DFS MLB Lineups for April 27, 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. Below, we’ll focus on the early slate as the evening slate is only 4 games.

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!

4/27/17 MAIN SLATE TOURNAMENT RUNDOWN

DraftKings Anniversary Special: $55 buy-in, $325k guaranteed  
DraftKings Four Seamer: $4 buy-in, $60k guaranteed 
DraftKings Perfect Game: $333 buy-in, $50k guaranteed (5 entry max)
FanDuel Grand Slam: $25 buy-in, $40k guaranteed
FanDuel Monster: $333 buy-in, $100k guaranteed
FanDuel Squeeze: $4 buy-in, $100k guaranteed

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

1:05p: Marlins (Volquez) @ Phillies (Hellickson): 8
1:10p: Mariners (Iwakuma) @ Tigers (Verlander): 8
1:10p: Braves (Dickey) @ Mets (Syndergaard): 7
1:45p: Blue Jays (Latos) @ Cardinals (Martinez): 8
3:10p: Nationals (Gonzalez) @ Rockies (Senzatela): 11
3:45p: Dodgers (Urias) @ Giants (Moore): 7.5
6:10p: Astros (Fiers) @ Indians (Kluber): 8.5

Best DFS MLB Pitchers for April 27, 2017

Corey Kluber vs. HOU ($10k DraftKings, $11.4k FanDuel)
The Indians ace finally got on track with an excellent performance to reassert his status as an elite DFS option, as he struck out 9 and allowed just 3 hits in a CGSO effort against the White Sox. Now he’ll pitch at home against an Astros lineup that’s been very strikeout prone over the past several seasons and is sporting a collective .206 batting average (20-for-97) with 27 K’s in their careers against Kluber. He’s been giving up a lot of Hard Contact (44.6%) through 4 starts but simply needs to locate and change speeds to be successful as he has over the past few seasons and he’s a great option for the Mix Up slate on FanDuel if the weather looks decent in Cleveland.

Carlos Martinez vs. TOR ($8.9k DraftKings, $9.1k FanDuel)
Weather is still a concern in St. Louis, but Martinez should get a full game in and he’s well rested ahead of what is suddenly a plus matchup against a struggling Blue Jays lineup. Toronto is sporting the second-lowest wOBA (.282) while scoring the fourth-fewest runs in the Majors so far this season and Josh Donaldson (calf) is still on the shelf. Martinez has hit a couple of speed bumps, but also flashed his potential with a dynamic outing against the Cubs in the season opener and is certainly capable of outpitching washed up veteran Mat Latos at home this evening.

Gio Gonzalez @ COL ($6.5k DraftKings, $6.3k FanDuel)
He’s been so good through 4 starts this season that I’d be willing to consider Gio as a value play at Coors Field tonight. The Rockies send a much more vulnerable pitcher to the mound in Antonio Senzatela, while Coors is slightly more conducive to success for lefties than RHP. Gonzalez is sporting a 1.35 ERA and 1.05 WHIP and took a no-hitter into the sixth inning of his last outing, while current Rockies are just 7-for-42 (.167) with 16 K’s in their collective careers against him. GPP play only here, but one that would rocket you up the leaderboard should it pay off.

Other pitchers to consider: Noah Syndergaard, Jeremy Hellickson, Matt Moore, R.A. Dickey

Best DFS MLB Hitters for April 27, 2017

Carlos Santana vs. HOU ($4.4k DraftKings, $5.3k FanDuel)
The Indians could be the top stack of the night against a vulnerable RHP in Mike Fiers as part of the Mix Up slate on FanDuel or the Early contests on DK. Santana is a switch hitter with a career .212 ISO Mark against RHP and he’s sporting a .338 wOBA against righties so far this season. Fiers is sporting a 33% HR/FB ratio and has allowed lefties to go 11-for-38 with 3 HR for a .438 wOBA and he’s been consistently lit up with a 5.40 ERA and 1.53 WHIP through 3 outings.

Ian Kinsler vs. SEA ($3.9k DraftKings, $3.7k FanDuel)
He’s surprisingly cheap on DK given the circumstances and perhaps it has to do with the Tigers offense becoming more vulnerable due to the absence of Miguel Cabrera. Yet Kinsler is capable of stepping up to carry the load and he faces a finesse pitcher in Hisashi Iwakuma, who depends on deception to get undisciplined hitters out. That hasn’t really worked against Kinsler, as he’s 13-for-34 with 3 HR and a SB in his career against Iwakuma who is struggling at the age of 36 with a 5.31 ERA and 7.51 FIP through 3 starts this season.

Asdrubal Cabrera vs. ATL ($3.5k DraftKings, $3.1k FanDuel)
Some hitters just profile well against knuckleballers and Cabrera is certainly one of them. He’s 6-for-18 with 2 XBH and 2 HR in his career against R.A. Dickey and is much more dangerous as a switch hitter when he’s batting from the left side of the plate, as he’s sporting a .275 batting average and 28.6% Hard Contact Rate against RHP so far this season. Dickey is generally more vulnerable before the weather warms up and it’s going to be cold and damp in New York after a lengthy rainstorm, so that knuckler might hang up a bit too often.

Other hitters to consider: Daniel Murphy, Edwin Encarnacion, Giancarlo Stanton, Francisco Lindor, Yoenis Cespedes, Stephen Piscotty, Victor Martinez, Tyler Collins, Kike Hernandez

4/27/17 DFS MLB STACKS

Indians vs Mike Fiers
The prolific Indians offense can really pile it on when they get going and they happen to have a lineup that is chock full of dangerous lefties. Considering Mike Fiers’ struggles against the platoon (25.6% Line Drive Rate in his career) and he’s actually been more homer-prone against RHB with a 1.65 HR/9 ratio in RvR matchups last year. Francisco Lindor is the most versatile lefty in that lineup, while Carlos Santana has plenty of pop and Lonnie Chisenhall can serve as a value LHB. Abraham Almonte has cooled off but will still be worth a look if he’s starting and Edwin Encarnacion is a great GPP play in this unique new format on FanDuel dubbed the “Mix Up” slate.

Cardinals vs Mat Latos
Part of the reason for heavy exposure on Martinez is the vulnerability of his adversary in Latos, who was lit up for 4 ER over 5 IP in his only outing so far this season. His performance fell off a cliff with a 4.95 ERA tow years ago and he was much worse last year with a matching 5.32 FIP to go along with a 4.89 ERA. Current Cardinals are hitting .274 (26-for-95) with 8 XBH and 3 HR in their careers against Latos and they have a couple of very dangerous outfielders in Randal Grichuk and Stephen Piscotty. Yadier Molina remains a solid bet for production from behind the plate and Matt Carpenter is the table setter, while Aledyms Diaz has also come on strong lately.

Phillies vs Edinson Volquez
Not usually an offense you think about stacking, but the Phillies are capable of coming through in the best matchups. Tonight they’ll face a veteran RHP in Edinson Volquez who has been up and down throughout his career and has given up 10 ER on 17 hits while walking 9 over his last 3 appearances. Current Phillies are 11-for-29 (.379) over a small sample against Volquez, who struggled with a 5.37 ERA and allowed LHB to post a .386 wOBA last season. Cheap LHB for Philly include Odubel Herrera and Freddie Galvis, who happens to be 4-for-7 with 2 doubles and a HR off Volquez. Also consider Maikel Franco as a thumper in the middle of that lineup and Aaron Altherr as a good value.

Other Stacks to consider:
Mets vs. R.A. Dickey
Tigers vs. Hisashi Iwakuma
Nationals vs. Antonio Senzatela