DFS MLB Lineups for April 12, 2017 at Draftkings.com & Fanduel.com

For this baseball season, each day there’s a good slate of DFS MLB games, we’ll be writing up a group of pitchers and hitters that we’re considering for our cash and GPP lineups on DraftKings and FanDuel. We’ll also provide a list of stacks to consider, MLB start times, starting pitchers, and game run totals to give you a good idea of where the fantasy goodness might come from on a given night.

Unlike DFS NBA which is generally somewhat predictable from night to night, DFS MLB is a game with a lot of variance. You can make a really solid lineup and still fall short of the cash line. Even the best pitchers have horrible starts, and the best hitters in the game can still go 0 for 4. Trust the process and know that if you’re playing quality lineups, you’ll be a winner in the long term.

Another thing to remember is to always check the weather. Always. Make this something that is part of your basic routine. Baseball games can get postponed! Your players receive no points from postponed games!

4/12/17 MAIN SLATE TOURNAMENT RUNDOWN

DraftKings Moonshot: $3 buy-in, $125k guaranteed (20 entry max) 
DraftKings Fastball: $33 buy-in, $350k guaranteed
DraftKings Gold Glove: $1500 buy-in, $250k guaranteed
FanDuel Rally: $7 buy-in, $100k guaranteed
FanDuel Grand Slam: $33 buy-in, $100k guaranteed
FanDuel Squeeze: $3 buy-in, $100k guaranteed

DFS MLB START TIMES, STARTING PITCHERS & GAME TOTALS FOR TODAY’S GAMES

7:05p: Reds (Garrett) @ Pirates (Nova): 8
7:05p: Mets (Wheeler) @ Phillies (Velasquez): 8
7:05p: Brewers (Anderson) @ Blue Jays (Stroman): 9
7:10p: Braves (Garcia) @ Marlins (Koehler): 8.5
7:10p: Orioles (Jimenez) @ Red Sox (Wright): 9.5
8:05p: Dodgers (McCarthy) @ Cubs (Lackey): 8
8:15p: Athletics (Triggs) @ Royals (Hammel): 8.5
10:05p: Rangers (Griffin) @ Angels (Chavez): 8.5
10:10p: Astros (Fiers) @ Mariners (Gallardo): 8.5
10:15p: Diamondbacks (Miller) @ Giants (Cain): 8

Best DFS MLB Pitchers for April 12, 2017

John Lackey vs. LAD ($9.9k DraftKings, $9k FanDuel)
Lackey was a completely different pitcher in front of the Wrigley Faithful last year with a 2.62 ERA and 0.99 WHIP at home compared to a 4.37 ERA on the road. He doesn’t draw the easiest matchup tonight by any means, but could continue to find success against a Dodgers team that’s a combined 16-for-70 with 12 K’s and just 2 XBH in their collective careers against him. He was solid on the road against a Cardinals team that’s given him trouble in the past and is worth paying up for with the Cubs offense more than capable of teeing off on Dodgers RHP Brandon McCarthy.

Marcus Stroman vs. MIL ($9.3k DraftKings, $8.6k FanDuel)
Sure enough, Stroman’s electric performance in the World Baseball Classic carried over into the regular season, as he spun 6.1 innings of one-run ball, struck out 5 and elicited 10 ground balls in an excellent season debut at Tampa. Now he’ll pitch at home, where he posted better batted ball data and put fewer runners on base with a 1.26 WHIP last year. While Stroman is starting to realize his limitations and pitch for more ground balls than strikeouts, he has some upside against a Brewers team that led the Majors with a 25.5% K-Rate last year and is first this season with a 31.9% K-Rate thus far.

Ivan Nova vs. CIN ($8k DraftKings, $7.4k FanDuel)
While it came against the Braves, Nova’s 2017 season debut was pretty impressive and unsurprising considering how he performed in plus matchups last season. The crafty RHP enjoyed moving form the hitter-friendly ballparks of the A.L. East to the N.L. Central, as he posted a 3.06 ERA and 1.10 WHIP while spinning 3 complete games over 11 appearances for the Pirates. He continued to pitch well at PnC Park last week and posted a 2.45 ERA with a .238 BAA and 3-1 record in Pittsburgh last season. That adds up to a very reliable mid-tier option for your cash game lineups.

Amir Garrett @ PIT ($5.8k DraftKings, $6.1k FanDuel)
We would be remiss if we didn’t mention the Reds rookie LHP after his excellent MLB debut last week. Garrett spun six scoreless innings and allowed just 2 hits to outduel former Reds SP Mike Leake and he was pulled after throwing just 78 pitches for some reason. It appears the Majors will need a bit of an adjustment period to time up a crafty lefty who posted a 2.48 ERA between the AA and AAA level last season. The Pirates are just 8-for-52 (.154) to post the fourth-lowest collective batting average against lefties so far this season and have generally struggled to scratch out runs.

Other pitchers to consider: Vince Velasquez, Jason Hammel, Steven Wright, Tom Koehler

Best DFS MLB Hitters for April 12, 2017

Giancarlo Stanton vs. ATL ($4.7k DraftKings, $3.6k FanDuel)
It’s at least worth speculating on Stanton tonight in a plus matchup that would be surefire gold last year, we just don’t know if Jaime Garcia will continue to struggle quite that badly. The lefty is normally a ground ball pitcher, but posted the highest HR/FB ratio (20.2%) in the Majors along with his worst ERA (4.67) and FIP (4.49) since he was a rookie back in 2008. Now he’s a member of a Braves team that struggles to score and he’s almost 31 years old, so it’s hard to imagine a significant turnaround. Stanton hit .273 with a .295 ISO mark against lefties last year and posted an absurd .525 ISO mark against lefties the previous year before he got hurt.

Nelson Cruz vs. HOU ($4.5k DraftKings, $3.6k FanDuel)
Cruz is starting to flash some upside as the weather warms up and he’s a prime target as part of a Mariners stack tonight. I can’t fathom why Astros RHP Mike Fiers is priced so high after struggling in each of his last two campaigns and barely making a spot in the rotation with a mediocre spring. Fiers had poor reverse platoon splits in allowing RHB to hit .284 with a .358 wOBA last season and he coughed up an alarming 1.65 HR/9 ratio to righties as well. Cruz is obviously one of the premier power hitters in the game and he could tee off on this vulnerable SP.

Asdrubal Caberera @ PHI ($3.8k DraftKings, $2.9k FanDuel)
The Mets were on fire last night and it began with the top of their lineup, and Cabrera in the two-hole. He should bat second tonight against a RHP in Vince Velasquez, who posted high strikeout numbers (10.44 K/9 ratio) last year but also gave up a 1.44 HR/9 ratio with a 4.12 ERA. Velasquez posted a 1.43 WHIP and 2.88 K/BB ratio against the platoon, so he clearly prefers to face righties and Cabrera is a switch hitter with 3 hits over 6 at-bats against the Phillies second-year starter.

Other hitters to consider: Anthony Rizzo, Paul Goldschmidt, Yoenis Cespedes, Rougned Odor, Hunter Pence, Kendry Morales, Michael Saunders, Mitch Haniger

4/12/17 STACKS

Red Sox vs Ubaldo Jimenez
The weather warmed up in a hurry in Boston and it’s only a matter of time before the ball starts jumping out of the friendly confines of Fenway Park. Ubaldo Jimenez was an absolute train wreck last year with a 5.44 ERA and 4.55 BB/9 ratio and he really struggled against the platoon, so Andrew Benintendi and Sandy Leon are both worth a look as decent values, while Mitch Moreland could emerge as a great GPP play. Hanley Ramirez is apparently over the flu that sapped the Boston lineup for a few days and Mookie Betts could obviously flash the most upside if he’s finally feeling right for the Sawks.

Diamondbacks vs Matt Cain
It appears that Cain has very little left in the tank at the age of 32, as he was knocked around for 4 ER on 6 hits and coughed up 2 homers in massive Petco Park during his season debut. Now he’ll face his old nemesis in a D’Backs team that’s batting a collective .325 (40-123) with 12 XBH and 3 HR in their careers against the veteran. Jake Lamb and Chris Owings both have good splits against him while Brandon Drury is another youngster with plenty of upside due to his speed and power. Of course Paul Goldschmidt and A.J. Pollock are squarely in play as the elite options, and we could hear from LHP David Peralta in this matchup.

Blue Jays vs Chase Anderson
The Brewers young RHP managed to shut down a struggling Rockies offense away from Coors Field, but he’s still a vulnerable target after posting a 4.39 ERA with a 5.09 FIP over 31 appearances last season. Righties hit .310 with a .394 wOBA and 16.2% HR/FB ratio off Anderson last year, which plays perfectly into a Blue Jays lineup that’s built around powerful RHB such as Jose Bautista, Troy Tulowitzki and Russell Martin. Toronto will hope to get Josh Donaldson back from calf soreness at some point, but if he’s out, Kendry Morales could have another productive game out of the three-hole.

Other Stacks to consider:
Rangers vs. Jesse Chavez
Astros vs. Yovani Gallardo
Giants vs. Shelby Miller
Royals vs. Andrew Triggs