DFS MLB Lineups for April 25, 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. As with any DFS sport, the advice below is relevant for fantasy purposes. A player or team might be better or worse from a fantasy perspective than they are in real life due to matchup, price, park factor, etc. This is important when constructing a roster.

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. Massive 14 game main slate today, so we’ll help cut through the noise.

Another thing to remember outside of making sure your guy is in the lineup, 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!

4/25/17 MAIN SLATE TOURNAMENT RUNDOWN

DraftKings Home Plate: $20 buy-in, $40k guaranteed  
DraftKings Four Seamer: $4 buy-in, $175k guaranteed (20 entry max)
DraftKings Fastball: $33 buy-in, $400k guaranteed 
FanDuel Rally: $7 buy-in, $77k guaranteed
FanDuel Grand Slam: $44 buy-in, $400k guaranteed
FanDuel Squeeze: $4 buy-in, $175k guaranteed

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

7:05p: Marlins (Chen) @ Phillies (Velasquez): 7.5
7:05p: Cubs (Hendricks) @ Pirates (Cole): 7.5
7:05p: Rays (Ramirez) @ Orioles (Miley): 8
7:10p: Braves (Teheran) @ Mets (Gsellman): 7
7:10p: Mariners (Hernandez) @ Tigers (Zimmerman): 8.5
7:10p: Yankees (Severino) @ Red Sox (Porcello): 8
7:40p: Reds (Feldman) @ Brewers (Davies): 9
8:05p: Twins (Santana) @ Rangers (Cashner): 9
8:10p: Royals (Duffy) @ White Sox (Covey): 7.5
8:15p: Blue Jays (Estrada) @ Cardinals (Wacha): 7.5
8:40p: Nationals (Ross) @ Rockies (Marquez): 11
9:40p: Padres (Richard) @ Diamondbacks (Corbin): 9.5
10:07p: Athletics (Hahn) @ Angels (Ramirez): 8.5
10:15p: Dodgers (Kershaw) @ Giants (Blach): 6.5

Best DFS MLB Pitchers for April 25, 2017

Clayton Kershaw @ SF ($14.3k DraftKings, $12.7k FanDuel)
As expensive as Kershaw may be on DK, he’s almost a must play at a more reasonable price tag on FanDuel, where he comes with a far higher floor-ceiling combination than any single starter. Kershaw’s been his usual dominant self with 18 K’s and just 2 walks while allowing 3 ER over his last two outings (15.1 IP) and he travels to massive AT&T Park, which has one of the lowest Run Factors of any ballpark in the Majors. Current Giants are batting just .158 (51-for-322) with 91 K’s over a huge sample size against the elite southpaw and should get some run support with young LHP Ty Blach going for the Giants.

Danny Duffy @ CWS ($10.4k DraftKings, $9.7k FanDuel)
Chicago should stay out of the rain that will bombard the east coast over the next couple of days and the forecast at U.S. Cellular Field happens to call for strong winds blowing IN from RF tonight (as always, subject to change). That could help Duffy keep the ball in the yard on fly balls, although he’s hardly allowing any Hard Contact with a 14.1% Line Drive Rate and 6.7% HR/FB ratio so far this season. The Royals LHP is sporting a 1.32 ERA and hasn’t received much run support from his struggling offense, but even KC could come alive against a rookie RHP in Dylan Covey who just gave up 8 ER on 10 hits in his last outing.

Michael Wacha vs. TOR ($6.8k DraftKings, $7.7k FanDuel)
Wacha seems to have rediscovered his mojo with a 2.41 ERA and 8.23 K/9 ratio through 3 starts this season and he’ll pitch at home tonight against a Blue Jays offense that’s been a shell of its former self this season. Toronto is sporting the third-lowest collective wOBA (.281) with a weak .223 batting average while scoring the fourth-fewest runs in the Majors so far this season as that lineup is struggling to cope with the loss of Edwin Encarnacion and Josh Donaldson (calf) dinged up and on the DL. Despite scuffling at home last season, Wacha has posted a 3.57 ERA and 1.23 WHIP in his career at Busch Stadium and he seems like a reliable option tonight.

Other pitchers to consider: Kyle Hendricks, Felix Hernandez, Wei-Yin Chen, Wade Miley, JC Ramirez (at $4.2k allows you to roster Kershaw and at least a couple bats on DK) 

Best DFS MLB Hitters for April 25, 2017

Brian Dozier @ TEX ($5k DraftKings, $3.5k FanDuel)
This should be the game to target for offense outside of the high-priced bats at Coors Field, and Dozier clearly has the most upside of any batter in the Twins lineup. He’s heating up with 4 hits and 2 walks over his last 3 appearances and faces weak RHP Andrew Cashner at hitter-friendly Globe Life Ballpark. Cashner managed to limit the Royals last-place offense in his last outing but has allowed RHB to go 6-for-22 with 4 XBH (.443 wOBA) so far this season after posting a 5.25 ERA with a 14.5% HR/FB ratio with two teams last year. Dozier has launched 3 homers over his last 40 at-bats down in Arlington and is in a great spot to hit a bomb tonight.

Nelson Cruz @ DET ($4.3k DraftKings, $4.1k FanDuel)
As the weather warms, so does Cruz, who appears somewhat ageless at the start of his 12th MLB campaign. He’s slashing .375/.512/.781 with 4 doubles and 3 HR over his last 10 appearances and has been driving in runs like crazy with guys like Mitch Haniger and Robinson Cano reaching in front of him. Tonight the Mariners are worth stacking against RHP Jordan Zimmerman, whose performance fell off a cliff last year and that decline has continued into 2017 as he’s posting a 5.94 ERA with a 43.6% Hard Contact Rate through 3 starts.

A.J. Pollock vs. SD ($4.3k DraftKings, $3.9k FanDuel)
Pollock’s no longer dramatically under priced on both main DFS sites, but he’s still a relative bargain given his floor-ceiling combination. The elite RHB is hitting .308 with a 21.5% Line Drive Rate and 3 SB so far this season and he draws a good matchup against LHP Clayton Richard. Pollock is 3-for-12 in his career against Richard, with a HR and 2 doubles, one of which he hit in Richard’s start against the D’Backs just last week. He hit .326 with a .379 wOBA in his last full season against lefties and should serve as a great addition to an Arizona stack.

Other hitters to consider: Mike Trout, Paul Goldschmidt, Giancarlo Stanton, Eric Thames, Max Kepler, Lorenzo Cain, Kike Hernandez, Mike Moustakas, Travis Shaw 

4/25/17 DFS MLB STACKS

Athletics vs J.C. Ramirez
Because of their reputation as well as the spacious confines of Angels Stadium, the A’s might not get much notice as a potential stack, but they’ve got a couple of hot hitters led by Ryon Healy, who is 9-for-19 with 3 doubles and a HR over his last 5 appearances and comes at a dirt cheap price tag ($3.1k) on DraftKings. Jed Lowrie is also heating up while Stephen Vogt could also use the platoon advantage against converted reliever J.C. Ramirez. Khris “Khrush” Davis always has plenty of upside and he’s worth a look consider Ramirez has posted a 1.46 HR/9 ratio throughout his career.

Dodgers vs Ty Blach
The Giants are sending a converted reliever to the mound tonight due in part to Madison Bumgarner’s accident and that means the Dodgers should get plenty of at-bats against San Fran’s bullpen. Blach has not exactly impressed with a 4.77 ERA over 7 appearances this year and he was a bit lucky to avoid a high ERA as a rookie with a 4.32 xFIP as he allowed several inherited runners to score. He won’t have that luxury against a Dodgers team that’s greatly improved against LHP, especially Justin Turner and Corey Seager. Yasiel Puig is worth a look as a platoon specialist and we might see Kike Hernandez crack the lineup as well.

Royals vs Dylan Covey
Lorenzo Cain has been a great play regardless of the performance of his teammates while White Sox RHP Dylan Covey has been lit up by righties through two starts. Salavador Perez and Whit Merrifield could be productive and you can also consider Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas and Alex Gordon as GPP options with the platoon advantage against a vulnerable rookie.

Other Stacks to consider:
Twins vs. Andrew Cashner
Nationals vs. German Marquez
Cubs vs. Gerrit Cole
Orioles vs. Erasmo Ramirez