MLB DFS action on Monday, April 12, features 14 games across four slates with giant contests on Yahoo, DraftKings and FanDuel. Before locking in MLB DFS picks and lineups, make sure to check out Awesemo’s daily fantasy baseball top stacks, picks, rankings and projections. Let’s dig into some MLB DFS picks and daily fantasy baseball stacks, including the Yankees, Rays and Athletics.
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MLB DFS Picks: Spotlight Hitters and Stacks, Monday, April 12th
Yahoo Stack of the Day: New York Yankees at LHP Robbie Ray — 5.3 implied runs
The nice thing about the Yankees on Yahoo is that their salaries are going to make it tricky to just blindly load on them. Gamers that do this are likely to forgo Gerrit Cole as their lead ace. In the event they do roll with Cole and a four-man Bronx stack, then they also will likely be rolling with Aaron Sanchez as their SP2 since he is at the Yahoo minimum salary of $25. That means Cincinnati will be a nice leverage stack against the field.
Back to New York, they have a nice matchup against Robbie Ray. Ray has been crushed in his last 766 lefty/righty matchups, with a 43.4% hard-hit rate, a 42.4% fly ball rate and an unsightly 20.9 HR/FB rate culminating in 1.92 HR/9. When healthy, Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton form one of the best tandems against southpaws. Unfortunately for Yankee fans, there seems to be more games without both of them than with both of them.
Since the beginning of the 2019 season, Judge has 156 plate appearances with the platoon advantage. In this time he has compiled a 1.104 OPS, a .331 ISO and a home run every 11-ish at bats. He also has a 189 wRC+, which means he has produced 89% more runs than the average batsman against lefties. Stanton has been limited by injuries, so in this timeframe he has just 48 plate appearances against southpaws.
D.J. LeMahieu has won a batting title in both the American and National Leagues. Even outside of Coors Field, he has flashed extra-base power for years and is one of the most complete hitters in the league. Aaron Hicks is often overlooked, but he is an above-average switch-hitter who should land a favorable lineup spot while being surrounded by amazing batters. Clint Frazier will be the discount dandy at the bottom of the order if he makes the lineup. Gamers can go for a full stack by utilizing Gleyber Torres or look to the bottom third of the lineup for a secondary differentiation stack with Gary Sanchez, Gio Urshela and Frazier.
Finally, this game is being played in Dunedin, Fla. in TD Ballpark. There have already been crooked numbers in the limited games at that park, and that makes it a batter’s delight.
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Main Slate
Tampa Bay Rays vs. RHP Dane Dunning — 4.5 implied runs
The nice thing about Tropicana Field is that there is no threat of rain. Dane Dunning has shown the flashes of the upside that had him as a top prospect with both the Nationals and White Sox organizations, but remember that he did not pitch in 2019 while recovering from Tommy John surgery. Plus, without any minor league games last year due to the pandemic, he jumped from AA ball to the majors.
This iteration of the Rays boasts a collection of players who are patient at the plate. Austin Meadows, Brandon Lowe, Yoshi Tsutsugo, Randy Arozarena and Willie Adames all strike out above league average, but the team’s walk rate and power are above league average as well. Tampa Bay players have reasonably salaries on FanDuel and Yahoo. On DraftKings some of their key hitters are going to be spendy, but the discounts offered by Tsutsugo and Yandy Diaz — who are both $3,600 — will make this stack work.
Late Slate
Oakland Athletics at LHP Madison Bumgarner — 5.0 implied runs
This is a pretty high implied run total for the Athletics, who will be forgoing the designated hitter while playing in a National League park. The roof is scheduled to be open at Chase Field with game-time temperatures in the upper-80s. That will reduce the impact of the humidor, which in turn will do no favors for Madison Bumgarner.
The wheels have come off the wagon for Bumgarner. This year he allowed two round-trippers in his first start in San Diego, and though he navigated Coors Field without ceding a longball, he gave up three doubles and a triple among his eight hits. Including the shortened season, he has now allowed 2.4 HR/9 in his last 181 opposite-handed matchups.
Oakland is always built to shuffle their lineup depending on if they are facing a righty or a lefty. Even without the designated hitter slot, they are still a lineup loaded with power. Matt Chapman, Ramon Laureano and Mark Canha are the first trio to target. Matt Olson handles fellow lefties with ease, and he is in the mix for a home run with his .230 ISO compiled in his last 200 same-handed matchups. At the bottom of the order, Stephen Piscotty and Sean Murphy provide salary relief as well as main-slate differentiation.
Final Thoughts for the Monday, April 12th MLB DFS Slate
There are weather concerns with both potential precipitation and cold weather, so be sure to watch for updates leading up to first pitch. 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.
