MLB DFS action on Saturday, April 3, features 14 games across four slates with giant contests on Yahoo, DraftKings and FanDuel. Before locking in lineups, make sure to check out Awesemo’s daily fantasy baseball top stacks, picks, rankings and projections. Let’s dig into some MLB DFS and daily fantasy baseball stacks including the Houston Astros, Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants.
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MLB DFS Picks: Spotlight Hitters and Stacks, Saturday, April 3rd
Yahoo Stack of the Day: Los Angeles Dodgers at RHP Jon Gray — 7.1 implied runs
The incredibly high implied run total for the Dodgers will have gamers flocking to Coors Field once again. Fortunately, Yahoo has done a good job with the hitter salaries, which should flummox some gamers that are not sure how to navigate the discount dandies. Righty Jon Gray is a solid pitcher and has performed well at home considering the thin air in the Mile High City. Since the beginning of 2019, he has tallied 100 innings at home with a 4.68 ERA, 4.11 xFIP with a league average 20 % strikeout rate. Now, for the cold bucket of reality — the Dodgers’ lineup is a veritable All-Star team.
Cody Bellinger and Mookie Betts are former MVPs, and Corey Seager, Justin Turner, Max Muncy and A.J. Pollock have all been All-Stars at different points of their careers. Thus the potency of the Dodgers’ lineup doesn’t need a lot of analysis. It’s the best top-to-bottom order in the league, and in a hitter-friendly park like Coors Field, it’s hard to go wrong with any of these studs as MLB DFS picks today.
Yahoo Discount Dandies we can target for salary cap relief to facilitate a Dodger heavy lineup include Omar Narvaez $7, Albert Pujols $7, Asdrubal Cabrera $8, Evan White $8 and Josh Rojas $10.
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Early Slate
Boston Red Sox vs. RHP Matt Harvey — 5.7 implied runs
Oh how far Matt Harvey has fallen. After a stellar start to his career with the New York Metropolitans, Harvey has been on a six-season slide. Though he just turned 32, at this point of his career he is not even a decent “innings eater” anymore. However, the Orioles are strapped for pitching talent and they are going to give Harvey a chance.
Last year for Kansas City, Harvey faced 65 batters, allowing six home runs. The year prior, he was with the Angels and allowed 13 home runs over 266 hitters. While he had some brief moments of success in 2018 with the Reds, he still ceded 21 home runs over 540 hitters. This works out to an unsightly 1.63 HR/9 rate and a 5.32 ERA, with only an 18.6% strikeout rate. Lefties have done most of the damage with a 2.03 HR/9 rate, but do not be shy about looking to same-handed hitters.
Lefty Rafael Devers is our priority target, followed closely by Xander Bogaerts and J.D. Martinez, who are both accomplished batsmen against fellow righties. Alex Verdugo is batting second, and though he is not coming at a discount, he is a fine MLB DFS pick. Franchy Cordero has light tower power and provides salary relief at the bottom of the order in this lefty/righty matchup.
Afternoon Slate
Houston Astros at LHP Cole Irvin — 4.8 implied runs
LHP Cole Irvin has just 45.1 innings in The Show under his belt with tepid results. He spent five years in the Philadelphia farm system before making his MLB debut in 2019. This winter, Oakland acquired Irving for cash considerations. Essentially, Cole is a “crafty” lefty who relies on keeping batters crossed up with a variety of pitches. While that provided some success in the minors, his 90-ish mph fastball is not going to help much against big-league hitters.
Our focus should be on the usual Astros who have success against southpaws. Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman and Carlos Correa lead the way. Yordan Alvarez has a hefty .341 ISO in his 142 lefty/lefty career matchups. Michael Brantley and Kyle Tucker can also hold their own against same-handed hurlers. It will be a surprise to see Irvin make it through the fourth inning this afternoon.
Late Slate
San Francisco Giants at RHP Chris Flexen — 4.4 implied runs
Right-hander Chris Flexen was excellent last year with a 3.01 ERA, 1.089 WHIP and just six home runs allowed in 21 starts. The caveat, however, is that he was pitching in the KBO for the Doosan Bears after being released by the Mets. Flexen had a few cups of coffee in New York over three seasons with poor results. Across 68 combined innings, he tallied a horrendous 8.07 ERA, 2.132 WHIP and a 1.90 HR/9. Perhaps he has worked some things out, but I want to see it first.
By default, gamers will be rostering the Giants on the late slate, but I think they are a very viable contrarian stack on the main slate as well. The Seattle bullpen following up Flexen is a collection of failed starters like Kendall Graveman and Nick Margevicius. Journeymen Kenyan Middleton and Casey Sadler, along with the unproven Anthony Misiewicz. Pop quiz, name the Mariners closer? Yeah, I am a lifelong fan of the team and I barely knew it is Rafael Montero, who earned all eight of his career saves last season in Texas.
Though they do not have many household names, the Giants do have some solid hitters. Veterans Brandon Belt and Buster Posey are actually healthy and Brandon Crawford battles every pitch. Evan Longoria can still take mistake pitches out of the yard, and former Padres castoff Alex Dickerson has somehow found success just by changing uniforms. Finally, Mike Yastrzemski, who debuted as a 28-year old rookie, is a hidden gem that gamers still insist has too high of a DFS salary. While it doesn’t garner us any fantasy points, he is the grandson of the famous Carl Yastrzemski.
Final Thoughts for the Saturday, April 3rd MLB DFS Slate
Today should be a fun one with games spread all throughout the day as teams look to play in the spring sunshine. Keep in mind that salaries and scoring formats differ across the various fantasy sites, and a home run play on Yahoo may be a below-average MLB DFS pick on DraftKings or FanDuel.
