Sunday, April 24, provides a nine-game main slate on DraftKings and FanDuel beginning at 1:10 p.m. ET, while Yahoo grants their usual Sunday fare with all 15 games on their featured slate. 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 | Sunday, April 24
Yahoo Stack of the Day: St. Louis Cardinals at LHP Nick Lodolo — 4.8 implied runs
Cincinnati fans have to at least be happy with the glimpses of talent displayed by 24-year-old Nick Lodolo, who has shown signs of being a star. However, those of us who have been dabbling in fantasy baseball for any length of time know that southpaws can have a long learning curve against a league dominated by right-handed batsmen. On the positive side of the ledger, Lodolo has a dozen strikeouts in nine innings, though he has ceded a trio of round-trippers.
This iteration of the Redbirds does seems to be a carbon copy of their tried-and-true offensive template. For those of you that are new to MLB DFS, St. Louis typically trots out a right-handed-heavy offense more often than not. Paul Goldschmidt is elite in opposite-handed matchups, with an eye-popping .305 ISO in his last 133 opportunities. Somehow, even after moving away from Coors Field, Nolan Arenado is able to flash a slick glove at the hot corner and post an absurd .416 wOBA and .376 ISO against lefties since signing with St. Louis. Harrison Bader, Tyler O’Neill, Paul DeJong and the venerable backstop Yadier Molina all do their best work against lefties.
Afternoon Slate: Houston Astros vs LHP Yusei Kikuchi — 4.6 implied runs
Houston continues to be one of the best teams in the league when facing lefties. Jose Altuve (hamstring) is on the injured list, but the ‘Stros still have Alex Bregman, reigning American League batting champion Yulieski Gurriel, and youngsters Jeremy Pena filling in for Altuve at the top of the order, Jose Siri, who can be had for a song, along with Yordan Alvarez and Kyle Tucker, who absolutely mash fellow lefties. Make sure to be early with the Astros whenever they are squaring off against a lefty, as the upside potential is literally off the charts.
Late Slate: Oakland Athletics vs. RHP Spencer Howard — 4.0 implied runs
No, it is not a mirage — the Athletics did actually trade away pretty much anything not nailed down in their clubhouse. Lefty masher Chad Pinder is currently in the health and safety protocol with Jed Lowrie, Drew Jackson and pitcher Lou Trivino. Across his last 200 batters faced, Spencer Howard has allowed a .220 ISO, 10.5% walk rate, and he has been ahead in the count barely half of the time.
The other bonus with looking to the Oakland offense is that most of their hitters can be had for pennies on the dollar when compared to the other nine offenses on the late slate. We have all seen the movie Moneyball at this point, and while the espoused strategies are no longer as efficient in The Show as they were back in the day, the underlying message of trusting the process still holds water. Texas has a mediocre bullpen at best, and they have been in action quite a bit over the last 72 hours. Take a chance on the A’s in this matchup, which at the moment seems to be something The Masses are skipping in tournaments.
Spotlight Pitchers
Top MLB DFS Picks Target: RHP Logan Webb at Washington Nationals — 3.4 implied runs
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $48 | FanDuel $10,600 | DraftKings $10,000
The Nationals have been anemic on offense, scoring just nine runs in their last five games. For the season, they are averaging just over 3.4 runs per outing, which is in the bottom third of the league. Aside from Juan Soto, switch-hitter Josh Bell and 41-year-old Nelson Cruz, there are not many hitters of note.
Logan Webb had a rough go in his last appearance, lasting just 3.2 innings against the Mets in New York and allowing three runs with a single solitary strikeout. There is no shame in losing to the Mets, as they have scored the second-most runs in the league through the early part of the season. Though DFS gamers would prefer to see more punchouts from the 25-year-old Webb, he still is close to a strikeout per inning for his career. This is a solid spot for Webb, and The Masses are likely to be reticent to ante up a five-figure salary on DraftKings and FanDuel to roll with the ace of the Giants.
Secondary MLB DFS Picks Target: Adam Wainwright at Cincinnati Reds — 3.9 implied runs
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $47 | FanDuel $8,400 | DraftKings $9,600
While Father Time does remain undefeated, 40-year-old Adam Wainwright is giving him a run for his money. Through three starts, Waino is averaging a tick shy of 87 pitches per outing, with a 2.81 ERA, 1.38 WHIP and a solid 19 strikeouts in 16 innings. His control is still impeccable, and he has one of the best curveballs in the league, even entering his 17th campaign. The Reds are running thin after moving on from Nick Castellanos, Jesse Winker and Eugenio Suarez. Infielders Jonathan India and Mike Moustakas are on the injured list, and catcher Tyler Stephenson is in the concussion protocol. That leaves 38-year-old Joey Votto, reclamation project Tommy Pham and a cast of castoffs trying to hold serve against the league.
Late Slate MLB DFS Picks Target: Robbie Ray vs. Kansas City Royals — 3.5 implied runs
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $54 | FanDuel $9,800 | DraftKings $9,000
Yahoo is ahead of the curve in goosing the salary for Robbie Ray. However, they also have every game on their featured slate, so there will be plenty of discount dandies making the Sunday lineups as veterans get a day of rest. DraftKings and FanDuel have an appropriate salary for Ray, who still is worthy of consideration as the top late-slate pitcher. Seattle decided to make a splash signing with Ray, locking him into a five-year contract worth $115 million.
The pucker factor is always around 11 when rostering Ray, who has tremendous strikeout upside but always is prone to lapses of concentration on the mound. We should see at least 90 to 95 pitches from Ray, which helps mitigate Sunday’s lofty salary. Other than Salvador Perez, the Royals are not particularly frightening for southpaws. Carlos Santana is getting old, and Hunter Dozier, Bobby Witt Jr. and Adalberto Mondesi all strike out in nearly one-third of their opportunities against lefties. Roll the dice on Sunday and hope for a slate-breaking performance from Ray.
Final MLB DFS Thoughts & Weather Notes for the Sunday, April 24 Fantasy Baseball Slate
Weather looks good today, with only the Pittsburgh Pirates at Chicago Cubs game dealing with potential precipitation. Now that the season is in full swing, it would not be a surprise to see several lineup regulars receive a Sunday off day.
