DFS MLB Lineups for April 19, 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.

The best advice we can give this early in the season is to remember that baseball is a game 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. Baseball is funny like that. Trust the process and know that if you’re playing quality lineups, you’ll be a winner in the long term. We’ve got 11 games on tap for Wednesday, so plenty of ways to go with your lineup construction.

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!

4/19/17 MAIN SLATE TOURNAMENT RUNDOWN

DraftKings Fastball: $33 buy-in, $300k guaranteed  
DraftKings Four Seamer: $4 buy-in, $140k guaranteed (20 entry max)
DraftKings Home Plate: $20 buy-in, $50k guaranteed (3 entry max)
FanDuel Rally: $7 buy-in, $150k guaranteed
FanDuel Grand Slam: $25 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: White Sox (Covey) @ Yankees (Tanaka): 8.5
7:07p: Red Sox (Porcello) @ Blue Jays (Liriano): 8.5
7:10p: Orioles (Jimenez) @ Reds (Garrett): 9.5
7:10p: Tigers (Zimmerman) @ Rays (Archer): 7.5
7:10p: Phillies (Velasquez) @ Mets (Gsellman): 8
7:35p: Nationals (Ross) @ Braves (Teheran): TBD
8:10p: Indians (Bauer) @ Twins (Mejia): 9
8:10p: Angels (Ramirez) @ Astros (Keuchel): 8.5
8:15p: Giants (Bumgarner) @ Royals (Vargas): 7.5
10:10p: Diamondbacks (Greinke) @ Padres (Chacin): 7.5
10:10p: Rockies (Anderson) @ Dodgers (Kershaw): 8

Best DFS MLB Pitchers for April 19, 2017

Dallas Keuchel vs. LAA ($9.9k DraftKings, $9.6k FanDuel)
There are obvious options at the top of the board tonight in Kershaw and Bumgarner, and they make fine plays themselves. However, I don’t need to sell you on two of the best lefties in the game. That said, I’d rather go with another lefty who is pitching like an ace to open the season. Keuchel is 2-0 with a 0.86 ERA while going 7 innings in all three of his starts this year and he’s been untouchable at home with a 2.48 ERA and .212 BAA over the last two seasons. Tonight he’ll face an Angels team that posted a weak .316 collective wOBA against LHP last season and is a combined 38-for-150 (.253) with 34 K’s in their careers against Keuchel.

Chris Archer vs. DET ($9.7k DraftKings, $9.3k FanDuel)
You could see Archer’s improvement last year as he started to pitch to contact more often and utilize his slider to elicit a career-best 47.8% Ground Ball rate. He’s carried that momentum into 2017 with a 2.21 ERA and 2.02 FIP through 3 starts while posting a similar 46.6% GB rate. The Tigers have a dangerous offense but Victor Martinez is rapidly aging and Miguel Cabrera seems hobbled by a back injury, while current Tigers are batting a collective .203 (16-for-79) with 26 K’s over a relatively small sample against Archer, who is more consistent at home.

Jason Vargas vs. SF ($5.3k DraftKings, $8.2k FanDuel)
Vargas is so cheap on DK that he makes for an obvious play, and hopefully one that won’t burn you in a pretty good matchup at home. The Giants aren’t a particularly dangerous team against the platoon with a modest .222 batting average and a 20.8% K-Rate against lefties so far this season, as Buster Posey’s been out with a concussion and could show some signs of rust while trying to return. The Royals LHP has been incredible through two starts with a 7.00 K/BB ratio and just one run allowed over 13.2 IP, so It’s a bit surprising to see him priced as the third-cheapest SP on the slate by DraftKings.

Other pitchers to consider: Masahiro Tanaka, Julio Teheran, Joe Ross, Amir Garrett

Best DFS MLB Hitters for April 19, 2017

Joey Votto vs. BAL ($5k DraftKings, $3.8k FanDuel)
The Reds face one of the more vulnerable RHP in the league tonight and Ubaldo Jimenez has been particularly vulnerable against hitters with Votto’s skill set. The powerful lefty hit .330 with a .429 wOBA and 41.2% Hard Contact Rate against RHP last year while Jimenez allowed LHB to post a .378 wOBA while giving up a 1.53 HR/9 ratio against the platoon last year. Jimenez has been tagged for 5 ER in consecutive outings to begin the year and travels to Great American Ballpark, which has one of the highest HR factors in the Majors.

Bryce Harper @ ATL ($4.9k DraftKings, $4.7k FanDuel)
Now that he’s gotten out of his own head and started to groove the baseball again, Harper is a great GPP option on a nightly basis and he happens to face a RHP that’s really struggled against him tonight. Harper is 13-for-31 with 5 homers and 4 walks over 36 career plate appearances against Teheran, who has posted a 4.87 FIP with a 1.37 HR/9 ratio throughout his career when facing lefties.

Hanley Ramirez vs. TOR ($4.1k DraftKings, $3.4k FanDuel)
Francisco Liriano travels to Fenway Park tonight and the results could either be disastrous or surprisingly pleasant for the rival Blue Jays. He’s a complete boom or bust LHP, who was at his absolute worst in his 2017 debut before bouncing back against the Orioles his next time out. Yet now he faces a Red Sox team that led the Majors with a collective .278 batting average against lefties last year, while HanRam hit .346 with a .453 wOBA and notable .331 ISO mark against the platoon last season.

Jake Lamb @ SD ($3.9k DraftKings, $3.9k FanDuel)
While he’s become more expensive, Lamb is still clearly under priced on DK given how he’s performed to begin the season. The D’Backs lefty third baseman is hitting .313 with a 1.105 OPS over 13 games and he’s hitting .361 while reaching base in all 10 of his last appearances. Tonight Arizona’s lineup is worth stacking against wildly inconsistent RHP Jhoulys Chacin, who has been shelled in 2 of his 3 starts this year and struggled against the platoon throughout his career.

Other hitters to consider: Mookie Betts, Wil Myers, Yoenis Cespedes, A.J. Pollock, Chase Headley, Dustin Pedroia, Yasiel Puig, Josh Reddick, Corey Dickerson, Jason Castro  

4/19/17 DFS MLB STACKS

Astros vs J.C. Ramirez
Converted relievers will often struggle when trying to make the move to a starting role and Ramirez felt that sting as the relatively weak Royals offense tagged him for 5 ER over 5 IP in his last outing. Now he’ll face an Astros team that can mash on the road and he’s sporting a 20% HR/FB ratio after posting a 17.1% HR/FB ratio over a larger sample size last year. Jose Altuve is the top option in this stack as he rounds into form while George Springer and Carlos Correa have plenty of upside. Look towards Evan Gattis and/or Brian McCann as low-cost GPP plays while Marwin Gonzalez can also fit that mold.

Reds vs Ubaldo Jimenez
Votto is obviously the best option when choosing a Reds hitter to use against Jimenez, but the O’s RHP has been just as bad against righties lately and that makes Adam Duvall, Jose Peraza and Eugenio Suarez worth looks as solid values with upside. Scott Schebler and Scooter Gennett could both draw starts as a way to stack lefties against the vulnerable righty and they’re very cheap as well.

Red Sox vs Francisco Liriano
Hanley Ramirez isn’t the only Red Sox slugger with a good chance to tag Liriano, as Dustin Pedroia is 6-for-11 in his career against the LHP and he hit .393 against lefties at Fenway last season. Mookie Betts is starting to round back into his MVP form and might be worth his lofty price tag, while Chris Young stands out as a cheap RHB who usually platoons when the Sox face a southpaw. Further, when Liriano is bad, he’s real bad. He continually gets behind in the count, walks batters, and then gives up the big hit. Every now and then, Liriano tosses a gem, but in GPPs, he’s about the most perfect pitcher to stack against in the majors.

Other Stacks to consider:
Yankees vs. Dylan Covey
Dodgers vs. Tyler Anderson
Diamondbacks vs. Jhoulys Chacin