Thursday's MLB DFS main slate consists of only 5 games on both DraftKings and FanDuel, with today being a travel day for many teams. Today is arguably the toughest pitching selection of a main slate so far this season. Today’s biggest highlight is the season debut for Fernando Tatis Jr. as the San Diego Padres take on Ryne Nelson and the Arizona Diamondbacks. 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 Playbook April 20

MLB Weather Updates

Only one game with weather concerns, but everywhere else looks good.

Los Angeles Dodgers vs Chicago Cubs

  • The Wind is blowing in at Wrigley Field from right field at about 15-20 MPH and there are also threats of thunderstorms later today. Would consider avoiding the game, but that is extra difficult with a small game slate. 

DFS Lineup Construction Thoughts

Today’s pitching lineup is rough. Paying ace prices for guys like Kodai Senga and Sean Manaea is not something you normally do, but they are your best pitching options of the day. On DraftKings, Fernando Tatis Jr. is the minimum $2,000 making him a must-play today (even if he has 100% ownership, I am still taking Tatis for $2,000). If you do choose to completely avoid Chicago and Los Angeles with the weather concerns in Chicago and then do not take hitters from your pitcher’s teams, you are left with not many teams to choose from. However, there are some great hitter and pitcher values today that leaves a lot of flexibility to pay up for pitching or other positions. My favorite place to pay up today when you have extra money to spend is with the Philadelphia Phillies, with J.T. Realmuto, Kyle Schwarber, Alec Bohm, and Nick Castellanos all good options on the higher end of price.

Recommended DFS Starting Pitchers

Top Options for Strikeouts

Kodai Senga vs San Francisco Giants

Sean Manaea vs New York Mets

Ryne Nelson vs San Diego Padres

Roansy Contreras vs Cincinnati Reds

Best Odds for a Win

Matt Strahm vs Colorado Rockies

Roansy Contreras vs Cincinnati Reds

Kodai Senga vs San Francisco Giants

Michael Wacha vs Arizona Diamondbacks

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Favorite Starters to Use for DFS Lineups

Kodai Senga, New York Mets

While I am not normally going to consider playing Kodai Senga at this price, he is easily the best pitcher on the slate. With some great hitting values on the slate, I am willing to pay up for Senga today as I see the separation between him and the rest of today’s pitchers to be pretty wide. There is always a blow-up potential for someone who relies on a splitter as much as Senga, but if the splitter is working for him today, he could tear up this San Francisco Giants team that leads the league in K% striking out 27.7% of the time. 

Roansy Contreras, Pittsburgh Pirates

After Senga, you are trying to find a needle in a haystack. While I would consider going with Sean Manaea, Michael Wacha, or Jameson Taillon after Senga. I see Roansy Contreras as about equal to them all today, but you get him considerably cheaper. The Cincinnati Reds also strikes out a lot, with the 4th highest strikeout rate in the majors, and when they aren’t playing at home, they can be attacked. Roansy has a great slider, but his fastball has been terrible this year. If he can have his fastball just be okay, he will be able to shut down this Reds team.

Recommended DFS Hitters

Highest Expected Run Totals 

Los Angeles Dodgers vs Jameson Taillon

San Diego Padres vs Ryne Nelson

Philadelphia Phillies vs Ryan Feltner

Pittsburgh Pirates vs Luke Weaver

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Favorite Hitters to Use for DFS Lineups

Pavin Smith, Arizona Diamondbacks

I highlighted Pavin Smith yesterday as a value play and he had his second straight game with a home run. I am running back him today with him still a very cheap first base play with a decent matchup against Michael Wacha. The hot bat will end eventually for Smith, but I am willing to ride it out until it does, with his price so low. 

Bryson Stott, Philadelphia Phillies

Bryson Stott is the second player I am highlighting for a second straight day, but I am not going to avoid a player just because I wrote them up the day before. Stott continues to be underpriced. The Philadelphia Phillies are my favorite offense of the day against Ryan Feltner and the Colorado Rockies. Stott is leading off for Philly and he has proven that he is going to continue to hit, so especially in good matchups, I will be plugging him into my lineups every day until he gets priced appropriately. 

Fernando Tatis Jr., San Diego Padres

Fernando Tatis Jr. is making his first appearance in the majors since October 2021. Tatis is a superstar. He hit 6 homeruns in his last 3 games in the minors. He is healthy and ready to go and will likely be the most expensive SS on most days going forward. Today on DraftKings, you can roster him for $2,000. If you want to pay up for him on FanDuel, where he is the most expensive SS, you still can, but on DraftKings, there is no reason for Tatis not to be in your lineup for likely the only day he will be $2,000.  

Corbin Carroll, Arizona Diamondbacks

Taking another Diamondback hitter against Michael Wacha. Wacha gave up 7 earned runs off of 7 hits including 2 home runs, in his last start against the Milwaukee Brewers after his great start against the Braves the outing before. I am going to guess we get more of the Wacha that faced the Brewers and not the one that faced the Braves. I am right Corbin Carroll will be at the heart of the scoring for the Diamondbacks. He will likely stay in the 3 hole today in the lineup, and coming off a game with two doubles and a stolen base, I think Carroll can keep that momentum up today. 

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