Thursday, April 14, has another split-slate day of baseball on Yahoo, DraftKings and FanDuel. Let’s get into the top MLB DFS picks for pitchers and stacks for Yahoo, DraftKings and FanDuel daily fantasy baseball lineups. As always, you can head over to the Awesemo MLB DFS & Fantasy Baseball home page for all the fantasy baseball content you need for any given slate.
MLB DFS Picks Today: Spotlight Pitchers and Top Stacks | Thursday, April 14
Yahoo Stack of the Day: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at RHP Dane Dunning — 4.7 implied runs
Tonight, Shohei Ohtani will be on the mound for the Halos, which means he will not be available as a hitter in the traditional MLB DFS formats. That should not dissuade the savvy gamers from keeping the Angels among the top stacking options. Projection systems and scouts consider Dane Dunning’s ceiling to be that of a mid-rotation starter. While he is not going mow down opposing teams with an abundance of strikeouts, the goal is for him to continue developing as a ground ball pitcher who can take the mound every five days for half a dozen innings. There definitely is a high demand in The Show for pitchers like Dunning who can give the bullpen a break while also keeping his team in games. However, that also is the same kind of hurler we can strategically target with top-notch offenses.
The Angels have not surpassed six runs yet in any of their starts, but the team is fully healthy and farm more dangerous than last season when Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon were sidelined for significant portions of the season. This All-Star duo will be at the top of the order most games along with budding slugger Jared Walsh, who boasts a .396 wOBA and .227 ISO in his last 379 lefty-righty matchups. Those looking for a full stack can sprinkle in Brandon Marsh, Jack Mayfield and catcher Max Stassi as appropriate.
Los Angeles Dodgers vs. RHP Luis Cessa — 5.5 implied runs
Plenty of gamers will be targeting the southpaws on either side of the Coors Field Extravaganza as youngster Justin Steele and the Cubbies square off against journeyman Kyle Freeland and the hometown Rockies. The Dodgers also provide an excellent source of offense on both the main and late slates in their matchup against former Yankee reliever Luis Cessa. Last season, Cessa made 24 relief appearances for the Reds, and his last start was all the way back in 2018 for New York. Cincinnati is likely to employ the soon-to-be 30-year-old hurler as an “opener,” as Cessa has thrown 18 and 24 pitches in his first two appearances. Today, he will likely cap out around 30 pitches, which will get him through an inning or two. Following Cessa will be lefty Reiver Sanmartin, who was hammered by Atlanta in his first start for five runs and five walks. Los Angeles has an embarrassment of riches on offense, and most of its players are equally adept against righties or lefties.
Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Trea Turner are the trio to target at the top of the order. Then the second wave of Justin Turner, Max Muncy and Will Smith — if he is behind the plate — can round out full stacks. Chris Taylor should be in the lineup tonight and he is nails against lefties, with most of his at-bats likely to be against Sanmartin. Finally, former 2019 National League MVP Cody Bellinger and youngster Gavin Lux provide options for “wrap-around” stacks.
Spotlight Pitchers
Top MLB DFS Picks Target: RHP Joe Musgrove vs. Atlanta Braves — 3.8 implied runs
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $45 | FanDuel $10,300 | DraftKings $7,600
While this is far from an easy matchup for Joe Musgrove, DraftKings has given the San Diego ace a significant discount to account for his opponent. In his season debut, which was also the one-year anniversary of his no-hitter, Musgrove was effective against the Diamondbacks with eight strikeouts and two earned runs on 74 pitches. Tonight, he should see his workload approach the mid-80s for his pitch count, which makes taking on this risky matchup worthwhile. Austin Riley, Ada Duval, Travis d’Arnaud and Dansby Swanson all strikeout at above-average rates against right-handed hurlers.
Top MLB DFS Picks Target: RHP Shohei Ohtani at Texas Rangers — 4.0 implied runs
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $48 | FanDuel $10,800 | DraftKings $7,900
The only reason that Shohei Ohtani does not get billing as the top pitching option of the night is that the Angels are unlikely to push him beyond 80 to 85 pitches. It is hard to be angry with the team looking to protect their best pitcher who is also their best hitter. Texas has a stronger offense this year with the addition of Corey Seager, Mitch Garver, Brad Miller and Kole Calhoun. There are still plenty of strikeouts available for Ohtani, with Garver, Miller, Calhoun, Nate Lowe and Adolis Garcia all susceptible to right-handed hurlers.
Wild Card MLB DFS Picks Target: RHP Kevin Gausman at New York Yankees — 4.6 implied runs
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $44 | FanDuel $9,600 | DraftKings $8,500
This recommendation is not for the faint of heart, as the Yankees do have one of the most power-laden lineups when everyone is healthy. On the flipside, they do have a lot of strikeouts available as well. Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Joey Gallo and Kyle Higashioka all swing from their heels more often than not, which leaves areas of the plate that can be exploited by a veteran pitcher. Josh Donaldson seems to be lost at the plate, and we also need to keep in mind that he, Stanton and Judge have all missed significant time over the last few seasons due to various injuries, which impacts their consistency.
Final MLB DFS Thoughts for the Thursday, April 14 Fantasy Baseball Slate
There is some precipitation risk for the New York Yankees as they host the Toronto Blue Jays. Additionally, in the early game set there could potentially be winds in the 40 to 50 mph range in Chicago as the White Sox face the Seattle Mariners.
