MLB DFS DraftKings.com & FanDuel.com Lineups & Picks for April 24, 2018
Baseball is back with a great slate of MLB DFS games scheduled for Tuesday, 4/24/18. The main slate on DraftKings includes 11 games starting at 7:05 p.m. EST, and FanDuel’s main slate also includes 11 games starting at the same time.
For today, we’re listing our top MLB DFS pitchers, hitters, and stacks to target in Cash and GPP lineups on DraftKings and FanDuel. The info below can also be used for crafting your daily fantasy baseball strategy at FantasyDraft.
Please note the advice below is relevant for daily fantasy purposes. A player or team might be better or worse from a fantasy perspective than in real life due to matchup, price, and lots of other factors. This is important to consider when constructing a roster. Remember that more than in other sports, variance is a huge part of baseball. Even Jose Altuve can go 0-for-4 on a given night, and Max Scherzer can get lit up by a weak team.
Weather can also play a huge role in MLB DFS on a nightly basis, and lineups are constantly shifting. So always, always check the starting lineups and weather reports when playing for an MLB slate. If a game gets rained out, your player gets zero points!
4/24/18 MLB DFS TOURNAMENT PICKS
Spring Series Slugger: $25 entry, $500k guaranteed (DraftKings) – $100,000 to 1st!
Four Seamer: $4 entry, $125k guaranteed (DraftKings)
Grand Slam: $33 entry, $140k guaranteed (FanDuel) – $25,000 to 1st!
Rally: $9.99 entry, $100k guaranteed (FanDuel)
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Best MLB DFS Pitchers for April 24, 2018
Rick Porcello @ TOR ($9.5k DraftKings, $8.8k FanDuel)
It seems Rick Porcello has made the proper adjustments to return to his Cy Young form with a stellar 23-0 K/BB ratio, 49.3% groundball rate and the lowest FIP (1.71) of his career through four starts. It certainly doesn’t hurt that the Red Sox are leading the Majors in collective batting average (.277) and have provided 28 runs of support in his starts, but Porcello deserves plenty of credit for executing his pitches with pinpoint control. Tonight, he’ll face a Blue Jays team that posted the second-lowest collective batting average (.240) in the Majors last year. Porcello happens to be 3-0 with a 1.34 ERA and 8.47 K/9 ratio over his last three trips to Toronto’s Rogers Centre.
Kenta Maeda vs. MIA ($9.3k DraftKings, $9.1k FanDuel)
The Dodgers (-230) are understandably huge favorites at home tonight against arguably the worst team in baseball. Miami ranks dead last with a meager .086 ISO mark and .275 wOBA, while posting a relatively high 23.8% K-Rate this season. Maeda has been shaky over his last two outings but is flashing tons of upside with a 34.8% K-Rate. His 1.06 FIP indicates he should be able to navigate a poor Marlins lineup. Maeda was far better with a 2.88 ERA and .210 BAA while holding opposing batters to a modest 24.3% hard contact rate at Dodgers Stadium last season.
Tanner Roark @ SF ($8.2k DraftKings, $8.3k FanDuel)
Perhaps the best Cash play on tonight’s slate, Tanner Roark is unlikely to give up many runs even if he’s also unlikely to record many strikeouts in a plus matchup. He does have some upside considering the Giants just struck out 17 times in a matchup against Garrett Richards and the Angels and now sport a 25.8% K-Rate against RHP this season. Roark is posting a career-best 24.5% K-Rate with a 0.92 WHIP and 3.24 ERA through four starts this season, which should be more than enough to earn a win if the elite Nationals offense supports him in a plus matchup against vulnerable young southpaw Ty Blach.
Luke Weaver vs. NYM ($7.5k DraftKings, $8.5k FanDuel)
After flashing plenty of upside during his sophomore campaign, Luke Weaver got off to a good start this season before getting tagged for 6 ER in his last start at the Cubs. Expect the 6-foot-2 righty to bounce back in a better matchup at home tonight against the boom-bust Mets offense. He was excellent with 7 Ks and 1 ER allowed over 7 IP in his sole appearance at Busch Stadium this season and has done a great job of limiting hard contact with a 13.1% line drive rate and 4.2% HR/FB ratio this year. He’s been tougher on lefties as well, which bodes well for his prospects against a Mets lineup that contains few dangerous RHBs outside of Yoenis Cespedes.
Other pitchers to consider: Charlie Morton (toughest matchup of season), Robbie Ray, Shohei Ohtani, Zack Wheeler, Zach Davies, Chad Kuhl
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Best MLB DFS Hitters for April 24, 2018
Christian Yelich @ KC ($4.7k DraftKings, $4.1k FanDuel)
The Brewers may have found the new centerpiece of their lineup for years to come in Christian Yelich. The former Marlins slugger has returned from an oblique injury and continued to mash with 4 hits, including a triple and a HR over his last five appearances. Yelich was also caught stealing during that span, indicating his potential upside as a dual threat. He could be given the green light against RHP Ian Kennedy, who has allowed 36 SB over the past four-plus seasons. Kennedy posted a 6.35 FIP with a 2.24 HR/9 ratio and 47.1% hard contact rate when facing the platoon last season. Yelich happens to be 5-for-12 with 3 XBH and a HR in his career against the inconsistent righty.
Christian Villanueva @ COL ($4.2k DraftKings, $4.4k FanDuel)
While he sat out Monday’s game to rest a sore hamstring, Christian Villanueva was available to pinch hit, and he should be good to go in a plus matchup tonight. The 26-year-old RHB from Mexico is crushing the ball with a 36.8% HR/FB ratio and .419 ISO mark while ranking second in the N.L. with a .355 batting average this season. He’s 17-for-40 (.447) with 8 HRs and a ridiculous .656 wOBA in his career against the platoon and faces a vulnerable lefty at Coors Field tonight. Rockies LHP Kyle Freeland is posting a 6.16 FIP with a 2.30 HR/9 ratio and 32.7% hard contact rate against RHB so far this year and could certainly struggle against a red-hot righty who has accumulated 15 hits, 4 walks, and 4 HRs during his current nine-game hitting streak.
Starling Marte vs. DET ($4.3k DraftKings, $4.2k FanDuel)
Even though he’s 1-for-13 in a small sample of at-bats against Tigers RHP Jordan Zimmerman, Starling Marte is a strong GPP candidate tonight. The dual-threat star reached three times and stole two bags over the weekend and hit .322 with a 15.2% HR/FB ratio and 10 SB at home last season. Zimmerman is posting better peripheral numbers than he did during a disastrous 2017 campaign but is still allowing RHB to post a .423 wOBA with an absurd 48 percent hard contact rate through four outings. This includes a rough season debut against the Pirates in which Pittsburgh’s 1-6 hitters all recorded multiple hits. That gives Adam Frazier, Gregory Polanco, and Corey Dickerson all plenty of appeal as potential additions to a Pirates stack.
Michael A. Taylor @ SF ($3.5k DraftKings, $2.5k FanDuel)
The Nationals have been strangely ineffective against LHP over the first month of the 2018 season. Yet they hit a collective .275 with a .334 wOBA against southpaws last season. They can be used as a stack tonight against young LHP Ty Blach, who is posting a 5.03 SIERA and 92.7% Z-Contact Rate despite allowing just one HR this season. Blach is also posting a 10.3% BB Rate, giving a contact hitter in Michael A. Taylor a good chance to reach base via a walk or single. Taylor hit .308 with a 23.4% lined rive rate and 21.1% HR/FB ratio against the platoon last season and seemed to find his rhythm over the weekend with 5 hits, a walk, and 2 SB in a tough series at the Dodgers.
Other hitters to consider: Nolan Arenado, Rhys Hoskins, Wil Myers, Trea Turner, Matt Chapman, Jose Pirela, Adam Jones, Ryan Zimmerman, Corey Dickerson, Stephen Piscotty, David Dahl, Adam Frazier, Delino DeShields
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MLB DFS Stacks to Consider for April 24, 2018
Pirates vs. Jordan Zimmerman (Tigers)
Dodgers vs. Dillon Peters (Marlins)
Rays vs. Alex Cobb (Orioles) – GPP only
Nationals vs. Ty Blach (Giants)
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