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

Happy Monday, welcome to the Fantasy Alarm MLB DFS Playbook for April 21st!

We’re diving into the action with a 6-game slate on DraftKings and FanDuel, kicking off at 6:40 ET. With a packed day of baseball ahead, our expert analysis is here to guide you through the top pitchers, value plays, and stackable offenses to target.

There aren't a ton of true aces on the mound, so it's going to be tricky to dissect tonight's slate.

Whether you’re hunting for GPP glory or locking in cash game success, we’ve got tailored insights to help you conquer 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 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! 

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, 4/21

New York Mets vs. Philadelphia Phillies

• There could be some light rain during the game, but the heavier stuff should roll in when it's over.

Atlanta Braves vs. St. Louis Cardinals

• There is  a small chance of a delay with pop-up storms in the area, might want to check back closer to lineup lock if you're playing pitchers this one.

Recommended MLB DFS Starting Pitchers

There aren't a ton of true aces to pick from, which means we may have some volatile GPP options in play.

Core MLB DFS Pitchers

Spencer Schwellenbach, Atlanta Braves

Schwellenbach probably has the most raw talent on tonight's slate. Although the matchup isn't perfect, I think he has the highest ceiling – although his price does reflect that.  Lars Nootbaar and Nolan Gorman strike me as the lone lefty threats in the St. Louis projected lineup against Spencer, who has been lights out against right-handed batters dating back to the beginning of last season. There are four hitters in the STL projected lineup with K rates north of 29% this season vs. RHP. The Cards rank 17th in wRC+ and 20th in ISO vs. RHP this season, which goes hand-in-hand with their current 3.53 implied run total, which is the lowest on the board. Schwelly is good for all formats, and he probably has one of the safer floors. 

Max Meyer, Miami Marlins

There are a few games on this slate that I'll be having both sides of. However, I'll have more of the Meyer side than the Reds, who are coming off a 24-run performance and might be slightly over-owned. I've been a Max Meyer truther since the spring – I believe in his increased velocity and tweaked pitch mix. He's striking out 27% of hitters this season and has been dominating right-handed hitters to the tune of a .105 ISO, 36% whiff rate, 58% ground-ball rate, and a measly 4% barrel rate. That being said, his xERA is more than a full run higher than his ERA, and he's still waking 9% of righties – he has certainly worked himself in and out of trouble. However, there is always a game within a game that we play. It's a small, 6-game slate, and per-dollar, not every pitcher has upside. There aren't a ton of K's in this Cinci lineup, but at just $7,600 on DK, Meyer does not have to be perfect to pay off that price tag. I'd argue he should be north of $8K on this slate. There is risk attached to pretty much every arm tonight, but this is one I'l happily have shares of, especially at his price.

Robbie Ray, San Francisco Giants

If you've been playing MLB DFS for a while, you are well aware of this cat-and-mouse game we play every fifth day when Ray is healthy. The Robbie Ray experience is always a pleasure, and nothing has changed in 2025. He's striking out 25% of hitters (31% of lefties), but he may have the most extreme range of outcomes of any pitcher on the slate. He's walking 16% of hitters, yielding bad ISO and wOBA numbers to both sides of the plate (.267 ISO vs. lefties), coughing up a massive 40% fly-ball rate, and yielding a whopping 18% barrel rate. The good news? He's pitching in the bay area tonight, and we know that home ballpark is pitcher-friendly, especially at night. Milwaukee currently has the second-lowest implied run total, but this is the matchup I'm most split on with how volatile Ray is. Milwaukee ranks 22nd in wRC+ and just 25th in BB% vs. LHP this year, which bodes well for Ray. I'm going to be playing the $5 Knuckleball on DK, and I'm going to have both sides of this one, as Ray's ceiling is probably just as high as anyone's on this slate – but that all depends on what version of the southpaw hurler shows up.

Kevin Gausman, Toronto Blue Jays

It feels weird picking on the Astros, but we're at the point of the season where I'm willing to take some current data into consideration more, especially on a slate where there aren't many clear-cut options. Gausman is only $8K, and he'll square off vs. a HOU team that currently ranks outside the top 20 in wRC+ and has the 10th-worst K% vs. RHP this year. His xERA is a stingy 3.36, and Houston can't hit the ball right now. Gausman is never a safe play at this point of his career, but I'll be invested. He's a really intriguing GPP play.

Nick Lodolo, Cincinnati Reds

Lodolo is coming off the paternity list, and we know our friend James Grande loves a good narrative! That's sarcasm. But for real, it's the Marlins…right? Much like Robbie Ray vs. MIL, I want exposure to both sides of this one. Cinci is a decent favorite, and playing away from the Great American “Smallpark” is a huge bump for him, and he's done a nice job of keeping the ball on the ground. That being said, his K rate is only 15%, and despite the Miami lineup looking pretty terrible on paper, they rank 9th in wRC+ and have the 6th-best K rate vs. southpaws this season (303 plate appearance, third-most in the league). On the flip side, I think there is some serious merit to playing both sides of this one, especially since there is typically no ownership on Miami – and there will be some ownership on Lodolo for sure.

Core MLB DFS Hitters

First of all, there are some really bad pitchers on this slate, who must have been using their super powers to perform well so far in 2025. Who are we eventually expecting regression from? Maybe tonight will be the night.

• Randy Vasquez -> 1.74 ERA, 5.71 xERA
• Erick Fedde -> 3.43 ERA, 4.99 xERA
• Quinn Priester -> 0.90 ERA, 5.39 xERA (two starts)
• Robbie Ray -> 4.09 ERA, 5.19 xERA
   

Riley Greene and the Detroit Tigers

I really like the lefty Greene and the Tigers. Vasquez has been a magician, noted by the huge discrepancy between his ERA and xERA above. He's striking out a …checks notes…whopping 2.3% of left-handed hitters this season. Greene owns a team-leading .215 ISO and .375 wOBS vs. righties dating back to the start of 2024. Vasquez is throwing his cutter the most to lefties in 2025, and Greene has showed big success against that right-handed pitch.

Austin Riley and the Atlanta Braves

The Braves have the highest team total on the board, and Riley is in a great spot to do some damage. Fedde is another pitcher who I'm targeting to get punched in the face sooner than later. He's striking out just 12% of hitters and walking 13% of them so far, which has disaster written all over it. He's throwing nearly 50% of sinkers to righties, and Riley has mashed them dating back to the start of 2024 to the tune of a .250 ISO, .482 wOBA, and 81% (!!) hard-hit rate.

Tyler Fitzgerald and the San Francisco Giants

Despite hitting at home (possible non-9th-inning AB) in a good park for pitching, I think Fitzgerald is a nice value piece. He was so good last year, and after a slow start (and alleged conversations with none other than Barry Bonds), he's turned it back around. Priester is not good at baseball at the MLB level. He flashed next to nothing last season and got very lucky at Coors during his debut and stifled the Brewers in his second-go-around. It's hard to take put stock into anyone's performance vs. Colorado, so I'll take some whacks at the Giants. Fitzgerald had a solid .194 ISO and .388 wOBA vs. RHP last year. Priester struck out just 14% of hitters last season in the bigs, and so far this season, he's yielded a 14% barrel rate. Priester owns a 4.55 SIERA, and his xERA is atrocious, as noted above.

Miami Marlins Leverage Play

I like the Marlins a lot for large-field tournaments. Why? Because Lodolo will carry a decent chunk of ownership, and Miami is the lowest-projected stack. There is nothing comfortable about clicking guys like Eric Wagaman and Otto Lopez, but they've been sneaky-OK, collectively. Jesus Sanchez and Connor Norby are back in the fold now too. I noted above that Miami surprisingly ranks 9th in wRC+, and they have the 6th-best K rate vs. southpaws this season (303 plate appearance, third-most in the league). What if the Marlins break the slate? As humans, we're conditioned to be comfortable with likely outcomes. Although it seems unlikely that Miami can win a slate, they for sure can tonight under these circumstances, and I'm definitely going to have Fish exposure.

San Diego Padres vs. Keider Montero

Montero had just an 18% K rate and was underwhelming in pretty much every other aspect of his game last season across 424 plate appearances. Fernando Tatis and Manny Machado are obvious plays on a small slate, but you also have a chance for some value pieces to exceed expectations against a bad pitcher with low K rate. Injuries to Jackson Merrill and Luis Arraez have opened the door for lower-salaried guys to see time. Gavin Sheets sticks out to me as the top SD value guy. Perhaps this is more of a mini stack and prioritizing the two SD studs. As subpar as Montero is, the bottom of the Padres' lineup is decimated. And if you're feeling a little froggy today, maybe Montero survives, and I may be willing to sprinkle ~5% of him into my builds.

Player Pool

• DraftKings
• FanDuel

$ Tier	SP	DH	C	1B	2B	3B	SS	OF
High	Spencer Schwellenbach $9,800	Marcell Ozuna $3,800		Pete Alonso $4,200	Matt McLain $3,400	Manny Machado $3,800	Elly De La Cruz $4,000	Fernando Tatis $4,300
	Max Meyer $10,100			Vladimir Guerrero $3,000	Brice Turang $3,400	Austin Riley $3,300	Xavier Edwards $3,300	Juan Soto $3,800
	Kevin Gausman $9,300				Ozzie Albies $3,200	Isaac Paredes $3,000	Francisco Lindor $3,200	Jung Hoo Lee $3,700
					Gleyber Torres $3,200
Medium	Nick Lodolo $8,700		Sean Murphy $3,300		Otto Lopez $3,000	Connor Norby $3,000		Mike Yastrzemski $3,200
	Robbie Ray $8,400							Heliot Ramos $3,300
	Aaron Nola $8,200
Low	Keider Montero $7,100		Agustín Ramírez $2,000	Matt Olson $2,900	Tyler Fitzgerald $2,900	Javier Báez $2,400	Willy Adames $2,800	Gavin Sheets $2,700
				Eric Wagaman $2,400			Xander Bogaerts $2,800	Zach McKinstry $2,800
							Trey Sweeney $2,500	Riley Greene $2,900
								Anthony Santander $2,800
								Jesús Sánchez $2,700
								Brandon Nimmo $2,700
								Jake Fraley $2,600
								Alex Verdugo $2,400

Stacks

Braves	Sean Murphy	Ozzie Albies	Austin Riley	Matt Olson	Michael Harris
DraftKings	4600	4900	5000	4800	4400
Fanduel	3300	3200	3300	2900	2700

Tigers	Spencer Torkelson	Kerry Carpenter	Trey Sweeney	Dillon Dingler	Riley Greene
DraftKings	4500	4200	3400	4300	4300
Fanduel	3500	3000	2500	2800	2900

Padres	Lourdes Gurriel	Xander Bogaerts	Manny Machado	Fernando Tatis	Gavin Sheets
DraftKings	-	4000	5200	6000	3400
Fanduel	-	2800	3800	4300	2700

Braves	Sean Murphy	Austin Riley	Marcell Ozuna	Matt Olson
DraftKings	4600	5000	4700	4800
Fanduel	3300	3300	3800	2900

Marlins	Jesús Sánchez	Xavier Edwards	Dane Myers	Eric Wagaman
DraftKings	2900	4500	2700	3100
Fanduel	2700	3300	2400	2400

Giants	Matt Chapman	Heliot Ramos	Tyler Fitzgerald	Jung Hoo Lee
DraftKings	4500	3900	3200	4800
Fanduel	3100	3300	2900	3700

Mets	Juan Soto	Francisco Lindor	Brandon Nimmo	Pete Alonso
DraftKings	5700	5200	4200	5600
Fanduel	3800	3200	2700	4200

Braves	Sean Murphy	Ozzie Albies	Austin Riley	Matt Olson	Michael Harris
DraftKings	4600	4900	5000	4800	4400
Fanduel	3300	3200	3300	2900	2700

Tigers	Spencer Torkelson	Kerry Carpenter	Trey Sweeney	Dillon Dingler	Riley Greene
DraftKings	4500	4200	3400	4300	4300
Fanduel	3500	3000	2500	2800	2900

Padres	Xander Bogaerts	Manny Machado	Fernando Tatis	Yuli Gurriel	Gavin Sheets
DraftKings	4000	5200	6000	2200	3400
Fanduel	2800	3800	4300	2500	2700

Braves	Sean Murphy	Austin Riley	Marcell Ozuna	Matt Olson
DraftKings	4600	5000	4700	4800
Fanduel	3300	3300	3800	2900

Marlins	Jesús Sánchez	Xavier Edwards	Dane Myers	Eric Wagaman
DraftKings	2900	4500	2700	3100
Fanduel	2700	3300	2400	2400

Giants	Matt Chapman	Heliot Ramos	Tyler Fitzgerald	Jung Hoo Lee
DraftKings	4500	3900	3200	4800
Fanduel	3100	3300	2900	3700

Mets	Juan Soto	Francisco Lindor	Brandon Nimmo	Pete Alonso
DraftKings	5700	5200	4200	5600
Fanduel	3800	3200	2700	4200