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Juan Carlos Blanco highlights the top FanDuel MLB DFS lineup picks for 4/9/21, and a couple of sleepers to consider while building daily rosters.
As has been commonplace thus far this season, we have a split MLB schedule on Friday, with the afternoon ledger beginning at 3:10pm ET. However, for the purposes of this article, we’ll focus on the six-game main night slate on FanDuel.
The modest number of games carry a bit of extra intrigue because some of the pitching matchups are rematches of the opening series of the season. Those types of scenarios can go either way for pitchers who thrived in the first meeting against the opponent, as it can sometimes be difficult to get the better of team twice in just a handful of days.
I'll be providing you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for the FanDuel main slate on 4/9/2021. Be sure to also check out all the MLB player news, including late scratches, and the projected and confirmed daily MLB lineups for each DFS slate. You can also read more DFS advice and lineup picks for sites like DraftKings, and other sports.
FanDuel DFS Pitchers
Cash Game/GPP Anchor Play:
Zach Plesac – CLE vs. DET ($8,600)
Plesac took the loss against these same Tigers last Saturday yet put together a quality start in doing so, allowing two earned runs on six hits and two walks over six innings while recording four strikeouts. The right-hander got only two runs of support from his offense, and granted, this could be an issue again Friday considering Cleveland has scored just 17 runs through five games. Nevertheless, Plesac certainly has the ability to rack up plenty of FD points and the quality start bonus against a Tigers squad that’s struck out at a 26.7 percent clip versus right-handers thus far while posting a pedestrian .222 average and .296 OBP (188 plate appearances) versus that handedness. Detroit has only scored 23 runs through six games in its own right, and with Plesac at home, where he posted a 2.08 ERA, 0.74 WHIP and 0.8 HR/9 across 21.2 innings last season, I like the reliability he offers for either cash or tournaments.
Potential Alternate Play
Tyler Mahle – CIN at ARI ($8,400)
I do have one hitter recommendation against Mahle later in this article, but that doesn’t detract from the fact I think the hard-throwing right-hander can still put together a fruitful fantasy performance Friday. Mahle’s fastball got up into the high 90s against the Cardinals in his first start of the season, an outing in which he racked up nine strikeouts over five innings on his way to an impressive 42.0 FD points. The opposing Diamondbacks are similarly appealing targets, as Arizona has posted an anemic .206/.261/.349 slash and .268 wOBA in its first 188 plate appearances of the season versus righties while scoring just 25 runs across seven contests. The swing-and-miss upside Mahle demonstrated in the opener is no fluke, either – he posted an 11.3 K/9 across 10 appearances (nine starts) in 2020 – so the return on investment could be particularly rewarding.
FanDuel DFS Infielders
Freddie Freeman – 1B, ATL vs. PHI ($3,600)
Freeman has opened the season mired in a highly atypical slump that he’s inevitably going to snap out of in short order, given his talent. That could well unfold Friday, despite the tough matchup against Zack Wheeler. While individual batter vs. pitcher history must only be evaluated as part of a bigger picture, the fact Freeman’s career .447/.577/.711 line against Wheeler -- numbers partly comprised of four doubles and two home runs – has come over a robust sample of 52 plate appearances does point to a reliable track record of success. Additionally, Freeman’s numbers indicate an imminent breakout and some bad luck over his first 23 plate appearances, as he sports a modest 13.0 strikeout rate and carries an unusually low .071 BABIP, while the gulf between his xwOBA (.433) and actual wOBA (.241) is expansive. Freeman also owns a career .401 wOBA and .241 ISO versus right-handed pitching at home, and the fact he could be lower rostered than usual due to the matchup and his early struggles makes him all the more appealing.
Cavan Biggio– 2B, TOR vs. LAA ($2,900)
Biggio is another selection that has gotten off to a very sluggish start in 2021, while his same-handed matchup against Andrew Heaney should drive his rostering rate down even further. However, it just so happens both players can be targeted in that split, as Biggio owns a career 27.6 percent line-drive rate and. 399 OBP against lefties (235 plate appearances), and a .357 wOBA versus that handedness at home. Heaney allowed a .268 average and .333 OBP to the 90 left-handed bats he faced in 2020, and he’s yielded an elevated 25.4 percent line-drive rate to that handedness of hitter during his career. Additionally, Biggio happens to thrive against Heaney’s trademark sinker – he posted a .485 wOBA versus the pitch in 2020 while Heaney has allowed a .361 wOBA when deploying that offering over his career – which adds to his appeal Friday.
Mike Moustakas – 3B, CIN at ARI ($3,500)
Moustakas has opened the season wielding a scalding hot bat, hitting safely in four of his last five games while averaging 15.5 FD points per contest overall across six outings. The left-handed slugger will be in a good position to extend his hot streak against a talented but inexperienced right-hander in Taylor Widener, who’s allowed a .397 wOBA and 5.57 xFIP to the 48 lefty bats he’s faced thus far in his career. Moustakas posted a .361 wOBA,.271 ISO and .877 OPS against right-handed pitching on the road last season, and he’s encouragingly generating a career-high 29.4 percent line-drive rate over his first 25 plate appearances of the new campaign. Then, when Widener eventually exits the game, Moustakas will face a Diamondbacks bullpen that’s allowed a 7.00 ERA, six extra-base hits (two doubles, two triples, two homers) and a .417 wOBA to the first 42 left-handed hitters its relievers have faced this season.
Carlos Correa – SS, HOU vs. OAK ($3,000)
Correa is one of several Astros that already looks back to his old self after a forgettable 2020, and he just posted a season-high 34.4 FD points Thursday night on the strength of his second homer in as many games. He now has three straight double-digit FD-point tallies overall, and Friday, he gets a crack at a left-hander in Sean Manaea that’s given up 71 career extra-base hits to right-handed bats on the road, along with a .325 wOBA. Correa boasts a career .366 wOBA, 25.2 percent line-drive rate and 39.9 percent hard-contact rate against lefties in his home park, and he went into Thursday night’s action with a .333 average versus southpaws over his first 14 PAs against them this season.
FanDuel DFS Outfielders
Eddie Rosario– OF, CLE vs. DET ($3,200)
Rosario offers some cost-effective left-handed exposure to Tigers starter Julio Teheran, who’s allowed 107 home runs and a .339 wOBA to lefty bats in his career, along with a 4.3 BB/9 and 5.20 xFIP. Those figures were all much worse last season specifically, when the veteran gave up a .446 wOBA, 5.6 BB/9 and 6.99 xFIP to left-handed hitters, despite the benefit of those batters generating an abnormally low .196 BABIP against him. Teheran did perform very well while giving up just one earned run across five innings to the Indians on Saturday, but Rosario tagged him for a solo homer. Additionally, as mentioned in the introduction, it can be difficult to face the same hitters twice in less than a week if you’re not an elite pitcher. Rosario also owns a .342 wOBA and .230 ISO against right-handed pitching for his career, and he sports a .333 average and .544 wOBA against that handedness over this season’s small sample.
David Peralta - OF, ARI vs. CIN ($2,600)
Peralta is the previously alluded-to left-handed Diamondbacks bat worthy of consideration against Mahle, who’s allowed an .878 OPS and .371 wOBA to left-handed hitters in his career despite greatly improving on those numbers last season. For his part, Peralta has made his living off righties, posting a career .326/.376/.553 slash and .394 wOBA against that handedness at home, along with a .227 ISO and 42.6 percent hard-contact rate. Peralta is hitting just .167 over his first 24 plate appearances this season, but his track record supports the notion he’ll snap out of that funk soon enough, with the chances it comes against a right-hander at home particularly high, given his history.
Yordan Alvarez – OF, HOU vs. OAK ($3,900)
Alvarez appears intent on making up for a mostly lost 2020 season, as he’s opened 2021 with four doubles, a pair of homers and eight RBI over his first seven games. The burly DH has hits in all but one game and a trio of double-digit FD-point tallies already, and Friday, he’ll be in a position to thrive once again despite a same-handed matchup against Manaea. Alvarez owns a 1.223 OPS,.495 wOBA, 26.4 percent line-drive rate and 52.8 percent hard-contact rate in 71 career plate appearances at Minute Maid Park versus left-handed pitching. Moreover, he boasts career .456 and .475 wOBAs against the four-seam fastball and changeup, the two pitchers Manaea has thrown most often in his career.
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