DFS MLB Lineups for April 20, 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. Last night, we ran into one of the occasional good starts from Liriano, but we saved with Keuchel and Vargas which allowed us to be heavy on Bryce Harper. We also has a nice mix of Headley, Dickerson, and Reddick to lead us to a nice profit. Let’s try and hit again tonight.

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!

4/20/17 MAIN SLATE TOURNAMENT RUNDOWN

DraftKings Fastball: $33 buy-in, $250k guaranteed  
DraftKings Four Seamer: $4 buy-in, $140k guaranteed (20 entry max)
DraftKings Home Plate: $20 buy-in, $40k guaranteed (3 entry max)
FanDuel Rally: $7 buy-in, $77k guaranteed
FanDuel Grand Slam: $55 buy-in, $235k guaranteed
FanDuel Squeeze: $3 buy-in, $100k guaranteed

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

7:10p: Orioles (Miley) @ Reds (Feldman): 9
7:10p: Phillies (Nola) @ Mets (Syndergaard): 6.5
7:35p: Nationals (Strasburg) @ Braves (Dickey): 7.5
8:05p: Royals (Duffy) @ Rangers (Cashner): 9
8:10p: Cardinals (Martinez) @ Brewers (Davies): 8
9:10p: Diamondbacks (Corbin) @ Padres (Richard): 7.5
10:05p: Mariners (Paxton) @ Athletics (Valdez): 8

Best DFS MLB Pitchers for April 20, 2017

Noah Syndergaard vs. PHI ($11.8k DraftKings, $11.2k FanDuel)
If they’re offering Thor at a discount on both main DFS sites because he’s pitching with a blister and looked human in his last outing, I’ll take it. Syndergaard is still right up there with Clayton Kershaw and Max Scherzer as the best play on a nightly basis and he draws a great matchup tonight at massive Citi Field. The Phillies are sporting the fifth-highest K-Rate (23%) along with the lowest collective wOBA (,296) on the young season and clearly represent a below average offensive team. Syndergaard’s allowed just 1 ER over 13 IP so far this year and he posted a 10.82 K/9 ratio with a 2.16 FIP at home last season.

James Paxton @ OAK ($9.6k DraftKings, $9k FanDuel)
Paxton definitely seems to have figured some things in his fourth MLB season, as he’s posted a pristine 0.00 ERA with a 1.38 FIP and 9.43 K/9 ratio to average 30.7 DK PPG (51 FD PPG) through 3 starts this year. Those outings came against dangerous offensive teams (Astros twice and Rangers), while he faces a weak Athletics lineup that posted the lowest collective wOBA (.302) amongst A.L. teams last year. Paxton’s 2.80 FIP belied his 3.79 ERA due to an unlucky .347 BABIP during an injury-plagued 2016 campaign and he seems to be firing on all cylinders to begin 2017.

Carlos Martinez @ MIL ($9k DraftKings, $9.3k FanDuel)
Martinez became the first pitcher in almost 100 years to record 8 walks and 11 K’s in his last outing and somehow came away with a positive result at Yankee Stadium. Now he faces a Brewers team that posted the highest K-Rate (25.5%) in the Majors last year and is sporting the same league-worst rate so far this year. Current Brewers are a sporting a 36.5% K-Rate with 23 K’s over 63 career at-bats against Martinez, who appears to be taking a step forward in terms of his stuff in his fourth year as a starter, he’ll just have to avoid issuing too many free passes in his fourth start of the season.

Other pitchers to consider: Stephen Strasburg, Aaron Nola, Patrick Corbin

Best DFS MLB Hitters for April 20, 2017

Paul Goldschmidt @ SD ($5.1k DraftKings, $4.4k FanDuel)
The highest-priced hitter on this relatively short slate for good reason, Goldschmidt draws a juicy matchup against a vulnerable LHP in Clayton Richard. The ground-ball southpaw does well against certain types of hitters, but Goldschmidt has his number with 5 hits and 7 walks over 25 career plate appearances against Richard. He also has 4 stolen bases off Richard, who isn’t keeping the ball down enough while allowing 4 homers through 20 IP this year. Goldy hit .352 with a .449 wOBA against the platoon last year and could serve as the heart of a D’Backs stack tonight.

Mike Moustakas @ TEX ($3.7k DraftKings, $3.2k FanDuel)
He’s slowed down a bit since his red-hot start to the year, but Moose could warm up in a hurry as the Royals visit the Launching Pad down in Arlington, Texas over the weekend. Kansas City could get it going against RHP Andrew Cashner, who posted a rough 5.25 ERA with a 1.30 HR/9 ratio last year and allowed lefties to post a .380 wOBA with a 5.33 FIP and 15.3% HR/FB ratio when facing the platoon. Moustakas does almost all of his damage against righties and he’s launched 4 homers over 37 at-bats off RHP to begin the year, so he’s clearly rediscovered his power stroke.

Jayson Werth @ ATL ($3.5k DraftKings, $2.9k FanDuel)
Here’s a great source of salary relief and a high-upside value at that, as Werth has some very impressive splits in his career against knuckler R.A. Dickey. He’s 13-for-27 with 2 HR and 5 walks off Dickey, who is playing with fire with a 1.80 WHIP and while allowing 16 hits over two starts so far this year. The Nationals can certainly tag him if they’re patient and Werth is one of the primary candidates to do just that.

Other hitters to consider: Freddie Freeman, Chris Davis, Adam Lind, Seth Smith, Adam Duvall, Bryce Harper, Mike Napoli 

4/20/17 DFS MLB STACKS

Mariners vs Cesar Valdez
He’s a relative unknown as the 32-year-old Dominican makes his debut, but we do know that Valdez struggled against the platoon last year. The RHP allowed lefties to hit .282 and posted a 1.27 WHIP against lefties at the AAA level last year, so he could clearly struggle against one of the best lefty-heavy lineups in the Majors. Robinson Cano and Kyle Seager stand out as the obvious plays against Valdez, while Mitch Haniger remains a premium value with great upside. Even though he’s a righty, Nelson Cruz could lower the boom on this inexperience SP and those four hitters form the head of a Mariners stack.

Royals vs Andrew Cashner
We touched upon Cashner’s struggles against the platoon in the section on Moustakas, and that makes Eric Hosmer and Alex Gordon worthwhile options despite their respective struggles so far this season. Lorenzo Cain might be my favorite play in a Royals uniform due to his dual threat ability and Salvador Perez has also flashed some upside due to his power. Alcides Escobar should set the table as both KC and Texas are capable of scoring runs in bunches in a potential slugfest.

Padres vs Patrick Corbin
It’s going to be a contrarian approach tonight as most DFSers gravitate towards a D’Backs stack against Clayton Richard. Yet the Arizona southpaw has struggled over the past couple of season since undergoing elbow surgery and he faces a young San Diego lineup that’s stacked with powerful RHB including Hunter Renfroe, Manuel Margot and big Wil Myers. Yangervis Solarte should bat high in the order as a switch hitter and he’s another solid mid-tier play to consider.

Other Stacks to consider:
Nationals vs. R.A. Dickey
Cardinals vs. Zach Davies