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

Welcome to the Fantasy Alarm MLB DFS Playbook for Saturday, April 12th!

We’re diving into the action with a 6-game main slate on DraftKings and 5-game main slate FanDuel, kicking off at 6:40 PM ET on DraftKings and 7:10 ET on FanDuel. 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.

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: Saturday, 4/12

There are no games expected to be impacted by weather on either the 6-game DraftKings slate or 5-game FanDuel slate.

Recommended MLB DFS Starting Pitchers

Saturday's slate appears to be a less than stellar one in terms of pitching options.. 

Corbin Burnes will likely be a popular play as the lone ace on the slate.  We have a handful of pitchers without a long track record at the MLB Level including: Roki Sasaki, Kumar Rocker, Chase Dollander, Ben Brown, Chad Patrick, Kyle Hart and Ryan Gusto.  Andrew Abbott also returns from his IL stint and is expected to have a pitch limit.

Core MLB DFS Pitchers

Corbin Burnes, Arizona Diamondbacks - DraftKings $10,000 | FanDuel $10,000

Burnes enters Saturday’s slate as the lone ace.  I fully expect him to be very popular for that reason.  However, his 5.73 ERA, 1.93 WHIP 7 BB 11 Ks through 9.1 IP in his first 2 starts leave a bit to be desired.  If you wanted to fade Burnes as a leverage play I would understand that as well.  

If you like 'revenge game" narratives, Burnes could fit the bill as he faces his former team in the Milwaukee Brewers.  He has good but limited history against the Brewers hitters and offers solid upside.  

Bryan Woo, Seattle Mariners - DraftKings $9,200 | FanDuel $9,800

Woo is the only pitcher on today’s slate who has pitched at least 6 innings in both of his starts this season.  This gives him a better potential for a quality start (quality starts are additional points on FanDuel).  However, he faces a Texas Rangers lineup who he has had mixed results against in the past.

Andrew Heaney, Pittsburgh Pirates - DraftKings $6,600

Heaney is my favorite value pitcher on Saturday’s slate.  He is coming off an excellent start against a potent Yankees lineup, where he posted 7 IP 1 ER 1 BB 10 Ks.  

He faces a Reds lineup that is hitting .141 against LHPs in 2025.  Heaney also has solid history against the Reds hitters he has faced in the past, other than Jeimer Candelario.  Please note Heaney is only on DraftKings, as the Reds vs Pirates game is not included on the FanDuel Main Slate.

Recommended MLB DFS Hitters

It is a great day for hitters overall!  We have players with good history vs their opposing pitchers and a handful of teams going against unproven pitchers.  Expect big hitter fantasy scores across the board today.

Core MLB DFS Hitters

Yordan Alvarez, Houston Astros - DraftKings $5,700 | FanDuel $3,700

It has been a slow start to the year for Astros DH Yordan Alvarez.  However, he has collected a hit in 5 straight starts.  He has 2 multi hit games and 1 HR during that time.  

The good news is that he is 7 for 19 with 3 HRs against Tyler Anderson, the expected starting pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels.  Alvarez offers high-end upside both on FanDuel and DraftKings.

Jose Altuve, Houston Astros - DraftKings $5,200 | FanDuel $3,700

Another Astros bat who looks like a strong play for Saturday’s slate is Jose Altuve.  He has been crushing the ball as of late.  He enters the game on a 6 game hitting streak.  Altuve has 3 multi hit games and 2 HRs during this stretch.  He also comes with some lineup flexibility, slotting in at either 2B or OF.

Altuve is 9 for 25 with 1 HR against Angels expected starting pitcher Tyler Anderson.  He looks like a core play, whether that is as a one-of play or in a Houston Astros stack!

Ke’Bryan Hayes, Pittsburgh Pirates - DraftKings $3,600

Hayes is one of my favorite values for Saturday’s slate.  He has hit safely in 7 of his last 9 games.  This includes 2 multi hit games and his lone HR on the season.

He has a good history in the past against expected Reds starting pitcher Andrew Abbott.  He is 2 for 5 with 1 HRs vs Abott in his career.  Please note Hayes is only on DraftKings, as the Reds vs Pirates game is not included on the FanDuel Main Slate.

Corey Seager, Texas Rangers - DraftKings $4,800 | FanDuel $3,500

Seager had back to back multi hit games on Tuesday and Wednesday after a slow start to the season.  He homered twice on Wednesday against the Cubs.  If Bryan Woo does not end up as one of your pitchers consider stacking the Rangers against him.  Seager should be one of the first hitters in that stack.

He has done well against Mariners expected starting pitcher Bryan Woo in the past.  He is 3 for 4 with 1 HR against Woo in his career.  Look for another strong performance out of Seager on Saturday!

Brenton Doyle, Colorado - DraftKings $4,200 | FanDuel $3,500

After a breakout 2024 season, Doyle has continued that momentum into 2025.  He enters Saturday on a 7 game hitting streak.  He has 2 multi hit games and 3 HRs during that stretch.  The Rockies gave him Friday night off so look for him to be fresh for today’s game.

The only downside to Doyle is that he has not faced Padres expected starting pitcher Kyle Hart in the past.  However, he has a 1.083 OPS and is hitting .500 against LHPs so far this season.  

Player Pool

• DraftKings
• FanDuel

$ Tier	SP	1B	2B	3B	SS	OF
High	Corbin Burnes $10,000	Freddie Freeman $3,700	Jose Altuve $3,700	Manny Machado $3,700	Mookie Betts $4,200	Shohei Ohtani $4,500
	Bryan Woo $9,800				Corey Seager $3,500	Fernando Tatis $4,200
						Mike Trout $4,100
						Jackson Chourio $3,900
						Yordan Alvarez $3,700
						Corbin Carroll $3,900
Medium	Kumar Rocker $7,500	Josh Naylor $3,200	Tommy Edman $3,200	Josh Jung $2,900	Xander Bogaerts $3,000	Julio Rodríguez $3,500
	Chase Dollander $7,400	Will Smith $3,200	Kyren Paris $3,500	Isaac Paredes $2,900	Geraldo Perdomo $3,000	Brenton Doyle $3,500
		Christian Walker $3,000			Ezequiel Tovar $3,000	Taylor Ward $3,400
		Jonah Heim $3,000				Jorge Soler $3,000
Low	Chad Patrick $6,700	Pavin Smith $2,900	Luis Arraez $2,700	Josh Smith $2,700	Kyle Farmer $2,300	Gavin Sheets $2,700
		Nolan Schanuel $2,800	Marcus Semien $2,900	Cam Smith $2,400		Michael Toglia $2,600
		Hunter Goodman $2,800				Jake Meyers $2,600
		Gabriel Moreno $2,300				Chas McCormick $2,500
						Leody Taveras $2,500
						Alek Thomas $2,500
						Zac Veen $2,200

Stacks

Padres	Xander Bogaerts	Manny Machado	Luis Arraez	Fernando Tatis
DraftKings	4500	5600	3900	6000
Fanduel	3000	3700	2700	4200

Rockies	Brenton Doyle	Michael Toglia	Zac Veen	Ezequiel Tovar	Hunter Goodman
DraftKings	4200	3500	2200	3900	3300
Fanduel	3500	2600	2200	3000	2800

Astros	Chas McCormick	Jose Altuve	Jake Meyers	Christian Walker	Isaac Paredes	Yordan Alvarez	Cam Smith
DraftKings	2700	5200	2400	4200	3800	5700	-
Fanduel	2500	3700	2600	3000	2900	3700	2100

Dodgers	Mookie Betts	Will Smith	Tommy Edman	Freddie Freeman
DraftKings	6100	-	4700	4800
Fanduel	4200	-	3200	3700

Diamondbacks	Alek Thomas	Gabriel Moreno	Corbin Carroll	Geraldo Perdomo	Josh Naylor
DraftKings	3200	3500	5900	4300	4700
Fanduel	2500	2300	3900	3000	3200

Pirates	Enmanuel Valdez	Andrew McCutchen	Bryan Reynolds	Ke'Bryan Hayes
DraftKings	2500	3700	4500	3600
Fanduel	-	-	-	-

Angels	Jorge Soler	Nolan Schanuel	Mike Trout	Kyren Paris	Taylor Ward
DraftKings	4500	3700	5600	3900	4600
Fanduel	3000	2800	4100	3500	3400