The weekend is here after our first full week of the baseball season! Despite all 30 teams playing today, the Saturday MLB DFS slate only features six games with a wide range in start time across the league. This main slate will kick off at 7:05 EST, so there is plenty of time to find your perfect picks on both DraftKings and FanDuel. This slate includes another game in Coors Field, and while the first game in Coors disappointed with a one-run game, there were 15 runs scored yesterday, which should continue into today. This slate does not include much good pitching. As much as I would love to tell you all to play Jeffrey Springs again, who is looking to continue his league-leading strikeout rate against Oakland, he is in the early slate today. Don’t worry; there is plenty of great value plays in the main slate to take advantage of. 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. Whether you’ve had a great opening week or are off to a slow start with these tools, you’re sure to put together some winning DFS lineups this season. 

 

MLB Weather Updates

No real weather concerns today as we should get a great day of April baseball.

DFS Lineup Construction Thoughts

Coors Field will undoubtedly get a lot of attention today, with pitchers from the back end of Colorado and Washington’s rotations in Austin Gomber and Trevor Williams facing off today in Denver. Pitching is going to be a challenge today. On Wednesday, I said there were over ten pitchers in the slate I would feel comfortable putting in my lineup, but today is close to the opposite of that, where finding pitching you can trust will be difficult. Lauer’s velocity was down 3-4 mph in his first start, Morton is a notoriously slow starter and didn’t have good stuff in his debut, and Anderson gets a rough matchup against Toronto. Jordon Montgomery is easily my favorite pitcher of the day, but beyond that, the best values I see are Noah Syndergaard and Jhony Brito, who are still risky plays. My favorite stacks of the day are the Colorado Rockies, Washington Nationals, and Los Angeles Dodgers. However, those stacks are likely apparent and have large ownership numbers. So, if you’re looking for less obvious places for bats, the Los Angeles Angels, Atlanta Braves, and Toronto Blue Jays also provide some intriguing options.  

Recommended DFS Starting Pitchers

Top Options for Strikeouts

Best Odds to record a Win

(Per DraftKings Sportsbook)

Favorite Pitchers to use for DFS Lineups

Jordan Montgomery, St. Louis Cardinals

I love this matchup for Montgomery. He mostly just survived his first start against Toronto, where he picked up the win but only five innings with 3 ER, 6 Hits, 1 Walk, and 3 Ks. However, those results aren’t bad for a lefty like Montgomery against a great Blue Jays lineup whose stars are primarily right-handed hitters. Now he gets to face a Milwaukee team that is full of left-handed hitters. Also, many of their right-handed bats (Brian Anderson, Willy Adames, Luke Voit, Owen Miller) are worse against lefties in their career. This matchup will give Montgomery a chance to put up a lot more strikeouts, and with an excellent defense behind him as well, I don’t see Milwaukee being able to do much damage against him. 

Noah Syndergaard, Los Angeles Dodgers

Thor isn’t back to being Thor, and I don’t think he ever will be. That doesn’t mean he can’t be an effective pitcher again, and if anyone is going to turn him into that, the Dodgers are probably the best bet. Syndergaard went six innings with 1 ER, 4 Hits, 0 Walks, and 6 Ks against the Diamondbacks on Monday and faces them again today. His slider and changeup both looked good, and while I don’t think he will keep up a strikeout an inning all season, if all his pitches are working again, he can put up another decent outing against the Diamondbacks with good chances at picking up a win. 

Jhony Brito, New York Yankees

Brito was superb in his MLB debut against the Giants, going five innings with 6 strikeouts while only allowing 2 hits, 1 walk, and 0 ER. That was in New York, and now he gets his second start on the road against Baltimore. While Baltimore’s offense has looked good so far, they still aren’t terrifying, and we must remember that Baltimore is a great place to pitch now since they moved that wall back. In 2021 Camden Yards had the highest statcast HR Park Factor (yes, above Colorado and Cincinnati); in 2022, it was 26th. With a terrible pitcher slate, I am willing to take a chance with the rookie Brito here to put up another good start today. 

Recommended DFS Hitters

Highest Expected Run Totals

Favorite Hitters to use for DFS Lineups

Alejandro Kirk, C Toronto Blue Jays

People will be drawn to the catchers playing in Coors today as cheap options, but I would rather pay the small amount extra for an actual good hitter in Kirk. Kirk hasn’t had any real power at the plate yet this season, but it is only a matter of time before it comes. Tyler Anderson looked pretty good in his first start against the Athletics, but it was the Athletics. I think this Toronto team could put up a lot of runs against him, and Kirk should certainly be a part of that, batting either 5th or 6th in this potent lineup.

Joey Meneses, 1B Washington Nationals

Meneses is off to a painfully slow start, but he gets the perfect thing to turn it around today; a lefty in Coors. Austin Gomber had a 0.928 OPS against right-handed hitters at home last year with a 1.93 HR/9, pair that with Meneses’ career 0.985 OPS against lefties, and we’ve got a recipe for a huge day. Yes, he hasn’t done anything in the short start to the season, but remember, he hit two massive home runs in a game last month for Mexico. I think Meneses’ season gets kick-started today. 

Jordan Walker, OF St. Louis Cardinals

Jordan has been off to a great start, and his price is still too low for his talent. I already highlighted my worries for Eric Lauer, but I would want Walker here even if I weren’t worried about Lauer. At his price, if you are considering stacking Cardinals, including Walker is an excellent option as he gives you the luxury of also spending up for some of the Cardinal’s more expensive bats. 

Lane Thomas, OF Washington Nationals

Remember all that stuff I said about Joey Meneses facing Austin Gomber? All of those same things apply here with another bat that crushes lefties getting to face him in Coors. Unlike Meneses, Thomas has already been hitting well this year and is even cheaper than Meneses. Washington bats are (rightfully) going to be cheap most of the time, but in this good matchup in Coors, don’t overcomplicate it and take advantage of the value it provides. 

 

Player Pool

$ Tier {{pos.alias}}

Stacks

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