender if he could throw more innings, but it is hard to expect more than around 130 innings from him, considering he hit his career high of 134 innings last season. However, we don’t care about what he does for the entire season in DFS, and the fact is that he is arguably the best pitcher in baseball on a per-inning basis. 

He was third in strikeout rate last season (minimum 130 innings pitched), behind only Garrett Crochet and Paul Skenes. The Braves always present a tough matchup, and there can be concerns about how many innings you will get from Glasnow in his first start, but the talent is so good that even as the top-priced pitcher on the board, it is hard to overlook the upside he brings on a slate short of true aces. 

Drew Rasmussen, Tampa Bay Rays

I absolutely love Drew Rasmussen. His stuff is as nasty as just about anyone in baseball. Last season, all 4 of his pitches had a stuff+ of 119 or above. He has struggled with injuries that have kept him off the mound for most of the last two seasons, but when healthy, he has been incredible with a 2.95 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, and 24% strikeout rate through 310.2 innings. 

We might not get 6 innings out of him today, which could limit the upside, but it is an excellent matchup against Pittsburgh, and I think even without 6 innings, he has the potential to be the top scoring pitcher on today’s slate. 

Jackson Jobe, Detroit Tigers

I am so glad the Tigers gave Jobe a rotation spot to start the season. You never know what is going to happen in a debut (okay, not quite a debut, but the 4 innings in relief last season hardly count and this is his first major league start) with the adrenaline pumping, but this is a great landing spot for Jobe’s first start getting to go to Seattle. 

I’m not expecting huge strikeout numbers from Jobe right away this season, but I do expect him to be solid, and against a Seattle team we could still see plenty of strikeouts in his debut today and I do think he will at least avoid getting blown up and give us a really solid start today.

Grant Holmes, Atlanta Braves

This is a high-risk, cheap play today, but if you want to try and spend less on pitching, I do think Grant Holmes is an intriguing play. Grant Holmes could have a really great season for the Braves this year. He should have solid strikeout numbers and be a strong back-end of the rotation guy. The biggest reason this is such a high-risk play is that it is against the Dodgers.

I would be all over this price, and he would be a lock if he had a better matchup. The Dodgers have me more likely to pay up for one of the other three core plays, but if you want to diversify or take a risk, I do think there is a decent chance that Holmes can actually survive this Dodgers lineup and give us a quality start with a handful of strikeouts today. 


 

 

 

Recommended MLB DFS Hitters

The back-end of rotations means we have some decent pitchers to target today when building out our lineups. While I am all for trying to play the hot bat sometimes, make sure you don’t get too caught up in focusing on the stats from the first few games early in the season. Some of my favorite offenses to target today include the Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres, Cleveland Guardians, and the Athletics.

Let's check out today's core plays to build our lineups around.

Core MLB DFS Hitters

Kyle Manzardo, 1B Cleveland Guardians

Kyle Manzardo with a .455/.571/.1.273 slash line to start the season is pretty awesome. The Guardians face Kyle Hart today, who probably belongs in a bullpen, not a rotation, and almost all of Manzardo’s damage to start the season has been against lefties, so I am zero worried about the lefty-lefty matchup.

 He won’t keep these numbers up obviously, but I believe in Manzardo’s long-term bat, and this price in this matchup is a great deal. 

Brandon Lowe, Tampa Bay Rays

The Rays' offense could be pretty dangerous at home, getting to play in Steinbrenner Field this season, and with Brandon Lowe’s power, I wouldn’t be surprised if we see another 30+ homer season out of him if he can stay healthy. 

This is an excellent matchup at home, facing Carmen Mlodzinski and the Pittsburgh Pirates, and Lowe provides some good upside at a pretty thin position. 

Fernando Tatis, OF San Diego Padres

It feels like we are in for a career year out of Tatis. He has started out hot, and what I love even more than the .467 batting average, 3 steals, and a homer already is the 5.9% strikeout rate and 11.8% walk rate. If he can hold significantly improved plate skills like that, the sky is the limit for Tatis, and we could easily see an MVP-caliber season out of him this year.

This is a good matchup for the Padres against Luis L. Ortiz, who has struggled this spring, and I want to get in on Tatis while the price is still where it is because I think he is going to be an over $6K outfielder very soon. 

Jackson Merrill, OF San Diego Padres 

Sticking with the Padres outfield for the last core play today. While Merrill might not quite have the insane power and speed upside that Tatis has this season, Jackson Merrill could easily win the batting title while also having a 20-20 season. He still is at zero in both the homer and steal department this season, but he is batting .462, and the rest will come for Merrill. 

His plate skills are incredible, and don’t forget that he is only 21 years old, so don’t be surprised if he develops even more power. Merrill's talent is unbelievable, and in this matchup today, he is definitely going to be a part of any Padres stack I am making today. 

Player Pool

$ Tier {{pos.alias}}

Stacks

{{stack.team.name}} {{player.name}}
DraftKings {{player.fantasy.price.value[8]}}-
Fanduel {{player.fantasy.price.value[6]}}-