We are at the one-week mark of the season, and we are finally back to postponements for normal reasons: the weather. The Mets, Orioles, and Phillies put the kibosh on today’s games already because of forecasted heavy rain in those areas. The Twins postponed theirs because of a garden-variety April blizzard that dropped more than two feet of snow in parts of the Gopher state. Fun stuff! That leaves a once-robust eight-game slate as a four-gamer. Here we go!
This article contains my picks for the 9-game main slate on Thursday, April 6 for both DraftKings and Fanduel that locks at 1:10 PM ET.
The lineup picks will range from some elite high-priced players to mid-priced options and value plays. I’ll give you a few of my top pitching options and then some infielders, outfielders, and teams to stack. You can also read more DFS advice and lineup picks for other sports here. It’s also essential to monitor injury news and today’s MLB starting lineups.
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DraftKings, FanDuel Pitchers – MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Kevin Gausman, TOR at KC ($9,000 DK, $10,800 FD)
There are not a lot of options and Gausman is really low-hanging fruit. Eat the chalk. I’ll show you places to get different. Gausman handled a pretty good Cardinals team on Opening Day on the other side of Missouri. I’m not scared of the Royals. Gausman has by far the highest strikeout potential on the slate and should be able to turn in a quality start at the absolute minimum.
Josiah Gray, WAS at COL ($6,200 DK, $7,200 FD)
Look, I like Kyle Freeland and he is often decent at home. The problem is he doesn’t really strike out many batters. I’ll turn to the guy on the other side. Don’t be discouraged by Gray’s rough outing against the Braves. Gray has had homer issues in his career and starting him at Coors seems counterintuitive. Hey, I don’t care if he gives up a homer or three if he’s not letting guys on base and striking out at least one per inning. If he faces Montero three times, that’s three K’s right there. He has immense strikeout potential at this price. I’ll take the risk in a park that doesn’t play like a hitter’s haven in April.
Others to consider: Kyle Freeland vs. WAS
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DraftKings, FanDuel Infielders – MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. – 1B, TOR at KC ($5.500 DK, $3,900 FD)
Jordan Lyles pitched well against the Twins, at least on the surface, in the opener. He still lost because of zero run support as the Royals were shut out, but there are red flags all over the place with Lyles. He doesn’t miss bats – he only had two strikeouts in the opener – and allowed three times more fly balls than ground balls. That’s a problem against a Blue Jays team that can hit for a lot of power.
Yoan Moncada – 3B, CWS vs. SF ($4,800 DK, $3,000 FD)
Few players have started off as hot as Moncada. He roughed up Houston to open the season and has collected three hits in two games against the Giants so far. Today he gets lefty Alex Wood in his first start of 2023. Wood had a solid spring, but we know how good Moncada can be when he’s on. He is hitting .440 with a pair of homers and five RBI so far this year. I think it’s safe to say that he’s on.
Jeimer Candelario – 1B/3B, WAS at COL ($3,100 DK, $2,600 FD)
I can tell you right now that I will be underweight on this game. Coors in April plays more like Wrigley in April. Balls really don’t start flying on the front range until it gets warmer. That said, the Nationals had the misfortune of starting the season off against the Braves and Rays, who are looking to be two of the best pitching staffs in all of baseball right now. The Nats get Coors at the right time.
Candelario hits 40 points higher against lefties in his career and homers about once every 15 at-bats against southpaws. On a slate where there isn’t a lot of obvious value, I’ll take a shot on Candelario at this price.
DraftKings, FanDuel Outfielders – MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Alex Verdugo – OF, BOS at DET ($4,600 DK, $3,600 FD)
Verdugo is leading off against the worst pitcher of the first week. That’s all we really need to know. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that Verdugo has started well this year with a .346 average with a homer and four RBI in the first week. He has reached base in every game so far and is growing into the player that made him a former top prospect with the Dodgers. Look for him to pad those stats against Turnbull.
Adam Duvall – OF, BOS at DET ($4,300 DK, $3,800 FD)
Duvall has started off on the biggest tear of his career and now he gets to face a pitcher who was arguably the worst one of the first week of the season in Spencer Turnbull. I’m considering just game-stacking this, betting the over, and calling it a day. The Pirates finally kept Duvall off base yesterday – the only team to accomplish that feat so far this season. He should get back on them today against Turnbull and that pen.
Matt Vierling – OF, DET vs. BOS ($2,900 DK, $2,400 FD)
The Tiger offense came alive a little bit in Houston. Now they get Chris Sale, who right now looks more like a name than anything else. His first 2023 start was a disaster. He gave up seven runs in just three innings to Baltimore. That’s not going to happen against Detroit, but that’s not to say that a few of the righties in this righty-heavy lineup won’t get to him.
Vierling racked up seven hits in three games against Houston with a homer, three RBI, two runs scored, and a steal. That’s a lot of crooked fantasy numbers! He’s cheap against a struggling lefty and batting leadoff. Count me in!
DraftKings, FanDuel MLB DFS Stacks
Boston Red Sox vs. Spencer Turnbull
Turnbull gave up as many runs as he recorded outs against Tampa in the opener (seven) and it won’t get any easier here. Boston scored 27 runs in three games against Baltimore before running into a better-than-advertised Pittsburgh staff. We definitely want Verdugo and Rafael Devers as the top two hitters in this lineup. Justin Turner, Masataka Yoshida, and Duvall are the rest of the top five in this lineup, but I might just stack the lefties here. Turnbull has been markedly worse against southpaws so far in his career.
Toronto Blue Jays vs. Jordan Lyles
I don’t trust Lyles at all. He’s closer to the 4.42 ERA that he showed in the spring than the guy that gave up two runs in the opener to the Twins. He allows a lot of fly balls, and when that happens with a team like Toronto, he’s likely going to feel the effects of that. I’m not going to lie…this is a pricy stack. However, it feels like Matt Chapman and Daulton Varsho are severely underpriced here, so you can still add in Vladdy and George Springer.
Also consider: Detroit Tigers vs. Chris Sale
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