MLB DFS Picks, Projections, Lineups & Stacks Today: April 28th, 2026

Published: Apr 28, 2026

Three aces at the top of the pitcher market, all of them worthy. That is tonight in a nutshell. The separation on this slate is not going to come from picking the right arm at the top - it is going to come from what you do underneath. Sacramento opens this game up as a power environment for KC and A's, Zack Littell is on the mound in New York, and there are enough stack options that you can genuinely build in a dozen different directions. Pick your angle and own it. For the most up-to-date MLB DFS projections, lineup optimizer, ownership projections, and daily MLB DFS lineups, visit FantasyAlarm.com.

⚡ THE SLATE DASHBOARD

Slate: DraftKings and FanDuel Main | 7:07 PM ET lock
Weather: NYM/WSH (Citi Field): light showers early, brief late start possible but likely manageable. DET/ATL (Truist Park): starts dry but rain moves in during the game, concern about completing 9 innings. Monitor closely before lock, could affect the DET stack.
Top Strikeout Upside: deGrom (6.9 K) • Soriano (6.0 K) • Ohtani (5.9 K) • Bubic (5.7 K vs ATH) • Tolle (4.7 K)

💎 PITCHING COACH

Top Tier

Shohei Ohtani (LAD | vs MIA | DK $10,500 / FD $10,500)

Analysis: The Marlins have actually been decent against right-handed pitching in 2026, carrying a .335 wOBA and .146 ISO in that split. This is not a walk in the park. But Ohtani does not need a soft matchup. He is 0.38 ERA through four starts with 25 strikeouts in 24 innings. The contact suppression numbers back it up completely. He is going to be moderately owned and he is worth every bit of the roster share.

Jose Soriano (LAA | vs CWS | DK $8,600 / FD $11,300)

Analysis: I genuinely cannot explain why this man is $8,600 on DraftKings. One earned run in 37.2 innings with 43 strikeouts. A 0.24 ERA that is backed by the underlying contact quality. The White Sox have a 25.8% K-rate against right-handed pitching. Everything lines up. The market has just not caught up to what Soriano is doing, and tonight you get to take advantage of that. He might be the best value on the slate.

Jacob deGrom (TEX | vs NYY | DK $9,000 / FD $10,200)

Analysis: The matchup is tough. The Yankees are a real lineup and nobody is pretending otherwise. But deGrom leads the slate in K projection and has 35 strikeouts in 25.1 innings. He has allowed four earned runs over his last 20.2 innings. That is what deGrom being deGrom looks like. The case against him tonight is just the matchup and the fact that Soriano at $8,600 is sitting right next to him performing at a similar level. Build deGrom where the salary fits and understand the matchup risk going in.

Value Plays

Payton Tolle (BOS | vs TOR | DK $8,100 / FD $9,800 (LHP))

Analysis: Eleven strikeouts in his debut start. Just let that number sit there for a second. Now add this: Ranger Suarez threw eight shutout innings with ten strikeouts against this same Toronto lineup last night. Tolle is a LHP, and the TOR lineup is loaded right-handed: Clement, Guerrero Jr., Okamoto, Jimenez, and Schneider all bat right-handed. The Jays carry a .310 wOBA and .140 ISO against left-handed pitching. Back-to-back tough nights against Boston arms with a lineup built to struggle against a lefty. This spot is better than the market is pricing it.

Davis Martin (CWS | vs LAA | DK $7,300 / FD $9,600)

Analysis: Four earned runs in 26.1 innings. He is not doing it with strikeouts - Martin keeps the ball on the ground and generates soft contact with his breaking stuff rather than blowing hitters away. The Angels have a 25.8% K-rate against right-handed pitching and that profile actually plays well for a pitcher like Martin who makes hitters put the ball on the ground. Extremely low owned. Use him to free up salary for the bats you actually want.

💎 HITTING COACH

Elite Bats

Bobby Witt (SS, KC | DK $6,200 / FD $3,200)

Analysis: Witt is off the schneid. First homer of the season last night, and now he gets to play at Sutter Health Park against Civale. His .501 wOBA and .333 ISO against right-handed pitching are two of the best numbers at that split on the entire slate. Civale has been serviceable but the park changes the conversation. Witt is the most rostered position player tonight and the ownership is completely justified by the production.

Juan Soto (OF, NYM | DK $5,700 / FD $3,600)

Analysis: Littell has a 7.56 ERA and .430 wOBA allowed in 2026. He is getting hit by everyone and his struggles against left-handed hitters make the entire NYM left-handed core interesting. The Mets are not popular tonight which means Soto is being grabbed as an individual one-off rather than a stack piece. That is leaving real money on the table in the form of Bichette and Melendez. Either way, Soto against Littell is the spot.

Nick Kurtz (1B, ATH | DK $5,300 / FD $3,300)

Analysis: No platoon advantage here with Bubic on the mound. Not worried about it. Kurtz is hitting .333 with four home runs over his last ten games and Sutter Health Park in Sacramento is a power environment. Bubic is not a soft matchup - 4.08 ERA and he misses bats - but a hitter this hot in a park this favorable gets a pass on the handedness split. The recent form and the environment override the matchup concern.

Value Bats

Carter Jensen (C, KC | DK $4,100 / FD $2,900): Leads the KC team in home runs and gets to play in Sutter Health Park tonight. His .417 wOBA and .333 ISO against right-handed pitching are excellent numbers at this price. If Witt is your top-end piece in the KC stack, Jensen is the low-cost power complement that completes it.

Michael Busch (1B, CHC | DK $3,500 / FD $2,700): Buehler has a 5.75 ERA and .349 wOBA allowed in 2026. Busch provides the power upside in this CHC stack at salary that does not move the needle. When the matchup is exploitable and the price is right, you add him and move on.

MJ Melendez (OF, NYM | DK $2,500 / FD $2,700): If you are using Soto tonight this is basically mandatory. Melendez bats cleanup for the Mets and gets the same Littell matchup at minimum salary. Littell's left-handed hitter struggles in 2026 make the entire NYM lineup interesting. Melendez at $2,500 gives you a second at-bat in that environment for almost nothing.

🏗️ THE STACKING BLUEPRINT

Primary Stack: Kansas City Royals | Targets: Witt, Jensen, Caglianone, Garcia, Pasquantino, Isbel | Opponent: ATH / Aaron Civale (RHP) | KC implied

Why: Sutter Health Park plays to power, Witt is locked in, Jensen leads the KC team in home runs, and Civale has been workable rather than dominant at a 3.86 ERA. The matchup is fine, the park is the real argument. Witt comes in off his first homer, the entire lineup has power throughout, and in a favorable environment this stack has one of the highest ceilings on the slate. The most popular stack tonight for good reason.

Primary Stack: Detroit Tigers | Targets: McGonigle, Greene, Torkelson, Dingler, Jones, Torres | Opponent: ATL / Martin Perez (LHP) | DET implied

Why: Perez has a 2.70 ERA and is pitching well, so this is not a matchup-exploitation stack. He is a southpaw, which means the right-handed DET bats have the platoon advantage. Torkelson (.395 wOBA vs LHP), Jones (.375 wOBA vs LHP), Dingler, Torres, and Vierling are all right-handed and targeting Perez directly. McGonigle and Greene are the left-handed exceptions but both have elite underlying production. Weather at Truist Park is a concern - monitor for potential delays or game length issues before lock..

Primary Stack: New York Mets | Targets: Soto, Melendez, Bichette, Alvarez, Baty, Semien | Opponent: WSH / Zack Littell (RHP) | NYM implied

Why: Littell has a 7.56 ERA in 2026. He is just getting hit. The left-handed core of Soto, Bichette, and Melendez are all targeting the same vulnerability. The full lineup draws almost no roster share outside of Soto. You are getting exposure to the most hittable pitcher on the board at extremely low ownership.

Contrarian Stack: Athletics | Targets: Langeliers, Kurtz, Rooker, Wilson, Soderstrom, Gelof | Opponent: KC / Kris Bubic (LHP) | ATH implied

Why: Bubic misses bats and has a 4.08 ERA, so this is not a free swing. But Sutter Health Park is the environment for this game and Kurtz has four home runs in his last ten. The ATH right-handed core gets a platoon advantage against Bubic. The park does some of the work here when the matchup alone would not fully justify it.

Primary Stack: Milwaukee Brewers | Targets: Mitchell, Contreras, Turang, Black, Bauers, Lockridge, Frelick | Opponent: ARI / Merrill Kelly (RHP) | MIL implied

Why: Kelly has a 9.31 ERA. That is not a typo. The Brewers lineup hits .313 wOBA against right-handed pitching as a team and Turang is one of the better individual bats on the slate with a .428 wOBA and .277 ISO in that split. This should be drawing more attention than it is. MIL vs Kelly is a primary stack candidate that is being treated like a contrarian play.

Contrarian Stack: Chicago Cubs | Targets: Hoerner, Busch, Bregman, Happ, Suzuki, Swanson | Opponent: SD / Walker Buehler (RHP) | CHC implied

Why: Buehler has a 5.75 ERA and the Cubs hit .335 wOBA with .158 ISO against right-handed pitching. Happ is at .373 wOBA in that split, Hoerner gets on base constantly, and Busch provides the power at the bottom. If you are fading KC and NYM tonight, this is where your stack lives.

📈 THE LEVERAGE REPORT (GAME THEORY)

The "Chalk" (Popular)	The "Pivot" (Low Owned)	The Winning Logic
Ohtani and deGrom (chalk arms, both highly owned)	Jose Soriano (comparable production, significantly cheaper on DK)	Ohtani and deGrom are both legitimate. Soriano has one earned run in 37.2 innings at $8,600 DK while those two sit at $10,500 and $9,000. The performance has been equal or better, the price is lower, and the ownership should be lower. If you are looking for the SP play that wins tournaments tonight, Soriano is the separator.
Bobby Witt (highest rostered position player on the slate)	Carter Jensen (KC, same game, same park, much lower owned)	Witt is the right play. Jensen is the same game, same park, and has a .417 wOBA and .333 ISO against right-handed pitching at a fraction of the salary and roster share. Pairing Witt and Jensen together gives you the 1-2 power combination in the KC stack without doubling the chalk at the salary level.
Soto as one-off individual play (NYM, moderately owned)	Full NYM stack vs Littell (very low owned, Soto and Melendez anchor the LHH core)	The field will play Soto individually and leave the rest of the Mets alone. Littell's 7.56 ERA applies to everyone in the order. Melendez at minimum salary gives you a second at-bat in that matchup for almost nothing. Building the full NYM stack is still the right tournament play.