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Welcome back to another edition of the FREE DraftKings and FanDuel MLB DFS picks. We have a massive 11-game slate to attack tonight. First, there are some aces like Cease, Rodon, and Freddy Peralta making their second starts. Then, we get the debut of MacKenzie Gore versus the Braves as well. Then, when it comes to the bats, we get Coors Field again, the Dodgers in another smash spot, and much more on a monster slate.
Most will look to Coors Field for their bats, which is fine, but I will look to the Dodgers, Angels, and a few others. Making smaller 2-3 player stacks may be a better plan of attack on this slate. Go a little home run hunting, perhaps. Rodon will likely be the chalk for the pitching, making Cease a nice pay-up pivot. You can go with Keller, Wright, or the potential free square in Gore for discounted arms. It should be an incredible slate tonight, so bucket up and let the home runs fly.
This article will provide my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for Fanduel and DraftKings on 4/15/2022. The lineup will range from some elite players to mid-priced options, and value plays. You can also read more DFS advice and lineup picks for other sports. It's also essential to monitor injury news and today's MLB starting lineups. If you have any questions or comments, find me on Twitter and ask away!
DraftKings, FanDuel Pitchers - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Carlos Rodon - P, SF at CLE ($9,800 DK, $10,100 FD)
Rodon is coming off a dominant first start for the Giants, coming off his breakout 2021 season. Rodon threw five innings where he allowed one run and struck out 12. He allowed zero barrels to go with an insane 23.6% SwStr and a CSW of 38.2%. He has another great matchup versus the Guardians tonight, and he should deal again on paper. A Guardians team is striking out nearly 21% of the time versus LHP to start the season, but they are hitting .324 with a .189 ISO. If Rodon has the SwStr working again with increased velocity, watch out. He threw 89 pitches in his first start, so 100 pitches should be on tap. Rodon should be very popular so that a tournament fade may be in line, but it will be hard to ignore the massive ceiling he brings to this matchup.
Brad Keller - P, KC vs. DET ($7,000 DK, $9,400 FD)
In 2020 we saw Keller put together a solid season with excellent ratios but low in the strikeout departments. After his first start this season, he threw six shutout innings with five strikeouts versus the Guardians. He had a 13% SwStr rate with a 27.5% CSW on only 69 pitches. He will take on a Tigers team who has struggled mightily to start the season, striking out 24.8% of the time versus RHP with a .188 average and a .152 ISO. Keller should be in line for 80 pitches and could be in line for another strong start at a discount on DK. Regarding FD, I would rather pay $300 more for Cease or $1,000 less for Montgomery.
Other options: Dylan Cease vs. TB ($10,200 DK, $9,700 FD), Jordan Montgomery at BAL ($8,800 DK, $8,400 FD), MacKenzie Gore vs. ATL ($5,000 DK, $6,400 FD)
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DraftKings, FanDuel Infielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Rowdy Tellez - 1B, MIL vs. Miles Mikolas ($2,600 DK, $2,500 FD)
Tellez has gotten off to a solid start to the 2022 season. He is hitting .316 with three extra-base hits, including a home run. Tellez is hitting the 5th most days and has a 15.4% barrel rate with a 46.2% hard-hit rate. Over his career, he is hitting .242 with a .230 ISO versus RHP, and he has an intriguing matchup versus Mikolas tonight. Mikolas allowed two runs over 3.2 innings in his debut, and he has always been a significant pitch-to-contact pitcher. Since returning to the MLB, Mikolas allows LHH to hit over .280 with 1 HR/9. Tellez comes at a great value and can be a GPP one-off value or even a part of a sneaky MIL stack.
Gavin Lux - 2B/SS/OF, LAD vs. Vladimir Gutierrez ($2,900 DK, $3,000 FD)
Lux continues to rake to start the season, which should continue on Friday night. He did not start on Thursday, but even after going 0-2 off the bench, he is hitting .333 to start the season with one home run, four runs, and five RBI. Lux is barreling the ball 20% of the time with a 60% hard-hit rate. He will face Gutierrez's pitch to contact arm tonight, allowing two runs over 4.1 innings in his season debut. Last season, LHH hit .255 versus Gutierrez with 2.2 HR/9. Lux and the Dodgers are an incredible stack tonight, and his value is hard to pass up.
Bobby Witt Jr. - 3B/SS, KC vs. Tarik Skubal ($2,400 DK, $2,900 FD)
Your daily reminder is to keep playing Witt at his ridiculously cheap price. He went 1-4 with a triple on Thursday, and that makes just another game where he has hit fantasy value even though he is not having any monster games. Even without the big games, he has a 110.4 mph maxEV, and the big games are coming. He faces Skubal tonight, allowing five runs on seven hits over four innings in his season debut. Last season, Skubal allowed RHH to hit .240 but allowed 2.5 HR/9, and in 2020 allowed 3.2 HR/9 to RHH hitters. Again, Witt's big game is coming, so enjoy the discount while you can and keep playing the young stud for cheap.
Jeremy Pena- SS, HOU at Marco Gonzales ($2,600 DK, $2,700 FD)
As you can tell, I love writing up value plays as the pricey plays like the Dodgers and Coors are easy to navigate. Another substantial value is Pena in his matchup versus Gonzales. So far this season, Pena is hitting .292 with three extra-base hits and a .208 ISO. The young shortstop has a 10.5% barrel rate and a 52.6% hard-hit rate. He faces Gonzales tonight, who only last two innings in his debut, allowing six runs and two home runs. The Astros are in a smash spot tonight, and Pena is a great value to target in all formats.
DraftKings, FanDuel Outfielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Seth Brown- 1B/OF, OAK at Ross Stripling ($3,500 DK, $2,900 FD)
Let's get contrarian with some A's tonight, and one of those A's should be Brown (you can also target Chad Pinder and Sean Murphy). Brown is only hitting .238 to start the season but has two home runs, eight RBI, and a 12.5% walk rate. Brown is racking up the fantasy stats in many ways, making him an excellent value in an intriguing matchup versus Stripling. Stripling has made two appearances this season, both one inning performances out of the bullpen. Thus, we should get a bullpen game for the Jays in a game with a total of over 10. The A's are super sneaky on an 11-game slate, and Brown could be a great tournament piece in that contrarian A's stack.
Tyler Naquin - OF, CIN at Tony Gonsolin ($3,500 DK, $3,000)
Naquin is raking to start the season, hitting safely in four of six games with multiple hits in three of those games. He has four extra-base hits with a .286 ISO and 1.172 OPS. In this short season, Naquin is hitting .385 versus RHP, and last season he hit .283 with a .231 ISO and .853 OPS. Gonsolin threw three strong innings in his debut and should be good for 3-4 innings tonight, meaning more Dodgers bullpen who was used a bit on Thursday. Naquin is far too cheap for tonight's matchup, making him a strong GPP play.
Austin Meadows- OF, DET at Brad Keller ($4,500 DK, $3,200 FD)
Meadows went 2-4 on Thursday, stretching his hitting streak to six games to start the season. He only has one extra-base hit but is getting the job done but reaching base repeatedly. The extra-base hits will come as he is still barreling the ball 16.7% of the time with a 50% hard-hit rate. He faces the righty Keller tonight, which bodes well as he has had an ISO over .216 the past three seasons versus RHP. Meadows continues to rake versus RHP, and at his elevated price tag, he will be low rostered. Do not forget about Meadows tonight in your cash and tournament lineups.
DraftKings, FanDuel MLB DFS Stacks
Milwaukee Brewers vs. St. Louis Cardinals (Miles Mikolas, RHP)
The Brewers bats have gotten off to a slow start this season, but they are slowly heating up. A pitch to contact arm like Mikolas may help them explode. Tellez is very cheap, but Willy Adames, Christian Yelich (sneaky nice underlying metrics), Kolten Wong, and Omar Narvaez make for some nice options versus Mikolas and the Cardinals tonight.
Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Cincinnati Reds (Vladimir Guttierez, RHP)
The Dodgers are one of my top stacks tonight, just like last night, and they came through for us in the end. The usual suspects like Freddie Freeman, Will Smith, Max Muncy, Trea Turner, and Mookie Betts are in play but do not forget about the values of Lux, Cody Bellinger, and maybe Austin Barnes as well. The Dodgers are going to stack again tonight.
Los Angeles Angels at Texas Rangers (Kolby Allard, LHP)
The Angels disappointed last night, but I will go back to the Mike Trout and friends well again. Jo Adell makes for a nice tournament play, as well as Anthony Rendon, Max Stassi, and Shohei Ohtani. There are a lot of sneaky stacks like the A's and Giants if you are not interested in the Angels tonight.
COORS IS DEFINITELY IN PLAY
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