Welcome to the Fantasy Alarm MLB DFS Playbook for Thursday, April 4th!

We’re diving into the action with a 10-game main slate on DraftKings and a split slate on FanDuel, kicking off at 1:00 PM 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.

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 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: Thursday, 4/3

Colorado Rockies vs Philadelphia Phillies

  • It's wet in the Northeast today which means the games played in Philadelphia and Baltimore could both see some rain throughout the day. For this matchup specifically the rain may come in the later innings if it comes at all. It's warm and the winds are blowing out.

Boston Red Sox vs Baltimore Orioles

  • The 10-hour forecast doesn't show any rain until later in the day but it's going to be overcast and cloudy all day so the chances for a pop-up storm are certainly possible.

 

 

 

Recommended MLB DFS Starting Pitchers

Here's the deal. We have just three games on the main slate and two of those games have 9.5 run totals with some really poor pitching choices.

This is one of the rare occasions where starting two pitchers in the same game makes sense on DraftKings with Joe Ryan and Hunter Brown potentially being the only two pitchers to score more than 10 fantasy points today.

Core MLB DFS Pitchers

Hunter Brown, Houston Astros

If on FanDuel where you need to pick just one pitcher the choice for me today is Hunter Brown.

The Twins lineup has a lot of swing and miss up and down the lineup and while they also boast some power, I'd bank on Brown being the one to shut this lineup down here today. 

He's my top overall SP.

Joe Ryan, Minnesota Twins

Opposite of Brown in that matchup is Joe Ryan. Yes, the Astros are a tough out, but from a talent stand point, Ryan is the second best SP on the slate. If on DraftKings, I'd be fine using both SPs in this matchup for my lineup builds this afternoon.

Tanner Houck, Boston Red Sox

Houck was actually holding his own against the Rangers in his opening start of the season but Alex Cora sent him out for the sixth inning and things unraveled from there.

The Orioles obviously have a tough lineup and they could even be getting Gunnar Henderson back today but the Red Sox are a SLIGHT favorite so maybe Houck lasts long enough to get some win points on this short slate.

 

 

 

Recommended MLB DFS Hitters

This is where the fun begins.

We have two games with totals set at 9.5 with the Rockies vs Phillies and Red Sox vs Orioles.

The Rockies vs Phillies matchup is really the one to target with Antonio Senzatela on the mound for Colorado and Taijuan Walker on the mound for the Phillies.

Figuring out the correct stack combination will be the key to cashing as ownership is going to be very heavy, especially on the Phillies today.

Core MLB DFS Hitters

Hunter Goodman, Colorado Rockies

Let us just get this out of the way, shall we? Goodman is hitting cleanup today for the Rockies as their DH. He raked during the spring and won the starting catching job from Jacob Stallings. He has continued to hit as the regular season has kicked off which includes him homering in back-to-back days off Phillies pitching.

He's going to be VERY popular today but also a plug and play, especially on DraftKings where you need to roster a catcher.

Kristian Campbell, Boston Red Sox

Fresh off netting himself $60M with a contract extension, Campbell doubled twice yesterday and scored a run as part of the Red Sox win over the Orioles.

He has some tremendous power potential and though we haven't seen the stolen base upside yet, he did swipe 20 bags last year across the minors.

He's cheap, and popular today because of it.

All of the Philadelphia Phillies

They are very chalky today against Senzatela with the Phillies team total sitting at 5.5 runs today in a game with 8.5 run total.

Senzatela was smacked around by the Rays in his opening start but managed to escape and damage with two Rays runners being thrown out at home and he benefited from getting some double plays.

He still allowed nine hits in just 4.1 innings in that game and one a smaller slate, all you might need is a few guys to get some hits for you to hit the pay lines. 

Jordan Westburg, Baltimore Orioles

As we sit right now,  Westburg is the highest projected rostered player on DraftKings today. The field is more interested in stacking against Tanner Houck with the likes of Westburg and Cedric Mullins getting some ownership love here this afternoon.

Houck did not look good during the spring and though he had a good initial start against the Rangers he did eventually fall apart.

If you think that happens again, then the O's could be your ticket to the cash line today.

 

Player Pool

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Stacks

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