We are now a few days into the MLB regular season and we are starting to gather a bit more data for MLB DFS. Our fantastic MLB DFS tools are always worth going through before setting your lineups. However, our new Playbook will be a one-stop shop that includes everything from easy-to-read player write-ups and suggestions to MLB Weather Reports to lineup construction tips to our best value plays for DraftKings and FanDuel. You will be given core plays around which to build your lineups, DFS stacks to consider for GPP tournaments and key statistics to help you in your DFS research. Let’s dive in!
MLB DFS Playbook April 3
MLB Weather Updates
No rain concerns. The only game (Orioles vs. Rangers) with potential rain has a retractable roof.
Games that appear to have a decent wind blowing out:
Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Boston Red Sox (blowing out to LCF)
Cleveland Guardians vs. Oakland A’s (blowing out RF)
Games that appear to have a decent wind blowing in:
Toronto Blue Jays vs. Kansas City Royals (blowing straight in)
Arizona Diamondbacks vs. San Diego Padres (blowing in towards first base)
Colorado Rockies vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (blowing in towards first base)
DFS Lineup Construction Thoughts
We are still very early on into the season, so there’s not as much data as there will be a week or two from now, but we can still make picks based off what we do know. We have a nice sized 11-game slate on tap today with some of the early games being excluded. There are many interesting pitchers to consider, but no clear-cut elite guys with good matchups. The Dodgers and Red Sox stand out as two of the top stacking options for me, but there are many intriguing options for tonight’s action.
Recommended DFS Starting Pitchers
Top Options for Strikeouts
Nestor Cortes vs. Philadelphia Phillies
Reid Detmers vs. Seattle Mariners
George Kirby vs. Los Angeles Angels
Hunter Brown vs. Detroit Tigers
Best Odds for a Win
Michael Grove vs. Colorado Rockies (-236)
Hunter Brown vs. Detroit Tigers (-228)
Drew Rasmussen vs. Washington Nationals (-176)
Kutter Crawford vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (-171)
Nestor Cortes vs. Philadelphia Phillies (-169)
Favorite Starters to Use for DFS Lineups
Nestor Cortes, New York Yankees
The Phillies are a bit of a scary matchup, but I am willing to take a shot on the upside of Cortes. He was incredible last year with a 2.44 ERA and 163 strikeouts across 158.1 innings of work with a 12-4 record. He was dynamite at home, pitching to a 1.95 ERA and 0.82 WHIP. He also is one of the heaviest favorites on the slate, so a win is well within sight at well.
Reid Detmers, Los Angeles Angels
Detmers had a semi-breakout season last year, pitching to a 3.77 ERA across 25 starts (129 innings) and he looked even better in Spring Training. I think we see another step forward from Detmers this season and it starts today. The Mariners offense isn’t too shabby, but it’s not elite either. He does have a tough matchup against Kirby, so a win could be tough, but I like the upside and pricing.
Brown has the best matchup on tap as he faces a lackluster Tigers lineup for his season debut. He was very strong in AAA last year with a 2.55 ERA and 134 Ks across 106 innings. He looked fantastic in a brief stint in the Majors too, going 2-0 with a 0.89 ERA across 20.1 innings with 22 strikeouts. The Tigers only managed to score 0, 2, and 1 run in their three games against the Rays to start the year and the Astros are the 2nd biggest favorites on the slate.
Recommended DFS Hitters
Highest Expected Run Totals
5.22 – Boston Red Sox vs. Johan Oviedo
5.03 – Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Ryan Feltner
4.77 – Houston Astros vs. Matthew Boyd
4.70 – Texas Rangers vs. Kyle Bradish
Favorite Hitters to Use for DFS Lineups
Will Smith, C, Los Angeles Dodgers
Smith has kicked off the season in a great way, going 5-11 (.455) with a home run and five RBI in the Dodgers opening series against the Dbacks. Today, he faces a pitcher who has a career ERA of 6.16 through his first 103.2 innings in the big leagues. He easily has the best matchup of the top-priced catchers.
Christian Walker, 1B, Arizona Diamondbacks
I always love the pricing on Walker in the right matchups because he’s pretty cheap and has plenty of upside. He is off to a 6-14 (.429) start with a home run. He slashed .261/.352/.493 against lefties last season, compared to .236/.319/.472 against righties. He was also far better on the road last season, slashing .256/.334/.522, compared to .227/.319/.430 at home. Righties have a .869 OPS against Weathers in his career so far, compared to .770 for lefties.
Andres Gimenez, 2B, Cleveland Guardians
Gimenez has picked right back up from where he left off last year as he is off to a 4-14 (.286) start with a home run, a stolen base, and five runs scored. I still don’t understand why he hits so low in the Guardians lineup, but I digress. Lefties have slashed .252/.330/.454 against Kaprielian in his career, compared to the .220/.295/.396 line that righties have produced.
Wander Franco, SS, Tampa Bay Rays
Franco has come out of the gates scorching hot, going 7-11 (.636) with three doubles, a home run, four RBI, three runs, and a stolen base through three games of action. He has a pretty reasonable price tag (7th at SS on DK) and he has a favorable matchup today against Williams. He has also been slightly better on the road in his career with an .807 OPS, compared to .785 at home.
Anthony Volpe, SS, New York Yankees
I didn’t really want to provide another SS (Can play both on a lot of sites, but not on DK), but I like Volpe as a cheap alternative to Franco. Volpe already has three steals and while he hasn’t hit a home run yet, he does have the pop to do that. He faces Walker, who really struggled in Spring Training and base runners have been successful stealing against him in his career with a caught rate 7% worse than league average.
Michael Harris, OF, Atlanta Braves
Harris is simply too cheap today in my opinion. To this point in his career, he has slashed .323/.364/.578 against righties, compared to .239/.288/.362 against lefties and he has slashed .316/.365/.594 on the road, compared to .274/.310/.411 at home. He faces Woodford, who has been hurt by lefties as they have slashed .290/.339/.430 against him in his career, compared to the .232/.301/.369 line that righties have produced.
MLB DFS Podcast & DraftKings Breakdown
Player Pool
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