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We are nearly one week into the season and most teams have made it through their rotation once, meaning we get a crop of ace pitchers back on the board after a few days of dicey pitching options. We have a lot of day baseball and therefore the main slate on both sites contains 9 games from the early afternoon. If you're looking for the 12:35 game between Chicago and Cincinnati you won't find it or the three games that go off in the late afternoon and evening.
This article contains my picks for the 9-game main slate on Wednesday, April 5th for both DraftKings and Fanduel that locks at 1:05 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
Dylan Cease, CHW vs. SFG ($9,100 DK, $10,800 FD)
Cease was lights out in his debut against Houston, allowing only two hits and no earned runs while striking out ten over 6.1 frames. He's a true Cy Young contender and finished last season with a 30% strikeout rate and a 15% SwStr%.
Today he gets the Giants, who already have a 30% strikeout rate against RHP so far this season. There's definitely a chance for another double-digit strikeout game here and he's easily my favorite ace on the board due to his strong first outing and the K upside in this matchup.
Grayson Rodriguez, BAL @ TEX ($4,000 DK)
The top pitching prospect in baseball makes his major league debut today as the Orioles had to call "Gray-Rod" up from AAA after only one start due to an injury to Kyle Bradish in his first start. The talented young righty had a massive year in AAA last season and was expected to crack the rotation out of camp, but he struggled a little in Spring Training so he was sent down to AAA to start the season.
His only start at AAA was rocky, too, as he walked a bunch of guys and gave up a home run. But we have to give him some strong consideration as our SP2 today at min price considering he has some major strikeout upside. There are some other affordable SP2s today like Pablo Lopez who you can probably comfortably fit with Mac or Cease, but going with Rodriguez at SP2 is going to open up a ton of salary for GPPs if you want to stack up some expensive bats.
Others to consider: Shane McClanahan @ WAS, Pablo Lopez @ MIA
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DraftKings, FanDuel Infielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Yandy Diaz - 3B, TBR vs. WAS ($4,100 DK, $3,000 FD)
Diaz leads off against lefties and the Rays have one of the best-implied run totals today as they take on lefty Patrick Corbin and a rebuilding Nats team. Tampa is hot coming out of the gates and ended up coming back and winning last night in extra innings, finishing with 10 runs.
Diaz had a big home run in the 10th inning to break it open and has been swinging the bat well so far, hitting .357 with two home runs and six RBI. He's a career lefty masher and last season had a .379 wOBA against LHP with only a 5% strikeout rate and a 13% walk rate. He's going to get on base and score some runs and he has some pop in his bat, too. He's the first click into my lineups tonight.
Brian Anderson - 3B, MIL vs. NYM ($3,000 DK, $2,500 FD)
Anderson is probably playing a bit over his head right now, but he's still dirt cheap and has a history of solid platoon splits against LHP. I like David Peterson plenty, but he's hittable, and Anderson's .526 AVG and three home runs in this series already simply can't be ignored. He's OF-eligible, too, on both sites.
Nolan Gorman - 2B, STL vs. ATL ($3,300 DK, $3,100 FD)
Gorman was a preseason sleeper as a post-hype breakout and he's wasted no time in announcing his arrival. He's hitting .500 over his first four games with a 2-HR game in there, too. He's still affordable on both sites, despite his solid hit tool and he happens to profile really well here against Atlanta's worst starter, Bryce Elder, who throws a lot of cutters and sinkers to lefties.
DraftKings, FanDuel Outfielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Randy Arozarena - OF, TB vs. WAS ($5,200 DK, $3,900 FD)
"Aroz" had a solid WBC for Mexico and has followed it up by starting out hot for Tampa, too. He's hitting .333 through his first five games and has hit safely in each.
He should bat clean-up today for the Rays, who may end up being the chalk on this slate. But I'm not sure I can fade him or Tampa against Patrick Corbin based on how well they're hitting the ball and how bad Corbin has been now for several years.
Bryan Reynolds - OF, PIT vs. BOS ($5,200 DK, $3,600 FD)
It feels a bit like cheating in writing up a lot of the hottest players of the first week, but I do like playing the hot hand, especially when the players are legit hitters like Reynolds. It's one thing to play a hot guy who is hitting well beyond his normal numbers, but Reynolds has gone on streaks like this before and is one of the more underrated switch-hitters in baseball.
He has three home runs in this series already and he faces Corey Kluber, who got knocked around in his first start of the year. I'm not overthinking this one, Reynolds is going into my lineups.
Chas McCormick - OF, HOU vs. DET ($3,100 DK, $2,700 FD)
Houston has been a bit disappointing to start the season and they need to win this game today to salvage a game in this series against a pretty mediocre Detroit team. Luckily, they face Eduardo Rodriguez who is coming off one of the worst years of his career and is a guy who we can attack with righties.
McCormick has solid splits against lefties in his career and while he does hit down in the order, he has flashed some power, too, in addition to some speed. He already has three stolen bases this season and has drawn three walks in addition to two hits. He's a nice cheap piece for cash games and should be included in your Houston stacks if you go that route.
DraftKings, FanDuel MLB DFS Stacks
Tampa Bay Rays vs. Patrick Corbin (WAS)
I have a thing for stacking against Corbin and I am sure the rest of the field has this spot circled, too. Corbin trolled us a bit on opening day when he somewhat held the Braves in check, but I am attacking him again with these red-hot Tampa bats. They line up nicely 1-4 if you go Diaz, Franco, Paredes, and Arozarena.
Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Corey Kluber (BOS)
I like the Pirates here as a sneaky option. Just be warned that the Pirates are my team and I usually jinx them, but they've put up some runs here early in the season. While Bryan Reynolds will be a popular play, I doubt too many people go with a full Pirates stack. I'd include leadoff man Oneil Cruz and second baseman Ji Hwan Bae (both lefties) who have both shown a nice power/speed combo already this year with a HR each and a few steals.
Also consider: Houston Astros vs. Eduardo Rodriguez
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