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The top daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for FanDuel and DraftKings on April 17th, 2022. Mark Kieffer's MLB DFS analysis and sleepers for building optimal DFS rosters.
This article will provide my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for FanDuel and DraftKings on 4/17/2022 Main Slate at 1:00 pm Eastern Time.
The lineup will range from some elite players to mid-priced options, and value plays. The main slate is 10-games on DraftKings and 11-games on FanDuel.
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 @Mark_Kieffer and ask away!
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DraftKings, FanDuel Pitchers - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Zack Wheeler - P, PHI @ MIA ($10,200 on both DK and FD)
Zack Wheeler in 2021 and 2022 combined has a 28.8% strikeout rate, a 5.4% walk rate, and a SIERA of 3.20. Miami is No. 8 in strikeout rate at 25.1%. Wheeler in his first start of the season against the New York Mets went 4.2 innings, allowed two hits, one earned run, had one walk, and struck out three batters on 65 pitches. Wheeler is by far the best pitcher on the board for this slate, the issue is how long will he pitch? I have to believe he is on a 75-80 pitch count. This makes him tough to play. On the other hand, only Alek Manoah, Jose Quintana, and Tyler Alexander on this slate went more than five innings in their first start of the year and Wheeler has the highest strikeout upside on the slate.
Alek Manoah- P, TOR vs. OAK ($10,000 DK, $10,000 FD)
Alek Manoah has a career 27.8% strikeout rate in the major leagues. Today he faces Oakland, a team that strikes out 27.8% of the time so far this season (No. 3 in baseball). Some concern with this play is that Manoah has a career SIERA of 3.88 and a career walk rate of 9.1%. Those are not horrible overall, but they are not ideal for a pitcher in this price range. Against the Yankees, he did walk four batters in six innings pitched. Of course, his seven strikeouts and picking up a win canceled out those concerns. Oakland's walk rate is just 7.6% on the year. This is a good spot for Manoah to have a ceiling type of a game if he has command of his stuff.
Nestor Cortes- P, NYY @ BAL ($8,200 DK, $8,400 FD)
Similar to how I arrived on Manoah, I arrived on Nestor Cortes. Generally, I am looking for pitchers with high strikeout rates going against teams with high strikeout rates. Baltimore is No. 2 in strikeout rate at 28.4%. This gives a boost to whoever is pitching against them. Cortes has a career 24.8% strikeout rate, although he had a 27.5% strikeout rate in 2021. In his first start in 2022, Cortes went 4.1 innings with five strikeouts, zero walks, and zero earned runs. If he can make it five innings, he has a good shot at the win.
Aaron Ashby- P, MIL vs. STL ($6,000 DK, $7,200 FD)
Aaron Ashby has a career 28.4% strikeout rate, 9.7% walk rate, and 3.23 SIERA. The bad news is he has to face Saint Louis, the league leader in ISO so far (.221). In a tournament as an SP2 on DraftKings, I am willing to take a chance. It is difficult to find pitchers with that high of a strikeout rate for that cheap.
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DraftKings, FanDuel Infielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Matt Chapman- 3B, TOR vs. Adam Oller ($3,700 DK, $3,200 FD)
Matt Chapman and the Toronto Blue Jays will face Adam Oller and the Oakland A's as they wrap up their series. Adam Oller has only pitched 1.1 innings in the big leagues, but in those 1.1 innings, he allowed two home runs, had three walks, allowed five hits, and five earned runs. I do not know how long Oller will be in the game but Toronto is in a great spot in that one and Chapman is too cheap.
Carlos Correa- SS, MIN vs. Michael Wacha ($4,000 DK, $3,400 FD)
Shortstop is a polarizing position in that you either have to spend way up to get someone with power potential or you might as well consider punting the position. Carlos Correa is a bit of a compromise. Although he is off to a slow start this season (.154 AVG, 1 HR, 1 RBI), Correa has an ISO of .210 against RHP the last two seasons. Michael Wacha has a 2.08 ERA over 4.1 innings pitched, however, the has a career 4.19 SIERA, which is pretty average. At some point, Correa has to get going and if looking for some power upside in the midrange, he is an option worth taking a shot with.
Jorge Polanco- 2B, MIN vs. Michael Wacha ($3,600 DK, $3,300 FD)
Coming back here with another Minnesota Twin. In a cash game format, I am OK with a mini-stack with Correa as Polanco-Correa are likely to be the 3-4 hitter for the Twins. Polanco this season is batting .222 with one home run and three RBI. Last year Polanco hit 33 home runs. With players like Brandon Lowe and Trevor Story being $5,600 and $5,700 on DraftKings, getting someone with similar power upside for $2,000 cheaper is a bargain.
Ji-Man Choi- 1B, TB vs. Vince Velasquez ($4,000 DK, $3,500 FD)
Ji-Man Choi, according to Statcast, has 11.5% barrels per plate appearance, which is just below Mike Trout's 11.8%. Vince Velasquez over the last two seasons gives up 2.2 HR/9, which is pretty high. Velasquez is definitely a pitcher to target in DFS whether you roster Choi or not. With this being a Sunday slate, there should be a lot of value that opens up with bats. I would check lineups before lock to see if something opens up value-wise at first base if you are not able to pay this price for Choi.
DraftKings, FanDuel Outfielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. - OF, TOR vs. Adam Oller ($3,900 DK, $3,200 FD)
Lourdes Gurriel Jr., is off to a slow start this year, batting .273 with four RBI. In the last two seasons, he has a .190 ISO against RHP and he should be hitting the middle of the order in this potent lineup as Teoscar Hernandez is now injured. At some point, the power will come and it could happen as early as today against a weak pitcher.
Nelson Cruz- OF, WAS vs. Jose Quintana ($4,100 DK, $3,100 FD)
I am old enough to remember when Nelson Cruz vs. LHP was a thing. In the last two seasons, Quintana has allowed 1.71 HR/9. Cruz is batting just .219 with one HR and six RBI. Would be nice to see him get going here against a bad pitcher. This will likely be a lower owned play given his slow start and the fact that they are playing at PNC Park. Cruz is best considered as a one-off in a tournament lineup.
Aaron Hicks - OF,NYY vs. Bruce Zimmerman ($3,100 DK, $2,500 FD)
Bruce Zimmerman is not a great pitcher. In the last two seasons, he has allowed 1.84 HR/9, has a SIERA of 4.56 and a K-BB% of 11.9%. In the last two seasons, Hicks has a wOBA of .370 and an ISO of .350 against LHP. The Yankees are implied for five runs and I'd love to get a piece of that game without breaking the bank. If Hicks is leading off, he should be a cash game core play in my opinion.
DraftKings, FanDuel MLB DFS Stacks
Toronto Blue Jays vs. Oakland A's (Adam Oller, RHP)
The rationale for this stack has been implied: Adam Oller is not a proven pitcher and in his limited work in the big leagues he got lit up. Additionally, the Blue Jays are implied for 5.7 runs, the most on the slate. Because a significant portion of the stack is so expensive (assuming no one key sits), it will be interesting to see what people do. There is also not a lot of value on the slate pitching-wise either.
New York Yankees vs. Baltimore Orioles (Bruce Zimmerman, LHP)
Bruce Zimmerman has a SIERA the last two seasons of 4.56. The Yankees have Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton. This could be the most popular stack of the day, but they have to be listed because they have to be considered.
Minnesota Twins vs. Boston Red Sox (Michael Wacha, RHP)
This Twins stack has been implied throughout the writing too. Minnesota is implied for 4.7 runs, and since Boston is implied for 5 runs, they could be less popular than they should be going against a very average pitcher. Polanco-Correa-Kepler are the three key players to have in the stack. If Sano is batting near them, I would consider him as well as his ISO against RHP (.290 last two seasons) is better than LHP (.130 last two seasons). I would skip Arraez though as he does not provide much other than the ability to get a walk or a single and possibly score a run.
Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Washington Nationals (Patrick Corbin, LHP) - Sneaky Stack
I don't know how sneaky this stack will be but it could be under-owned. Generally, Patrick Corbin is a pitcher we like to target in DFS but PNC Park is a park we like to fade in DFS. They did put up six runs against the Nationals last night, so runs can be scored.
Los Angeles Angels vs. Texas Rangers (Martin Perez) - FanDuel Only, Possibly Sneaky?
This game is on FanDuel but not on DraftKings. Los Angeles is implied for 5.0 runs going against Martin Perez, a pitcher that shouldn't be in the league anymore. Perez has a career ERA of 4.72 and K-BB% of 7.0%. This stack could be sneaky on FanDuel, especially if lineups are not out by lock. If people are playing both sites, they may not be handicapping this game. If I were playing on FanDuel, I would have at least one lineup with the Angels as a stack in it because they could very well be the highest-scoring team on the slate.
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