MLB DFS Picks, Projections, Lineups & Stacks Today: Monday Playbook

Welcome to the Fantasy Alarm MLB DFS Playbook for Monday, April 7th! 

We have another action-packed day with a 7-game main slate on DraftKings and FanDuel that starts at 7:10 ET. With a Monday full of baseball ahead, our expert analysis is here to guide you through 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 jump right 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 our 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! 

Starting today, we will also have an MLB DFS Livestream every day! So tune in at 5 PM ET to watch Jon Impemeba and James Grande break down today’s slate, give you last-minute advice, and answer any questions before locking in those lineups!

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, 4/7

• MIA vs. NYM - There is rain all morning, but it should clear out well before gametime.
   
• TEX vs. CHC - Some snow flurries in Chicago today could make this game interesting. I don’t think it is at risk of postponement, but the weather could significantly affect the game. There are currently 20 MPH winds blowing out at Wrigley, but who knows what direction that wind will be going at game time, so keep a close eye if you are targeting players from this game.

Recommended MLB DFS Starting Pitchers

We have some pitchers I absolutely love today on this slate, with a solid slate of pitchers from top to bottom today. I have three clear favorites for my core plays, but Kodai Senga, Logan Webb, Nathan Eovaldi, and Hayden Wesneski are all viable options to consider today. 

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

Core MLB DFS Pitchers

Logan Gilbert, Seattle Mariners

I mentioned in an earlier playbook that Logan Gilbert is my pick to win the AL Cy Young this year, and my opinion has not changed in this regard. Sure, he gave up 3 runs and only went 5 innings against Detroit, but he struck out 10 batters, so who cares?

Houston has been a bottom-five team in both OPS and K% against right-handers this season, so this should be a solid matchup for Logan Gilbert to continue his dominance and rack up a ton of strikeouts. He could be lower-owned today with the depth of pitching, but I am still willing to pay the top price on Gilbert even with other quality options because I still think that Logan Gilbert is the best pitcher on the slate today. 

Michael King, San Diego Padres

I wasn’t worried about Michael King after his poor start on opening day, and I was definitely right not to be worried. He followed it up with an absolute gem in his second start of the season, striking out 11 in 5 shutout innings while only giving up 2 hits and 1 walk. 

So far, Sutter Health Park is playing as a hitter-friendly park, but not as extreme as we thought it could have been. That isn’t enough to scare me away from Michael King. The Athletics are second to last in both OPS and K% against righties so far this season and should provide King every opportunity to pile up a lot of strikeouts again.   

Hunter Greene, Cincinnati Reds

I was fading Hunter Greene hard going into this season, so far I have been incredibly wrong. He has looked like an Ace through his first two starts this season. His fastball has gotten even better with a 125 stuff+ so far (was 110 last season), and it has rewarded him with a 36.4% strikeout rate and 4.5% walk rate.

I still don’t think he will be as good as he has been through these first two starts all season, but it is looking like I may be very wrong that he would take a step back from last season and for this start in San Francisco I see no reason to not buy into what he is doing right now, especially at his price.

Recommended MLB DFS Hitters

Today’s pitching slate is so strong that it makes looking where to stack the offense a bit more complicated. I am okay with going after the Texas vs. Chicago game even with good pitchers on the mound if the wind continues to blow hard out of the park, but if the wind shifts directions, I will not want to stack them quite as much. Beyond that, I think the Kansas City Royals, Arizona Diamondbacks, Minnesota Twins (right-handers mostly), New York Mets, and San Diego Padres are the best offenses to go after today.

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

Core MLB DFS Hitters

Pete Alonso, 1B New York Mets

The Polar Bear is looking insanely locked in at the plate. It looks like Juan Soto is already rubbing off on him, as beyond the great slash line and 3 homers, he has cut his strikeout rate to a minuscule 13.2% with a 6.4% swinging strike rate and raised his walk rate to 15.8%. 

Pete has always had great plate skills, but if these improvements hold even to a lesser degree, he could be in for a career year, which is saying something. The Mets are facing Valente Bellozo and should put up plenty of runs. Bellozo has been crushed by right-handers, especially, so I expect another big game from Alonso today. 

Maikel Garcia, 2B/3B Kansas City Royals

Maikel Garcia is off to a great start in Kansas City after a disappointing offensive season in 2024 (though he still steals 37 bags). He is slashing .345/.387/.655 with 2 homers to start the season. I don’t think he will suddenly turn into a power hitter, but there is room for the 25-year-old to take real steps forward, which we might be seeing.

He still doesn’t have elite bat speed, but it has gone up from the last two years and is closer to average, which he pairs with great plate skills and solid exit velocities. I think some of these improvements could be legit, and I like the Royals quite a bit in this matchup today against Simeon Woods Richardson.

Jackson Merrill, OF San Diego Padres

Is it too early to start saying we could be seeing Jackson Merrill emerge as a legitimate MVP-caliber player? Goodness, this kid looks special. He has hits in all but one game this season and has homers in 3 of his last 5 games. 

Luis Severino doesn’t really scare me away from this Padres offense, which has looked great to start the season. Even if I am not stacking other Padres here, I have a really hard time not wanting to find a way to get Merrill into my lineup. 

Byron Buxton, OF Minnesota Twins 

If you have been following Fantasy Alarm MLB DFS content for long, then you have almost certainly heard us talk about the fact that right-handers crush Michael Lorenzen. Stacking the Twins today is a bit of a problem because many of their big bats are lefties, but I am definitely eyeing Buxton in this spot. 

Buxton hasn’t been great to start the season, but he hasn’t been bad either. Most importantly, he is healthy right now. He is still a power and speed threat and is reasonably priced in this great matchup.  

Player Pool

• FanDuel
• DraftKings

$ Tier	SP	C	1B	2B	3B	SS	OF
High	Logan Gilbert $9,500	Salvador Perez $4,300	Pete Alonso $5,500		Manny Machado $5,000	Bobby Witt $5,900	Juan Soto $6,000
	Michael King $9,200					Francisco Lindor $5,400	Fernando Tatis $5,800
							Corbin Carroll $5,700
							Jackson Merrill $5,200
Medium	Logan Webb $8,500	Ryan Jeffers $4,000	Josh Naylor $4,700	Marcus Semien $4,700	Mark Vientos $4,400	Dansby Swanson $4,600	Byron Buxton $4,600
		Jonah Heim $3,700	Vinnie Pasquantino $4,600	Nico Hoerner $4,500	Maikel Garcia $4,600	Carlos Correa $4,500	Brandon Nimmo $4,500
							Wyatt Langford $4,200
Low	Hunter Greene $7,900	Carson Kelly $3,200	Jake Burger $3,800	Dylan Moore $3,300	Jose Miranda $3,600	J.P. Crawford $3,200	Spencer Steer $3,700
		Miguel Amaya $3,100	Gavin Sheets $2,600				Pavin Smith $3,300
		Kyle Higashioka $2,600					Harrison Bader $3,100
							Alek Thomas $2,900

Stacks

Mets	Juan Soto	Mark Vientos	Francisco Lindor	Brandon Nimmo	Pete Alonso
DraftKings	6000	4400	5400	4500	5500
Fanduel	4200	3100	3600	3300	3900

Padres	Manny Machado	Jackson Merrill	Jake Cronenworth	Fernando Tatis	Gavin Sheets
DraftKings	5000	5200	4000	5800	2600
Fanduel	3800	3600	2900	4300	2700

Diamondbacks	Pavin Smith	Lourdes Gurriel	Eugenio Suárez	Corbin Carroll	Josh Naylor
DraftKings	3300	4300	4700	5700	4700
Fanduel	2700	3000	3900	3800	3100

Cubs	Dansby Swanson	Nico Hoerner	Seiya Suzuki	Ian Happ	Kyle Tucker
DraftKings	4600	4500	5000	4800	6300
Fanduel	3200	3000	3500	3300	4600