With five games on the main slate, today’s baseball schedule is a little lighter on MLB DFS plays. In this analysis, we will assess each game and highlight the players that offer the most value for your daily fantasy lineups. Let’s get started by examining some potential MLB DFS value picks.
MLB DFS Value and Advice | April 20
Cincinnati Reds (Luke Weaver) at Pittsburgh Pirates (Roansy Contreras)
Contreras is a strong pitching option on both DraftKings and FanDuel given his cheap salary and the favorable matchup against the Cincinnati Reds in a pitcher-friendly park. Although Contreras has been inconsistent at the major league level, he has shown his potential as a talented young arm. The Pirates offense is projected to score nearly five runs against Luke Weaver, who will be making his first start of the season. In addition to Contreras, the Pirates top hitters in the lineup, including Ke’Bryan Hayes, Bryan Reynolds and Andrew McCutchen, all look good for stacking purposes. There is also plenty of value elsewhere to fill out a stack.
Colorado Rockies (Ryan Feltner) at Philadelphia Phillies (Matt Strahm)
Matt Strahm, who left his last start early due to a blister on his thumb, is expected to start for the Phillies against the Colorado Rockies. Strahm did not make any starts in 50 total appearances last season, but he has been converted to the Phillies rotation and has thrown 61, 59 and 67 pitches in his three starts this season. At just $7,000 on DraftKings, he is a strong SP2 option. The Phillies batters also have a favorable matchup against Ryan Feltner. Kyle Schwarber and Bryson Stott look particularly appealing for DFS players.
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Los Angeles Dodgers (Michael Grove) at Chicago Cubs (Jameson Taillon)
This game has an 11-run total and wind is expected to be blowing out at Wrigley Field, making it an interesting game to target. While neither pitcher is terrible, neither is great either, so stacking batters from both teams could be a profitable strategy. The Dodgers are currently first in top stack percentage, while the Cubs are third in Stokastic’s Top Stacks Tool.
San Diego Padres (Michael Wacha) at Arizona Diamondbacks (Ryne Nelson)
Michael Wacha is a decent pitching option, given the lack of great pitchers on this slate. He is projected to go a bit under-owned, as the field looks to other relatively risky SP2 options instead of Wacha. Although Wacha is not very good at limiting power, he is still worth considering for DFS lineups. Fernando Tatis Jr. is priced inexplicably low at $2,000 on DraftKings, making him a must-play in cash games and an interesting option in GPPs, even with his high ownership percentage. Xander Bogaerts is a strong and easy way to be contrarian in Padres stacks. Christian Walker’s bat from the right side for Arizona is also worth considering given Wacha’s weakness against same-handed power.
New York Mets (Kodai Senga) at San Francisco Giants (Sean Manaea)
Both Kodai Senga and Sean Manaea are popular pitching options in this game. Senga has struck out 30% of hitters in his rookie season and will face the Giants in a favorable park for pitchers. Manaea, on the other hand, has good strikeout stuff but has had some issues with power and faces a dangerous Mets lineup. While the park should mitigate some of the power, pitching options on this slate are not great in general. The Mets power bats do look interesting as leverage against Manaea in tournaments.
