Friday’s MLB brings a healthy 12-game featured slate with a first pitch of 7:05 p.m. ET on DraftKings, FanDuel and Yahoo. Before you lock in lineups, several Stokastic tools can help identify daily MLB DFS Top Stacks, key pitchers and MLB DFS picks. Let’s dig into the player projections and popularity for DraftKings and FanDuel lineups, including RHP Shohei Ohtani in a home matchup against an anemic Kansas City offense, along with the Texas Rangers hosting LHP JP Sears.
MLB DFS Picks: Spotlight Pitchers and Top Stacks
MLB DFS Picks: Spotlight Pitchers
Primary Pitching Target: RHP Shohei Ohtani vs. Kansas City Royals — 3.2 implied runs
- DFS Salary: DraftKings $10,800 | FanDuel $11,400 | Yahoo $59
After starring in the World Baseball Classic, RHP Shohei Ohtani has been in midseason form through his first four starts. Do not worry about his two-inning outing on Monday, as there was a weather delay that ended his start early.
Through 21 innings, Ohtani has 27 strikeouts and an 0.86 ERA, with no home runs allowed — the 13 walks are the only blemish, but considering he has ceded only six hits, the overall 1.03 WHIP is still golden. The Kansas City offense is tied with Miami for the fewest runs per game at a paltry 3.26 through 19 contests. There should be enough discounted batters that rostering Ohtani in a majority of lineups is completely feasible.
Secondary Pitching Target: RHP Jon Gray vs. Oakland Athletics — 4.1 implied runs
- DFS Salary: DraftKings $9,100 | FanDuel $8,800 | Yahoo $39
While Ohtani stands out as the clear DFS ace today, there are plenty of alternates who can serve as SP2s on the two-pitcher sites or as tournament options across the board. RHP Tyler Mahle gets a delightful matchup against Washington; however, with snow in the forecast, that game is likely to be postponed. RHP Aaron Nola has slowly been regaining his form, and he gets to face a Rockies squad outside of its Coors Field stomping grounds. RHPs George Kirby and Freddy Peralta are also viable candidates on this loaded pitching slate.
Ultimately the recommendation in this article is for RHP Jon Gray. It should be noted that he left his last start after taking a comebacker off of his right forearm. All indications are that he is good to go, but do confirm that with the latest news updates closer to first pitch to see if there is any hint of worry.
The 31-year-old had several solid seasons, even pitching in the thin Denver air for around half of his starts. For most of his career, he has recorded just over one strikeout per inning, and moving to the new Globe Life Field at Arlington, with its retractable roof, has only been a bonus. Today he will be facing a motley crew of castoffs that also doubles as the Athletics.
Since the beginning of last year, the Oakland offense has been a bottom-five squad against right-handed pitching, with an 84 wRC+ and an anemic .117 ISO. They also strike out once every four at-bats, and with Texas installed as -205 moneyline favorites, that gives Gray access to fantasy upside, on top of clean innings.
Wild Card Pitching Target: RHP Tyler Wells vs. Detroit Tigers — 4.0 implied runs
- DFS Salary: DraftKings $6,200 | FanDuel $8,100 | Yahoo $33
The only knock against RHP Tyler Wells is that he does not provide a high enough strikeout baseline to be consistently recommended as a fantasy option. However, that also keeps his salary artificially suppressed when the salary algorithms are not heavily influenced by matchups. Today that is the case where Wells stands out as a tremendous SP2 on both DraftKings and Yahoo.
Wells had three seasons as a starter for Cal State San Bernadino before being a 15th-round selection in the 2016 MLB Draft. He worked his way through the low-minors before needing Tommy John surgery, which cost him the 2019 season, and then, of course, the pandemic curtailed the 2020 MiLB season. The 28-year-old spent the 2021 season working out of the bullpen as a multi-inning reliever while also seeing action as a co-closer. Last year was his first as a full-time starter, and he was a serviceable option.
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Detroit has scored the fewest runs in the league this season with only 57, which is two fewer than the Marlins and Royals and 76 fewer than the league-leading Rays. Aside from Javier Baez, who has been less than engaged this season, there is not a single bat in this lineup that will regularly give opposing hurlers trouble.
MLB DFS Picks: Top Stacks
Main Slate Target: New York Yankees vs. LHP Yusei Kikuchi — 4.6 implied runs
Shout out to DraftKings for pushing Aaron Judge’s salary all the way up to $6,300. However, they have plenty of other mispriced hitters and fantasy point-per-dollar bargain pitchers, so it is really just window dressing. Lefty Yusei Kikuchi has been a homer-friendly pitcher, even dating to his days back in Seattle. The longtime NBL ace has hinted at moments of dominance, but they are fleeting and mostly rare occurrences.
Even with Giancarlo Stanton on the injured list, the Yankees still have plenty of right-handed power bats in addition to Judge. Gleyber Torres should find himself hitting cleanup, and there will be ducks on the pond at least once when he is in the batter’s box.
DJ LeMahieu has been off to a semi-slow start; however, the three-time All-Star and two-time batting champion should be granted a mulligan, with 85% of the season left to be played. Catcher Kyle Higashioka has above-average pop, and he is a nice way to meet the backstop requirement on DraftKings and Yahoo. But wait, there’s more … Anthony Rizzo is excellent in same-handed matchups, and Kikuchi has allowed more than his share of home runs to fellow lefties. If the Yankees become too popular, the Oswaldos, Peraza and Cabrera, can be used as differentiation options.
Evening Slate Target: Texas Rangers vs. LHP JP Sears — 4.8 implied runs
Corey Seager is on the injured list, though this is too tasty a matchup to forgo stacking the Texas Rangers. LHP JP Sears has been hammered by opposite-handed hitters over the last season and change, ceding a .202 ISO and posting a below-average 18.7% strikeout rate.
Texas will be rolling out a right-handed heavy lineup, with Marcus Semien, Adolis Garcia, Josh Jung and switch-hitting catcher Jonah Heim as the core four to target. For differentiation, Nate Lowe has above-average pop against fellow lefties, and we know that average DFS gamers tend to shy away from this matchup combination. Though there is a good chance the roof will be closed at Globe Life Park, do not let that dissuade you from looking for crooked numbers from the Rangers.
Late Slate Target: San Francisco Giants vs. LHP Joey Lucchesi — 4.6 implied runs
There are several offenses worth targeting on the late slate that also are viable options in the full-slate featured tournaments. The Angels, of course, will not have Ohtani as a DFS hitting option since he is pitching, but he still will be helping to propel the overall Anaheim offense against RHP Taylor Clarke. RHP Seth Lugo has been getting by on smoke and mirrors, which makes the Diamondbacks excellent plays as well.
Seattle is also on this list, with the Mariners rolling out a righty-heavy lineup, but to make this all work, we are focusing on the San Francisco Giants.
With LHP Joey Lucchesi on the mound tonight, the G-men will be loading up on their platoon-advantaged batsmen. That means we will get the likes of Wilmer Flores, J.D. Davis and Darin Ruf in advantageous batting order slots, with each having a lower-than-expected salary due to them not playing every day. Thairo Estrada is spendy on DraftKings, but as the leadoff man, he is all but assured of getting five plate appearances tonight. Look to whoever is behind the dish as well for yet another punt of the extreme variety, likely Joey Bart.
Final Thoughts for Friday, April 21 | MLB DFS Picks
Friday brings a wild mix of weather, with rain in Cleveland and a strong chance of snow in Minnesota. This is the first game of these respective series, so there will be opportunities for a doubleheader this weekend.
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