Happy Thursday, April 16th. We have an early 6-game MLB DFS slate on DraftKings and FanDuel starting at 12:35 pm ET.

We have a small slate with a lot of teams getting the day off and you will need to get those lineups in quick with the early start time. We still have plenty of great options to choose from all across the slate. 

For updated MLB DFS projections, lineup generator, and ownership projections, visit FantasyAlarm.com.

⚡ THE SLATE DASHBOARD

💎 PITCHING COACH

Top Tier

Max Fried (NYY) | vs LAA

Max Fried gave up 3 earned runs in each of his last two outings against not great lineups, but still both quality starts. What I love is that he has pitched into the 7^th in all 4 starts so far this season and threw 8 innings in his last outing. He has plenty of strikeout upside against the Angels and easily has the highest floor of anyone on today’s slate. 

Chase Burns (CIN) | vs SF

Max Fried might have the highest floor, but Chase Burns probably has the biggest upside. Burns has insane strikeout stuff, but we also just saw him get beat up a bit by the Angels in the last outing walking 4 batters and giving up 2 homers. The question is can he bounce back to what he looked like in his first two outings today against the Giants? I think the upside is worth the risk. 

Kris Bubic (KC) | vs DET

The last outing for Bubic was elite. 7 innings of 2 hit ball with 11 strikeouts coming off another game where he struck out 8. He has similar risk to Burns with walks and homers sometimes hurting him, but the stuff is legit and he has similar strikeout upside to Burns. 

Value Plays

Steven Matz (TB) | vs CWS

Steven Matz has looked great to start the year. The first outing wasn’t anything special but wasn’t bad either. The next two starts he struck out 15 batters in 11 innings and only gave up 3 runs off 4 hits. The White Sox are betting .188 with a 28.7% strikeout rate against lefties so I think Matz can keep things rolling in this matchup. 

Anthony Kay (CWS) | vs TB

Anthony Kay had a game with no strikeouts against the Blue Jays but then managed to pile up 6 strikeouts in his next outing against the Royals. I think the upside is a little lower for Kay than some other arms today because we haven’t seen him make it through 6 innings yet this season and I don’t know how high the strikeout upside is, but at this price I think he can still return decent value facing the Rays. 

Foster Griffin (WAS) | vs PIT

So far, Foster Griffin has had to face the Phillies, the Dodgers, and the Brewers, and he has thrown 15.1 innings with a 1.76 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. Considering how well he survived those stacked lineups (and managed 5 strikeouts against the Phillies, and 6 against the Dodgers) I am excited to see what he can do against the Pirates who are a much improved lineup this year but still nowhere near the level of those other three. 

💎 HITTING COACH

Elite Bats

Sal Stewart (1B, CIN) | vs SF 

Sal Stewart has looked like the real deal so far this season. I like Cincinnati at home against Roupp today and at his price Sal Stewart is easily one of my favorite plays of the day and I think he can continue to do damage in this matchup. 

Junior Caminero (3B, TB) | vs CWS

Junior Caminero is a stud and has proven that he is going to continue to crush the ball this season. While I do think Kay could be decent against the Rays today that is because I think he can shut down the rest of the lineup today but not Caminero. 

Elly De La Cruz (SS, CIN) | vs SF

Elly already has 5 homers and 5 steals to start the season. He just provides so much fantasy juice and in a day where I like the Reds it is hard not to have him in the lineup. 

Aaron Judge (OF, NYY) | vs LAA

Aaron Judge and Mike Trout have already been putting on a bit of a show in this matchup. While I would love for both of them to keep it up I have a lot more faith that Judge will be the one to continue to crush the ball in this matchup today. 

Value Bats (Salary Savers)

• Gary Sanchez (C/1B, MIL): Gary Sanchez continues to provide some cheap power and gets to face Patrick Corbin today. 
• Matt McLain (2B, CIN): McLain has shown signs of being able to bounce back from his sophomore (kind of?) slump.    
• Joey Ortiz (3B, MIL):  Another righty going against Patrick Corbin. 
• Giancarlo Stanton (OF, NYY): Stanton is starting the season strong and is at least healthy for now so might as well play him. 

🏗️ THE STACKING BLUEPRINT

Primary Stack: New York Yankees

Targets: Judge, Rice, Bellinger, Stanton

Opponent: Los Angeles Angels | NYY 5.0 implied

In what will pretty much be a bullpen day for the Angels, I trust the Yankees to stack some runs. The Angels do not have a lot of pitching depth, and I expect the Yankees to make them pay for that fact in the last game of the series today. 

Primary Stack: Milwaukee Brewers

Targets: Contreras, Sanchez, Turang, Ortiz, Rengifo

Opponent: Toronto Blue Jays | MIL 4.5 implied 

I am not sure if I have to explain much more other than Patrick Corbin is on the mound. The Brewers should put up a lot of runs against the lefty, and I really think you can choose almost any Brewers you want in this matchup and potentially stack up some points. 

Contrarian Stack: Cincinnati Reds

Targets: De La Cruz, Stewart, McLain, Suarez, Stephenson

Opponent: San Francisco Giants | CIN 4.1 implied 

I think the Reds might be a little overlooked today with Roupp looking pretty good to start the season, but I am worried about him pitching in Cincinnati. Roupp hasn’t given up a homer yet this season, and while he will always be a guy that limits homers fairly well, I think that comes to an end today. 

📈 THE LEVERAGE REPORT (GAME THEORY)

🎯 HEART OF THE ORDER

The core pieces for every lineup you build today. Ownership drives the cash versus GPP label.

Player Pool

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Stacks

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