DFS Lineup Construction Thoughts

Which is more shocking, that the Rays are 11-0 or that they lead the league in home runs? Let me be clear; they don’t just lead the league in home runs; they just tied a record for the most home runs ever through 11 games. Our focus today, though, is not on the Rays as they look to continue their historic streak this evening, as we turn our attention to the next installment of daytime baseball! Welcome to the MLB DFS Playbook for April 12! The DraftKings and FanDuel slates differ quite a bit here, with DraftKings having an eight-game main slate of day games with FanDuel having a full slate of games. While the main article will focus on the players available on both slates, check out the cheat sheet for plays only available on the full-day FanDuel slate. Be sure to check in with our MLB DFS Tools, with the daily MLB projections, MLB DFS Ownership projections, and our MLB DFS Lineup Generator. Make sure to take advantage of all these tools when building today’s DFS lineups on DraftKings and FanDuel.

MLB DFS Playbook: April 12

MLB Weather Updates

Games with wind (over 15 mph) blowing out:

It is Sunny and 70s at most parks, so should be a great day for baseball.

DFS Lineup Construction Thoughts

Zack Wheeler is the clear ace in the DraftKings eight-game day slate, and he is facing the Marlins, but there are some other intriguing arms in the mid-range as well. We have another starter making his MLB debut today, with Peyton Battenfield taking the mound for the Cleveland Guardians against the New York Yankees. We get Coors again for today’s slate, with Jose Urena of the Colorado Rockies set to face Jake Flaherty and the St. Louis Cardinals at a mile high. My favorite stacks of the day are the Yankees, Cardinals, and Angels. The FanDuel slate includes more options, with Blue Jays and Rangers also providing some great possible hitter stacks.

Recommended DFS Starting Pitchers

Top Options for Strikeouts

Best Odds for a Win

Bullpens Most Likely to Blow Your Starters’ Win & Boost Your Stacks

Favorite Starters to Use for DFS Lineups

Zack Wheeler, Philadelphia Phillies

Wheeler is an ace, and his current ERA does not reflect how he has pitched so far this year. His stuff has still been great, and he has been getting strikeouts despite the overall results not being there yet. He has been giving up too many walks, but I think the control improves as the season progresses. With a good matchup against Miami, I don’t think there is any real reason to overcomplicate this. In DraftKings, even as the top pitcher of the day, he feels like a must-play today in this matchup. In FanDuel, you get him at a more significant discount, and while there are some other ace options in the full slate, I still love the Wheeler play there.  

Logan Gilbert, Seattle Mariners

I love both sides of the Mariners v Cubs matchup today. Gilbert has not been as great as Stroman to start the season, but I still think he is the better pitcher of the two by quite a bit. Gilbert only went four innings in his last start but still stacked up six strikeouts despite not having his best stuff. He hung a lot of breaking pitches and threw a lot of far too hittable fastballs. The fact that he still got six strikeouts means that if his stuff is better today, he could tear up this Cubs offense.

Marcus Stroman, Chicago Cubs

Seattle’s offense has been less impressive than Chicago’s so far this year. On top of that, Stroman has been amazing so far. In 12 innings he has 14 strikeouts with only five hits and six walks and has yet to give up a run this season. That was against the Brewers and Rangers, who both have solid offenses. While I think the Mariner’s offense will be better than it has been so far, I don’t think that starts today, and Stroman will keep his excellence rolling.  

Sonny Gray, Minnesota Twins

Sonny Gray tore up the Astros in his last start, yes, the Astros! He went 7.0 IP with 1 ER, 4 hits, 1 BB, and 13 Ks. If he keeps up the same level of stuff against a White Sox team that strikes out a ton he should be in for a great day. Now I'm not predicting he gets to 13 strikeouts again, but it is certainly in the cards. He had his fastball, slider, and curveball all working for him, which we haven't seen in a long time. If he continues to have feel for all of his pitches as he did against Houston, Sonny Gray will be the play of the day. 

Recommended DFS Hitters

Highest Expected Run Totals 

Favorite Hitters to Use for DFS Lineups

Logan O'Hoppe, C Los Angeles Angels

Logan O’Hoppe is serving as the Angel’s primary catcher and has looked great so far. He has already hit four home runs this year, only one short of being tied for the league lead. MacKenzie Gore has looked legit so far this year and is coming off a quality start in Coors. While I buy Gore’s long-term talent, I still don’t trust him and think he is a lefty that can be taken advantage of by this Angels offense, especially the lefty killers. While it is a tiny sample size of only 14 at-bats, O’Hoppe has a 1.286 OPS against lefties and only one strikeout. While O’Hoppe’s price is climbing with him off to a hot start, I still think there is plenty of value to take here and hope O’Hoppe’s home run tear continues if he gets the start against Gore.

Anthony Rizzo, 1B New York Yankees

Anthony Rizzo is batting third in the Yankee’s lineup against a right-handed pitcher making his MLB debut; sign me up. While Yankees usually seem to get a bit of a salary bump just for being Yankees, I think Rizzo’s price is too low here. Rizzo is hitting great so far this season. His fantasy numbers have been slightly reduced, with only one homerun and low run and RBI numbers. That is primarily lousy luck, as his excellent hitting will undoubtedly turn into more fantasy value if it continues. 

Nolan Gorman, 3B St. Louis Cardinals

Cardinal’s hitters are not cheap, with Willson Contreras, Paul Goldschmidt, Brendan Donovan, and Nolan Arenado all the second most expensive players at C, 1B, 2B, and 3B, respectively. While I am willing to pay for all of those players who can easily return their value in Coors, Gorman is a cheaper option to get a piece of Coors field to stack with some of the more expensive Cardinals hitters. Oh, and I should probably mention that Gorman has a 1.109 OPS against righties this year (granted, saying against righties might not be necessary as he only has one at-bat against a lefty). 

Giancarlo Stanton, OF New York Yankees

Coming off a day of rest yesterday, Stanton will come back into the cleanup spot in what I have already highlighted as what should be a good matchup for the Yankees. Stanton still has as much power in his bat as anyone, and he has been locked in at the plate this season. He has only struck out five times so far this year. If he can keep up a lower strikeout rate with his power he is going to have a lot of extra-base hits and stack up the RBIs in this lineup. Healthy has been the biggest struggle for Stanton, but when he is healthy, he crushes the ball and I see him attacking the rookie Peyton Battenfield today.

Hunter Renfroe, OF Los Angeles Angels

Another Angel I am targeting against Gore. While Ohtani, Judge, and Ward are all great OF options in this matchup as well, Renfroe is easily the best value of the bunch. He is the cheapest of the bunch, and he demolishes lefties. Renfroe is batting in the heart of this lineup in the 4 or 5 holes daily and is an absolute slugger. He had hit a home run three days in a row before yesterday’s 0-for-4 against Washington. Against Gore, he is one of my favorite home run picks of the day, not hitting in Coors, and I could see him stacking up the runs and RBIs along with it if Gore struggles against the Angels like I think he will. 

MLB DFS Podcast April 12th

 

Player Pool

$ Tier {{pos.alias}}

Stacks

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