Wednesday, April 20, has a condensed five-game main slate as weather has forced one game to move earlier than the main slate, and the game in Oakland is at risk as well. Be sure to take an early peek to see how your favorite DFS site of choice is handling these variables, including Yahoo, DraftKings and FanDuel. Let’s get into the top MLB DFS picks for pitchers and stacks for Yahoo, DraftKings and FanDuel daily fantasy baseball lineups. As always, you can head over to the Awesemo MLB DFS & Fantasy Baseball home page for all the fantasy baseball content you need for any given slate.
MLB DFS Picks Today: Spotlight Pitchers and Top Stacks | Wednesday, April 20
Yahoo Stack of the Day: Boston Red Sox vs. RHP Jose Berrios — 4.4 implied runs
Through his first two appearances this season, Jose Berrios has struggled mightily. In matchups against the Rangers and in New York against the Yankees, he has tallied 5.1 innings with five walks, three home runs and only five strikeouts on his way to an 11.81 ERA and 2.63 WHIP. Boston has an offense that is as good, or even better than his first two opponents, which means this could be another rough go for the 27-year-old hurler.
Traditionally, Berrios struggles against opposite-handed hitters, ceding a 0.238 ISO and .352 wOBA in his last 362 such matchups. The lefties in play for the Red Sox, of course, are Rafael Devers, Alex Verdugo and Jackie Bradly Jr. This trio is like to be spread out across the batting order, so connecting them in full stacks can be accomplished with J.D. Martinez, Xander Bogaerts and Trevor Story. The Blue Jays had an off day on Monday and only used three relievers last night, so they are well rested — though not a particularly imposing bunch.
Late Slate: Kansas City Royals vs. RHP Chris Paddack — 4.34 implied runs
While a lot of gamers will be attracted to the Twins in this matchup, as they have an implied run total that is higher than Kansas City, targeting Chris Paddack has been a successful strategy over the last few seasons. Ever since coming onto the scene in 2019 with San Diego, accompanied by a successful rookie campaign, Paddack has seen his results in precipitous decline over the last two seasons. Most notable has been his drop in strikeouts from 9.79 per nine innings his rookie season all the way down to 8.22 per nine innings last year.
There is not a ton of home run upside in the Royals lineup aside from Salvador Perez and Hunter Dozier. However, they do have plenty of speed and hitters with gap power. Whit Merrifield and Adalberto Mondesi are always a threat to steal, and youngster Bobby Witt Jr. is showing a lot of promise and has already been installed near the top of the Kansas City order. Andrew Benintendi and Michael A. Taylor can be worked in as differentiation options.
Spotlight Pitchers
Top MLB DFS Picks Target: RHP Chris Bassitt vs. San Francisco Giants — 3.4 implied runs
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $44 | FanDuel $10,500 | DraftKings $9,200
Through two starts Chris Bassitt has been everything that the Mets could have hoped for, with two wins, 12 innings, 14 strikeouts and one solo home run accounting for the lone runner to cross the plate. Injuries have kept Bassitt from becoming a steady contributor, though that also has kept him under the radar as a late bloomer. The former Oakland hurler has held same-handed hitters in check throughout his career, and he also limits power to lefties. San Francisco will load up with Brandon Belt, Mike Yastrzemski, Joc Pederson and Brandon Crawford in the top half of the lineup. While that quartet does earn its fair share of walks, it also strikes out well above league average. Bassitt is the perfect pivot away from opposing pitcher Carlos Rodon, who is projecting for significantly more popularity in tournaments tonight.
Wild Card MLB DFS Picks Target: RHP Dane Dunning at Seattle Mariners — 4.2 implied runs
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $30 | FanDuel $7,300 | DraftKings $6,600
Dane Dunning is, by no means, a fun pitcher to roster, though he does provide some much-needed salary relief tonight as well as some strikeout upside. The downside is that Dunning does allow his fair share of hard hits, though that is not as concerning against a mediocre offense like Seattle. Through two starts this season against the Angels and in Toronto, Dunning has completed 8.2 innings with 11 strikeouts. We just need him to make it through the lineup twice without imploding and he should be able to pay off his nominal salary.
Final MLB DFS Thoughts & Weather Notes for the Wednesday, April 20 Fantasy Baseball Slate
The Tampa Bay Rays at Chicago Cubs game has been moved forward and is now no longer part of the main slate. Oakland has rain in the forecast, though it looks like most of the game can be played without too much risk unless the precipitation advances faster than the models are predicting tonight.
