Saturday, April 9, brings the first weekend action of the regular season with 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 baseball content you need for any given slate.
MLB DFS Picks Today: Spotlight Pitchers and Top Stacks | Saturday, April 9
Yahoo Stack of the Day: Cincinnati Reds vs. RHP Kyle Wright — 4.5 implied runs
The popular stacks for the five game main slate look to be the Padres going against a league average pitcher in the Arizona heat, as well as picking some options in the Coors Field Extravaganza where the Dodgers and Rockies are projected to plate a combined 12 runs. Atlanta is also attractive squaring off against a youngster still figuring out how to ply his trade in The Show. This means that the Reds are being overlooked in a tasty matchup against Kyle Wright.
Wright has had cups of coffee in four different seasons, though last year he spent the bulk of his year pitching for Triple-A Gwinnett. The main weakness for the 26-year-old is that he just cannot get lefties out. In the majors he has faced 158 opposite-handed hitters allowing a .422 wOBA, .278 ISO with an absurd 15.2% walk rate. Cincinnati has some big bats swinging the stick from the left side of the plate in Tyler Naquin, Mike Moustakas and Jake Fraley. Elder statesman Joey Votto is in his age-39 season, yet he has had a power surge with 36 home runs last year, which was one shy of his career high. Having the designated hitter slot is likely to keep his bat in the lineup more often than not, and that is going to be a huge boost for the Reds.
Early Slate
Tampa Bay Rays vs. RHP Jordan Lyles — 5.0 implied runs
In a fun twist, Tropicana Field being a closed venue actually means that this matchup will be unfold in temperatures that are 30 degrees warmer than the other four games on the early slate. Last season, Jordan Lyles allowed a league-high 38 home runs, including three different games where he allowed four round-trippers, two outings suffering three dingers and eight total multi-home run games. Despite letting the ball leave the yard, Lyles is still a solid pitcher, ceding three or fewer runs in 21 of his 32 appearances last season.
Tampa Bay continues to craft lineups that have far greater synergy together than the actual individual pieces. They have managed to thrive despite a payroll that is a fraction of their American League East counterparts in Boston and New York. Over the last four seasons, the Rays have recorded the most wins in their division, encompassing three trips to the postseason. Batters from both sides of the plate have had success in the power department and that is the one attribute Tampa Bay has in abundance. Look to Brandon Lowe, Randy Arozarena, Ji-Man Choi, Mike Zunino and Brett Phillips who have each produced a .200 ISO over their last two seasons against right-handed hurlers.
Afternoon Slate
Philadelphia Phillies vs. LHP Cole Irvin— 5.8 implied runs
Philadelphia is one of the teams that will benefit tremendously with the universal designated hitter rule. All too often their core players are dinged up with Bryce Harper, Rhys Hoskins, J.T. Realmuto, Jean Segura and Didi Gregorius all missing significant time due to injuries over the last few campaigns. This offseason, they added Nick Castellanos and Kyle Schwarber, who each slugged 30 or more home runs last year. DraftKings has made things challenging with the salaries for the key batsmen in the top half of the lineup and Yahoo has taken a similar approach. FanDuel is basically a pick-em today with its poor pricing structure. The Phillies can be utilized as a primary stack or as one-offs. Another way to address their popularity would be to gain leverage with the bottom-third of the order by targeting Segura, Gregorius and budding slugger Alec Bohm for discounted differentiation.
Cole Irvin does not walk a lot of batters with a miniscule 5.1% walk rate over the last two seasons. On the flipside, he does not strike many hitters out with a 16.5% strikeout rate that is well below league average. What this means, in simpler terms, is that he allows a lot of contact and balls in play. This is not the best approach taking on a team like Philadelphia that has a nice mix of power, speed and players who get on base frequently.
Spotlight Pitchers
Top MLB DFS Picks Target: RHP Joe Musgrove at Arizona Diamondbacks — 4.1 implied runs
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $43 | FanDuel $10,000 | DraftKings $9,400
Despite some uneven performances last season, Joe Musgrove finished among the top 15 pitchers with a 3.18 ERA, 203 strikeouts and 181.1 innings as well as authoring a no-hitter in his second start last year. There were some whispers that he was one of the aces most impacted by the crackdown on “sticky stuff” but that should not dissuade anyone from rolling with him tonight against the Diamondbacks. Chris Bassitt, Justin Verlander and Noah Syndergaard round out the top four selections on the main slate.
Early Slate MLB DFS Picks Target: RHP Dylan Cease at Detroit Tigers — 3.4 implied runs
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $47 | FanDuel $9,800 | DraftKings $9,000
Even with the addition of Javier Baez and Austin Meadows, the Detroit lineup runs out of proven hitters quickly. Journeyman Jeimer Candelario and veteran Miguel Cabrera are not particularly frightening and they are the heart of the order for the Motor City Kitties. Last year, Dylan Cease was a top-tier option in the fantasy arena for his ability to rack up strikeouts. Batters from both sides of the plate whiffed at a 31% or higher clip and he also limited extra-base hits with a paltry .140 ISO. This level of talent combined with the amazing White Sox offense should be a recipe for success.
Afternoon Slate MLB DFS Picks Target: LHP Carlos Rodon vs. Miami Marlins — 3.5 implied runs
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $48 | FanDuel $10,100 | DraftKings $9,300
Carlos Rodon will be making his first appearance for his new team and he gets an easy matchup against a threadbare Marlins squad. While the nondescript Miami lineup does have some sneaky power, it also has plenty of strikeouts. Rodon will face a very right-handed roster, though he has not had any trouble with opposite-handed hitters compiling a 33.9% strikeout rate against the last 445 he has squared off against.
Final MLB DFS Thoughts for the Saturday, April 9 Fantasy Baseball Slate
Though it will be cold across most of the Midwest and East Coast, the precipitation risk is relatively low compared to Thursday and Friday. Keep in mind that baseball is an incredibly variant sport and going against the grain is often times rewarded as compared to the NBA or NFL
