Friday, April 8, continues the MLB Opening Day theme in several different ballparks with a variety of slates across 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 basketball content you need for any given slate.
MLB DFS Picks Today: Spotlight Pitchers and Top Stacks | Friday, April 8
Yahoo Stack of the Day: Atlanta Braves vs. LHP Reiver Sanmartin — 5.3 implied runs
Atlanta has an amazing collection of right-handed batsmen who should give lefties fits all season. Aside from Matt Olson, who is elite against fellow southpaws, the rest of the batting order should have the platoon advantage against youngster Reiver Sanmartin. This will be the third career start for Sanmartin, who turns 26 next week. Last year he had two late-season outings against a subpar Pittsburgh squad where he more than held his own. Today’s matchup will be far more difficult against a loaded Atlanta lineup that has designs on a deep postseason run. Marcell Ozuna (.337) and Adam Duvall (.258) join Olson (.331) with elite ISOs against southpaws. Austin Riley hit a dinger yesterday, and he should be batting cleanup tonight. Orlando Arcia, Dansby Swanson and Travis d’Arnaud are all above-average plays when they have the platoon advantage, plus they help fill up the middle infield and catching slots.
Early Slate
Chicago White Sox at LHP Eduardo Rodriguez — 4.1 implied runs
The White Sox lineup is downright scary, and we know that while Eduardo Rodriguez does have electric stuff, he never has been able to put everything together for sustained periods of time. It is going to be cold and drizzly in Detroit today, which is helping contribute to the low implied run total for Chicago. Core targets are Luis Robert, Jose Abreu, Eloy Jimenez and A.J. Pollock if he is leading off. Andrew Vaughn is an interesting option who will likely be in the bottom third of the order, and he can be employed as part of a “wrap-around” stack or as a one-off with home run upside.
Spotlight Pitchers
Top MLB DFS Picks Target: RHP Jose Berrios vs. Texas Rangers — 4.1 implied runs
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $43 | FanDuel $9,300 | DraftKings $8,900
Tonight Jose Berrios is standing out as a solid option from a point-per-dollar perspective. Over the last two seasons, Berrios has shut down same-handed hitters, allowing a .250 wOBA and a .090 ISO with a solid 24.8% strikeout rate. Batters swinging the stick from the left side of the plate have found more success with a .331 wOBA and .223 ISO, albeit with a 27.3% strikeout rate.
The Rangers will be putting in as many lefties as they can muster in their lineup. Offseason acquisitions Corey Seager and Brad Miller will likely be near the top of the order with Nate Lowe batting fourth or fifth in an excellent RBI slot. Outfielders Kole and Willie Calhoun (no relation) will likely be towards the bottom of the order, and while neither is a consistent threat, they can be pesky.
Texas has just a 4.1 implied run total, which definitely favors Berrios. One other aspect that bodes well for the former Twin is that he should be ramped up enough to see 85 to 90 pitches. If he is able to be economical and efficient, that should be enough for him to be the pitcher of record and in line for a victory if his team is leading at the end of the fifth inning.
Secondary MLB DFS Picks Target: LHP Sean Manaea at Arizona Diamondbacks — 3.4 implied runs
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $35 | FanDuel $8,800 | DraftKings $9,400
Yahoo is giving an excellent discount for Sean Manaea tonight for his matchup against the Diamondbacks. Arizona is currently set up to be more effective against righties than southpaws, which should offset the Chase Field roof being open so fans can enjoy the warm spring weather. The 30-year-old was solid in training camp, logging 15.1 innings with 13 strikeouts. This included a matchup against the Athletics, the day after they dealt him to the Padres. Manaea is another of the hurlers taking the mound tonight that should be able to clear the fifth inning, which is a bonus this early in the season.
On DraftKings, it is worth considering Max Scherzer over Manaea for an extra $800. Scherzer is no stranger to pitching in Nationals Park, having called it home for just over five seasons. While the soon-to-be 38-year-old has been working through minor hamstring soreness, he is expected to be a full go tonight. Washington does not have a deep lineup, but it does have plenty of power in the heart of the order, which is something that the three-time Cy Young Award winner will have to navigate.
Early Slate MLB DFS Picks Target: RHP Aaron Nola vs. Oakland Athletics — 3.5 implied runs
- DFS Salary: Yahoo N/A | FanDuel $10,300 | DraftKings $9,000
Philadelphia ace Aaron Nola was sublime in his final spring training appearance, notching nine strikeouts in 5.1 innings against Detroit. This afternoon he will be squaring off against an Oakland squad that traded away pretty much everything of value that was not nailed down. All we need to know is that today Chad Pinder is batting cleanup and Elvis Andrus will be playing a prominent offensive role. Yahoo is not starting their early slate until 4:10 p.m. ET, so look to Logan Webb against Miami as a secondary pitcher.
Final MLB DFS Thoughts for the Friday, April 8 Fantasy Baseball Slate
Much like yesterday, temperatures will be on the cooler side, even in the afternoon games. Arizona and Anaheim will be the warmest locations, with temperatures in the mid-to-upper-80s, which is favorable to hitters. Particularly when considering those temperatures will be 30 degrees warmer than most other venues. There are as many as four different slates available as well as a plethora of pitchers who we will want to keep tabs on to find out any hints at potential workloads and pitch counts.
