A brand new week of MLB DFS action gets truly underway with an excellent 11-game Main Slate on DraftKings and FanDuel at the traditional 7:05 ET start-time. With teams playing their fourth or fifth games of the season, most will be into the back end of their rotations, creating several interesting opportunities for potential run-scoring and power. Several inexperienced hurlers will be taking the mound for their squads, as will a few pitchers who are filling in due to injury, despite potentially not yet being fully cooked at the minor league level. There are, of course, several very good options in the pitching pool today as well, not all teams are relegated to the bottom of their rotation, but not all of the top options are drawing massive ownership attention, creating very sharp tournament opportunities across the MLB DFS industry tonight.

Note: All analysis is written utilizing available projected lineups as of the early morning, pay close attention to confirmed lineups and adjust accordingly.

MLB DFS: Game by Game Breakdown – 4/3/23

Philadelphia Phillies (+154/3.53) @ New York Yankees (-168/4.57)

The Phillies and Yankees both feature star-laden power-packed lineups and loaded pitching staffs, when both teams are fully healthy the only thing that truly separates them is the New Jersey Turnpike. Of course, both teams are dealing with their share of injuries as they go into battle in the Bronx this evening. The Yankees will have one of the slate’s better starters on the mound, in the form of southpaw Nestor Cortes Jr.. Cortes’ arsenal is far from elite, but he makes everything work with a dazzling array of arm angles and pitch selections, as well as a fair amount of timing gamesmanship on the mound. It will be interesting to watch the impact of the pitch clock on Cortes’ head game. The lefty was excellent last season, posting a 0.92 WHIP across 158.1 innings in 28 starts. He struck out 26.5% of opposing hitters while walking just 6.2% and inducing an 11.1% swinging-strike rate. Cortes reliably keeps extra runners off of the basepaths, and he is good at limiting power with just a 5.3% barrel rate and a 2.60% home run rate, despite pitching in Yankee Stadium for many of his starts. The lefty is worth consideration at $9,700 on DraftKings, he is pricey but potentially lower-owned because of it at $10,500 on FanDuel. Even against a stout Philadelphia lineup, Cortes is in play for MLB DFS tonight. Meanwhile, the Phillies lineup will be hard-pressed to find their usual quality, but they are not without upside. The team features stars at the top of the lineup in Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, and JT Realmuto, and they have quality throughout, including Alec Bohm, who is getting a chance in the middle of this batting order in the absence of Bryce Harper and Rhys Hoskins. Bohm slashed .280/.315/.398 last season, but he hit just 13 home runs with a .118 ISO and created runs two percent worse than average. At just $3,600 on DraftKings and $3,300 on FanDuel, he is a playable third baseman, particularly when stacking Phillies. Bryson Stott is an inexpensive option in the infield who typically comes at next to no ownership. Stott hit 10 home runs and stole 12 bases last year with room for growth.

On the other side of the contest, the Phillies will be starting right-hander Taijuan Walker, who is essentially a replacement-level pitcher. This leads to far more interest in Yankees bats than in rostering shares of the pitcher, particularly at his $8,700 price on DraftKings. In an “any given slate” or “it’s baseball” sense, at a cheaper price Walker would be somewhat playable against the heavy-strikeout Yankees lineup, no one will be utilizing him even in large field tournaments, but that is because he is so unlikely to come through, and is not priced correctly for those odds. The Yankees look strong as a stack or as a source of one-off bats, the team is packed with power and potential from top-to-bottom. Assuming he is in the lineup, infielder DJ LeMahieu is a very interesting piece on both sites. LeMahieu plays second and third base for $3,800 on DraftKings and he checks in at just a $2,700 price tag with eligibility at three positions on the blue site, making him a tremendous asset for the construction of several iterations of premium Yankees stacks. Behind LeMahieu, all of the obvious run creation and power options are in play, including Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, the latter of whom hit a 485-foot bomb of a home run to the part of center field where home runs simply do not travel in Yankee Stadium yesterday. Lefty first baseman Anthony Rizzo and right-handed second baseman Gleyber Torres are both in play, as is the rest of this lineup in whatever final form it takes.

Play: Nestor Cortes Jr., Yankees Stacks & one-offs, limited Phillies stacks & one-offs (Schwarber)

Tampa Bay Rays (-169/4.58) @ Washington Nationals (+155/3.52)

The Rays will be visiting the nation’s capital this evening in a matchup with the Nationals and right-handed starter Trevor Williams. This should be seen as good news for the Rays’ prospects for producing offense in this contest. Williams is not necessarily a bad Major League pitcher, but he is also not a good one. Facing a replacement-level starter should provide plenty of opportunities to a lineup of mostly above-average hitters. Last season, Williams posted a 22.6% strikeout rate with a 3.93 xFIP and a 1.23 WHIP across his 89.2 innings. His ERA was just 3.21, making him look like a stronger option on the surface, which may lead some to play him against this team at what is a cheap price and what will likely be low popularity. Williams could come through for gamers who roster him, but it is a particularly thin needle to thread, he has a limited ceiling and a bad matchup. The Rays’ offense looks primed for some power and they are very good at creating runs even without the long ball. Yandy Diaz is a dynamite leadoff option at first and third base for just $4,500 on DraftKings. Diaz was quietly excellent last season, slashing .296/.401/.423 and creating runs 46% better than average. He correlates very well with Brandon Lowe, who remains one of the best power-hitting second basemen in the game – Lowe spent 2022 injured and mostly absent, he hit 39 home runs in 615 plate appearances in 2021 – as well as star outfielder Randy Arozarena. The toolsy Cuban-Mexican star has been excellent the last two seasons for Tampa Bay, putting up back-to-back years of above 20/20 performances. Arozarena costs just $3,800 on FanDuel but lands at a more appropriate $5,100 on DraftKings. Switch-hitting shortstop star Wander Franco can be rostered for position and price-based upside on most slates as a one-off, and he should always be included in stacks of Rays bats. Franco hi six home runs and stole eight bases in a limited 344 plate appearances last year, but he is one of the most highly regarded young hitters in the game and has significant ability in all five fantasy baseball categories. The bottom of the lineup trails off, pending the final form, but options including Jose Siri can provide cheap low-owned value late in the batting order.

On the mound for Tampa Bay tonight will be righty Drew Rasmussen, who looks like one of the slate’s better options. Rasmussen posted a 21.4% strikeout rate across 146 innings in 28 starts last season while pitching to a 3.56 xFIP and a 2.84 ERA. He walked just 5.3% of hitters and had a sterling 1.04 WHIP with a 12.1% swinging-strike rate. The righty was very good at limiting power last season, and he is in one of the better situational matchups available, facing the weak Nationals lineup. Rasmussen projects like a great option on both sites, he is just an $8,100 pitcher on DraftKings, but he can be confidently deployed as an SP1 option on a slate of this nature. This creates an interesting price angle into the slate, as pairing Rasmussen with very cheap options creates a pool of salary for significant bat upgrades. The Nationals are not very interesting for stacks or individual hitters. Dangling over a pit of vipers with only the correct name to save us, Joey Meneses seems like the one reasonable option, but the snakes are salivating even with that choice; this is simply a bad baseball team.

Play: Rays stacks, Drew Rasmussen

Pittsburgh Pirates (+139/4.09) @ Boston Red Sox (-151/5.01)

The Pirates have an interesting lineup facing young Red Sox in-betweener starter Kutter Crawford. The right-hander probably needs a bit more seasoning in the minors, or perhaps in a long relief role in the bullpen before he is truly ready to join the rotation, but he is picking up a few spot starts as the Red Sox rotation took a few injury bumps in the Spring. Crawford saw 77.1 innings in the Show last year, making 12 starts and posting a 23.1% strikeout rate but a 4.33 xFIP and 5.47 ERA. He induced a solid 11.3% swinging-strike rate but his 27.5% CSW% ultimately leaves something to be desired, the command and control that he needs to find as he develops further should improve this mark over time. Crawford yielded a 3.59% home run rate last year with an 8.8% barrel rate, not awful numbers but certainly not suppressive of power either. Pittsburgh’s lineup features intriguing bats, and burgeoning star shortstop Oneil Cruz should be in the leadoff spot setting the pace with his lethal combination of power and speed. Cruz hit 17 home runs and stole 11 bases in just 361 plate appearances and has gone on record informing the world of his intent to go 50/50 this year. While that seems extremely lofty, Cruz should coast past the 20/20 mark this season, making him an excellent play in this ballpark against this pitcher. Outfielders Bryan Reynolds and Andrew McCutchen will both be interesting inexpensive pieces behind Cruz, and the team’s popularity should fall off a cliff after those three names. The field is not yet familiar with Canaan Smith-Njigba and it has largely written off Carlos Santana, both sluggers are interesting on this slate. Ke’Bryan Hayes, Jack Suwinski, and Ji-Hwan Bae form a cheap trio with potential at the bottom of the projected Pirates batting order as well, giving this team options across the board on both DraftKings and FanDuel.

The Red Sox lineup is not as star-powered as it once was, but third baseman Rafael Devers is one of the jewels at the hot corner in all of baseball, he is an excellent option on any slate, and against Pittsburgh starter Johan Oviedo, Devers could feast. Oviedo struck out 22.3% of hitters over 56 innings and eight starts in 2022, 17.7% in 62.1 innings and 13 starts the year before. He posted a 4.14 xFIP and a reasonably good 11.2% swinging-strike rate and has been reasonably good at limiting premium contact in his relatively small sample. Oviedo allowed just a 6.2% barrel rate and a 37.7% hard-hit rate with 87.3 mph of average exit velocity last year, leading to just a 2.07% home run rate. He had similar numbers the season before, including a very strong 35.1% hard-hit rate. This is not a high-upside pitcher, he will allow plenty of contact and issue too many free passes, so the Red Sox lineup should be able to sequence and create runs, even if they are not hitting home runs today. In addition to Devers, who has home run upside against any starter – he hit 27 home runs last year and 38 the year before – gamers should focus on bats including Alex Verdugo, who offers an excellent hit tool; veterans Justin Turner and Adam Duvall; and NPB free agent Masataka Yoshida. From later in the lineup, rookie first baseman Triston Casas should provide additional power upside, and the veteran infielders can fill out a stack or create differentiation and savings.

Play: Pirates stacks, Red Sox stacks

Toronto Blue Jays (-120/4.20) @ Kansas City Royals (+111/3.88)

The Blue Jays travel to Kansas City to face the Royals in a game that may provide sneaky MLB DFS scoring in several corners. Royals starter Brady Singer made huge strides as a young starter in 2022, improving his numbers across the board. The righty had a 24.2% strikeout rate across his 153.1 innings in 24 starts, up about two percentage points year over year. He also improved his xFIP from 4.11 to 3.30, a huge jump in the underlying quality of his pitching, his WHIP dropped from 1.55 to 1.14 while his ERA predictably improved from 4.91 to 3.23, for those who care about the more flawed stats. Singer had a 30.3% CSW% and was good at limiting home runs, despite a slightly elevated 40.9% hard-hit rate allowed. This is a very good young pitcher who has found his form, if Singer makes another leap in 2023 he could provide lights-out scoring at low ownership and pricing early in the season. Of course, he will be hard-pressed to get through the excellent Blue Jays lineup without yielding runs tonight. Toronto features excellent options from top to bottom and both sides of the equation are worth rostering. George Springer, Bo Bichette, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. can be stacked against any pitcher, but there are other strong plays in the Blue Jays’ projected lineup. Daulton Varsho is only eligible in the outfield on both DraftKings and FanDuel, but he comes at a cheap $3,800 on the former and $3,500 on the blue site. Varsho hit 27 home runs and stole 16 bases last season and he enters a better hitting environment and a better lineup this year. Catcher Alejandro Kirk is a good play for $3,700 where his position is required and he can be deployed for just $3,100 on the FanDuel slate. Any of Brandon Belt, Matt Chapman, or Whit Merrifield can be included in stacks as well, Chapman even makes for a sneaky one-off at a very low price and no popularity.

On the other side, the Royals will be squaring off against Jose Berrios who fell off the map last season with an ugly 19.8% strikeout rate and a 4.21 xFIP and 1.42 WHIP over 172 innings and 32 starts. Berrios has been better than that, but the full season of diminished quality is concerning for a pitcher who never reached a truly elite peak, and who has always been flawed. Berrios could certainly bounce back, he may even start tonight with plenty of available strikeouts in the Kansas City lineup. There is a good argument for rostering the starter even at a high price tag, if the public does not buy in he could be a cheap play with excellent MLB DFS tournament upside. He could also get obliterated by the power potential that is showing for the Royals in this matchup. Kansas City is the leading team in today’s Power Index, and they feature five sluggers at or near the “magic number” of 10 in the home run model. All of Bobby Witt Jr., MJ Melendez, Sal Perez, and Franmil Reyes are above a 10, while Vinnie Pasquantino checks in at a 9.93. Left-handed Michael Massey and outfielder Edward Olivares could be strong options at lower prices and popularity as well. Massey had a 13% barrel rate over 194 plate appearances last season, he has upside beyond the four home runs he managed in that sample.

Play: Royals stacks and one-offs, limited Blue Jays stacks, some Brady Singer and less Jose Berrios

Atlanta Braves (-127/4.53) @ St. Louis Cardinals (+118/4.06)

The Braves are facing converted reliever Jake Woodford, who is a target for bats and not worthy of consideration as a pitcher on this slate. Atlanta’s elite lineup should be very popular, even with stud outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. pulling a $6,200 salary on the DraftKings slate. Acuna is a five-category monster who is worthy of roster spots in all formats every night he is in the lineup. He will be followed by impressive first baseman Matt Olson, who mashed a pair of long balls in a great matchup over the weekend and will look to do the same against another weak righty tonight. Olson is one of the better bets for a home run on tonight’s slate. Third baseman Austin Riley, Ozzie Albies, and Michael Harris II are all strong mid-lineup plays, while outfielder Marcell Ozuna is at a cheap price from later in the batting order if he plays today. Ozuna has excellent power, he had a 13.1% barrel rate and hit 23 home runs in 507 plate appearances last year, and has gone beyond those marks in seasons past, but he has not been the same overall hitter in recent years, keeping the public at bay in MLB DFS contests. Similar things could be said about left-handed outfielder Eddie Rosario, who may also find himself in the lineup here. Catcher Sean Murphy is another play who is safe on almost any slate, given the limited options at his position. Murphy is a top-three option for power from the catcher spot this year.

Charlie Morton is a far more playable option on the mound than his counterpart in this game. The veteran right-hander has shown little sign of slowing down, he was one of only a handful of pitchers to crest the 200-strikeout mark last season, with a high-end 28.2% strikeout rate over 172 innings in his 31 starts. Morton was at a 28.6% mark in 33 starts and 185.2 innings the year before, with a 3.31 xFIP to last year’s 3.61 mark, showing his consistency year-over-year. The righty is facing a very tough Carindals lineup, making this a 3-of-4 squares game, with the Cardinals coming up as an affordable and likely under-owned stack with top-to-bottom potential. Brendan Donovan is an excellent correlation piece with a degree of individual upside who can be clicked into place alongside Lars Nootbaar, Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado, and catcher Willson Contreras for an easy stack off of the top of the lineup. The Cardinals run deep however, slugger Tyler O’Neill is projected to hit sixth in front of titanic power hitting second baseman Nolan Gorman, who ripped two home runs after being featured in this space just yesterday. That excellent duo should be immediately in front of this year’s big prospect call up, Jordan Walker, who also provides an excellent combination of power and speed. With Tommy Edman as a column favorite wraparound play, this lineup truly runs from 1-9 and can be combined in multiple iterations, but expectations should be tempered against Morton. It is easy to get over the field without getting carried away on Cardinals stacks today, that seems like the correct approach.

Play: Braves stacks and one-offs, Charlie Morton, over the field but limited Carindals stacks

Baltimore Orioles (+120/4.04) @ Texas Rangers (-130/4.56)

Against starter Jon Gray, the appealing Orioles lineup may come up lightly owned, which puts a both-sides appeal on the matchup. Gray was very good last year, finally escaping Coors Field and putting up a 25.7% strikeout rate with a 3.46 xFIP and a 3.96 ERA. The righty only managed 127.1 innings and 24 starts, but he is an effective option who could be in play for the MLB DFS scoring lead if things break right for him tonight. Gray will be facing a tough young Orioles lineup that is worthy of rostering as well, they check in at fair prices across the board while providing a ton of power and speed in a variety of positional options. Baltimore’s projected lineup has three talented switch-hitters at the top, with Cedric Mullins II, Adley Rutschman, and Anthony Santander all providing home run potential. Mullins hit 16 long balls last year after powering 30 out of the yard with 30 stolen bases in 2021. He managed to swipe 34 bags in 2022 and is a target for 50 steals with the added running – particularly in Baltimore – this season. Rutschman is one of baseball’s best-hitting catchers already, he can be deployed on both sites in Orioles stacks, and Santander provides strong power, he hit 33 home runs with a .214 ISO while creating runs 20% better than average last year. Following that group is another column favorite, Ryan Mountcastle, who will soon be at a much higher price and much higher popularity, take advantage early. Gunnar Henderson, Austin Hays, and Jorge Mateo are all late lineup targets. Mateo suffered a finger laceration and missed Sunday’s game, but he has four stolen bases in his first two games of the season and he will be running every time he gets on base.

Gray will be backed up by a solid Rangers lineup that is facing league-average starter Kyle Bradish. The righty is fine, he is not entirely without price-based upside at his $6,900 sticker on the DraftKings slate, but it is not an ideal situation for a starter who had just a 21.8% strikeout rate with a 9.0% walk rate last year. Bradish yielded a 1.40 WHIP and a 40.6% hard-hit rate, factors that do not combine well for preventing run creation, inflating his ERA to 4.90. The Rangers, meanwhile, have hitting power to spare. The league’s best middle infield power duo tops the lineup, with Marcus Semien and Corey Seager giving pitchers fits from each side of the plate. Nate Lowe is an underappreciated bat at first base who is rarely popular or expensive. Lowe slashed .302/.358/.492 last season while hitting 27 home runs and creating runs 43% better than average. Not that anyone noticed, the first baseman typically went in the final few rounds of many redraft fantasy baseball leagues this season. Adolis Garcia is another power and speed outfielder who has an excellent shot to crack at least 30/30 this year. Garcia hit 27 home runs and stole 25 bases last year and he hit 31 homers with 16 steals the year before. Third baseman Josh Jung needs to find his stroke at the Major League level before he is a great option, there is currently too much swing-and-miss in his game that is not covered by hard-hit baseballs. The most compelling name from late in the projected lineup is once again Brad Miller, who has a quality bat for a cheap price.

Play: Jon Gray, Orioles stacks, Rangers stacks

Detroit Tigers (+193/3.28) @ Houston Astros (-213/4.82)

Easily one of the lower-end lineups in all of baseball, the Tigers desperately need to begin developing prospects if there is hope for a turnaround in the near future. The team is facing Astros’ rookie right-hander Hunter Brown, who posted excellent numbers in the Pacific Coast League throughout last season as well as a 27.5% strikeout rate in a 20.1-inning cup of coffee at the Major League level in 2022. Brown was dealing with an aching back in the last few days leading up to Opening Day, so there are minor concerns about the depth to which he will be allowed to pitch this evening, but he makes for an otherwise stellar option in this spot. The righty costs just $7,400 on the DraftKings slate, putting him in play even in a shortened outing, while his $9,100 may be a more limiting price tag in the absence of a potential quality start on the blue site. Still, there is appeal if that price tag pushes the public away from what is objectively one of the top arms on the slate when that concern is ignored. The Tigers projected lineup includes Riley Greene, Javier Baez, Spencer Torkelson, and Miguel Cabrera, any of whom can be included if one is inclined to play Tigers. Two somewhat interesting options are Kerry Carpenter and Austin Meadows, a pair of left-handed sluggers. Meadows hit 27 home runs in 2021 but missed most of last season, he has shown decent early form and could line up for a low-owned low-cost ceiling game if things break well. Carpenter hit six home runs in just 113 plate appearances in the Show last season, boasting an 11.1% barrel rate, he has a team-leading 10.27 mark in today’s home run model.

The Astros’ elite lineup is bound to be popular tonight despite hefty price tags, their matchup is simply too good to ignore. They will be facing southpaw Matthew Boyd who has bounced between easy target for power and moderately serviceable over his Major League career. In 2019, Boyd allowed 39 home runs in 185.1 innings, a 1.89 HR/9 mark that he followed with a 2.24 HR/9 in 60.1 innings in the short 2020 season. He bounced back to a degree in 2021, limiting home runs to a sharp 2.67% (1.03 HR/9), and he did not allow a long ball in his 13.1 innings last season, but there are plenty of lingering memories of massive moonshots against this starter. Boyd is not worth rostering tonight, but Astros bats can be played from top to bottom despite their popularity. All of Jeremy Pena, Alex Bregman, Yordan Alvarez, Jose Abreu, and Kyle Tucker are excellent plays even at high prices. The pair of left-handed stars in the outfield should never be avoided against fellow southpaws, both can handle same-handed pitching, particularly of the low caliber they face tonight. Column favorite Chas McCormick always warrants a nod for his ongoing low prices and typical lack of ownership, while Corey Julks and whoever ends up in the bottom of the lineup are moving parts who can be mixed and matched in a variety of stacks.

Play: Hunter Brown, Astros stacks & one-offs

Los Angeles Angels (+129/3.25) @ Seattle Mariners (-139/3.82)

Mariners starter George Kirby is another good pitcher to target on this slate. Kirby should be aggressively owned at his $8,000 price on the DraftKings slate. Even against a quality lineup like that of the Angels, that is simply too low a price point for Kirby. The righty had a solid 24.5% strikeout rate with a sterling 3.33 xFIP over 130 innings in 25 starts last season. He should be able to find additional strikeouts with the free-swinging Angels at the dish, if he manages to avoid mistakes to the key stars in their lineup, Kirby could post a slate-winning score tonight. The starter is a $10,000 option on the blue site, he seems worth the price, particularly if it results in a play in which we are spending up to be contrarian. At the same time, the Angels are a worthwhile stack. In addition to all-world talents Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout, who are never off the board, the lineup features slugger Taylor Ward in the leadoff spot. Ward started last season on fire, cooled, and then finished strong, ending the year with a .281/.360/.473 triple-slash, a .192 ISO and an excellent 137 WRC+. He hit 23 home runs and is a strong piece for both correlation and individual production in front of the two superstars. That trio is followed by veteran quality with Anthony Rendon, who has been more hurt than diminished over the past few seasons, and slugger Hunter Renfroe. If Jake Lamb sees a start he is a potentially interesting left-handed power bat, though one who has a long track record of disappointments at this point as well. Catcher Logan O’Hoppe is a cheap option from late in the lineup where his position is required, less so where it is not.

The excellent Mariners lineup is facing lefty Reid Detmers today. Detmers is not bereft of ceiling potential, he can be safely left in a player pool and included in tournament shares, but he is not necessarily a great option tonight. The southpaw had a respectable 22.6% strikeout rate and a 4.20 xFIP last season, limiting opponents to just a 2.41% home run rate, and he has potential signs of pending improvement. Still, with a very difficult matchup against a Mariners lineup that leads off with Julio Rodriguez and features quality throughout, there are probably just better available options than Detmers. The Mariners are worthy of roster spots at the plate. In addition to Rodriguez, last year’s AL Rookie of the Year, Seattle sports Ty France, who slots in at first base and is typically ignored by the MLB DFS community despite a quality bat. France slashed .276/.340/.437 with 20 home runs and a 127 WRC+ last year, not that DFS gamers noticed. Eugenio Suarez is among the team leaders for power potential, carrying a 7.26 mark in our home run model. Suarez had an excellent 14.8% barrel rate and hit 31 home runs last season, after hitting the same number in Cincinnati the year before. With Teoscar Hernandez and Cal Raleigh following in the lineup, four of the top five hitters for the Mariners had barrel rates between Rodriguez’s 13.1% and Raleigh’s 15.4% last year, creating one of the better available power cores. Left-handed second baseman Kolten Wong hit 15 home runs of his own last year while adding 17 stolen bases. Wong joins veteran outfielder AJ Pollock and young disappointing – so far – post-hype prospect Jarred Kelenic as sneakier options at the bottom of the projected batting order.

Cleveland Guardians (-147/4.15) @ Oakland Athletics (+135/3.44)

This headline could simply read Cleveland Guardians, as essentially no part of the Athletics lineup has much appeal today. The team could certainly perform in an “any given slate” sense against Zach Plesac, who is cheap and will probably be popular, so there is some contrarian appeal from a game theory perspective against a popular starter who had a 17.6% strikeout rate last year, but the Athletics simply lack the bats. Other than Seth Brown, there is just not much to like for Oakland today. None of which is to say that Plesac himself makes an overly interesting play as anything other than a potential innings-eater on DraftKings. At $7,400 on FanDuel, where there is only one bite at the pitching apple, he seems like more of a trap.

The Guardians’ dynamic lineup will be facing James Kaprielian, a starter who had a 17% strikeout rate of his own, while also yielding a 10.1% walk rate over 134 innings in 26 starts last season. The once well-regarded righty is simply not a Major League talent, the Guardians should have every opportunity to abuse this pitcher for contact, power, and speed, they make an excellent MLB DFS option tonight. Infielders Andres Gimenez and Amed Rosario have been mentioned in this space several times early in the year for their combined home run and stolen base acumen, as well as extremely competent hit tools. Gimenez slashed .297/.371/.466 and created runs 40% better than average last year, Rosario slashed .283/.312/.403 and would have created runs better than three percent ahead of the average if he’d gotten on base with more frequency. Both players should be in lineups tonight. Jose Ramirez needs no introduction, he is a fixture in this lineup and for both DraftKings and FanDuel play. Lefty slugger Josh Naylor should see a start in this game, he is a quiet and inexpensive option at just $3,500/$2,600 with eligibility in the outfield and at first base on FanDuel. Naylor hit 20 home runs last season in 498 opportunities, he is second on the team in our home run model, trailing only Ramirez. Oscar Gonzalez and Josh Bell add even more quality to the middle of this lineup while maintaining a trend of a very strong ability to limit strikeouts and put the ball in play. Mike Zunino makes up for many of those limited strikeouts on his own, but when the aggressive free-swinger makes contact, that ball tends to travel. Zunino made just 123 plate appearances last year, hitting five home runs, but he knocked 33 out of the park in a mere 375 plate appearances while outpacing most of baseball’s superstars in raw contact metrics in 2021. Even Myles Straw can be useful with this season’s increased running.

Play: All things Cleveland bats; maybe one or two contrarian A’s stacks in large field tournaments

Arizona Diamondbacks (+126/3.75) @ San Diego Padres (-137/4.35)

Southpaw Ryan Weathers is on the hill for the Padres this evening, leading to an interest in the Diamondbacks as a strong stacking option. The field can have the limited lefty even at his $6,000 price tag on both sites (a few shares as a cheap SP2 on DraftKings may be fine). The Diamondbacks projected lineup features post-hype stud Kyle Lewis in a prime role. Lewis hit a home run against a left-handed pitcher already this season, and he should see the bulk of starts for this team on the plus side of platoon splits. Lewis was once one of the most highly regarded prospects in the game, but he has suffered devastating injury after devastating injury, severely limiting his career to date. When he is healthy and available, he has a star-caliber upside. Lewis joined an Arizona lineup that already featured several interesting young players, including Corbin Carroll and Jake McCarthy, both of whom are in play for MLB DFS purposes. McCarthy stole 23 bases in just 354 plate appearances last year, creating runs 16% ahead of the curve and hitting eight home runs of his own. The outfielder should be hitting late in the lineup and he makes for a sneaky option. The buzzier Carroll is one of baseball’s top prospects, but he checks in at just $2,900 on DraftKings and $2,800 on FanDuel. Ketel Marte slashed just .240/.321/.407 last season, but he hit 12 home runs and does not cost much at second base. Outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. came over from Toronto and brings a quality mid-lineup bat to play. Corner infielders Christian Walker and Evan Longoria are also in play for a minor investment. Walker powered 36 home runs last season, slashing .242/.327/.477 and creating runs 22% better than average, he is not correctly priced or appreciated in this spot. Walker leads the Diamondbacks with a 12.33 mark in today’s home run model, giving him a well-above-average chance at a significant MLB DFS score.

The Padres face rookie Ryne Nelson, who threw 18.1 innings of 4.69 xFIP baseball last season, while simultaneously posting a 1.47 ERA, putting the flaws in the latter stat immediately on display. The expected FIP number if far more representative of the pitcher’s true quality in what should be written off entirely as too small a sample. Nelson is a well-regarded pitching prospect, but he does not have elite strikeout expectations, he figures to land more in the mid-range to slightly above-average territory, which can be enough in the right spot but may not put him in a great situation against a good Padres lineup. Nelson will be challenged by a trio of stars in Manny Machado, Juan Soto, and Xander Bogaerts atop the Padres lineup. They are surrounded by quality Major Leaguers like Trent Grisham, who hits from the left side of the plate and had 17 home runs in 524 plate appearances but was extremely limited in slashing just .184/.284/.341 and creating runs 17% worse than average last year. Grisham was far better in 2021 and he should regain an above-average form. Jake Cronenworth fits into multiple positions and Ha-Seong Kim is a dynamic category filler. The Padres are a viable stack tonight, but they are very expensive from site to site, which makes them a difficult click when they are not overwhelmingly favored by projections.

Play: Diamondbacks stacks, some Padres stacks

Colorado Rockies (+193/3.49) @ Los Angeles Dodgers (-213/5.12)

The final game of the evening features two teams who are near the top of today’s Power Index. The Rockies and Dodgers are both sporting interesting upside for home runs this evening, with starters Michael Grove and Ryan Feltner facing off. Of the two pitchers, Grove is the more interesting option, at the very least on the DraftKings slate, where he checks in at a discount for just $5,600. The righty should be popular at that mark, despite an inconsequential track record in the Major Leagues and the fact that he is more of a substitute in this rotation at the moment. Grove made six starts in the Show last year, striking out just 18% of hitters and putting up a 4.77 xFIP and a 4.51% home run rate. With the power in Colorado’s lineup that could be problematic for the pitcher, even at the cheap price. At $6,900 on the one-pitcher site, Grove does not seem like much of a FanDuel option. Meanwhile, the Rockies’ bats are rated fourth overall in our Power Index. Leadoff man Jurickson Profar was not a part of this squad until well into Spring Training, but he has seized a regular role and he is a quality option who hit 15 home runs last year. CJ Cron has hit three home runs already in the season and looks primed for more with a mark of 12.58 in the home run model, while teammate Kris Bryant checks in just above the 10 mark. They are surrounded by quality bats that are less expensive and easy to stack for correlation, as well as power upside. Charlie Blackmon is on the wrong side of his career, but can still provide left-handed power against a young starter, while Ryan McMahon and Elehuris Montero are both tracking near to 10 in our home run model. From later in the lineup, Yonathan Daza provides a solid hit tool and correlated scoring, but not much individual upside. Daza hit just two home runs in 409 plate appearances last year and created runs seven percent below average despite slashing .301/.349/.384, he needs to show more but he is in play if making multiple Colorado stacks. Rookie Ezequiel Tovar is yet another compelling option for stolen bases and can act as a wraparound back to the power bat at the top of the lineup. The Rockies’ lineup is not good, and they are likely to lose this game, but there is reason to believe in the power potential for tonight, in large-field tournaments Colorado is an interesting contrarian stack.

Ryan Feltner is just not in play against the Dodgers. The Dodgers should be crushingly popular against Feltner, there is titanic upside for what is essentially an All-Star team. The obvious names at the top of the batting order will be publicly owned and they are high-priced but easily worthwhile. Skipping beyond Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, and Will Smith, there are questions about whether Max Muncy will be in the lineup tonight, with lingering groin pain. If Muncy plays he is a strong home run pick. JD Martinez should see ample run-creation opportunities and provide MLB DFS value across the industry throughout the Summer, while later lineup newcomers like James Outman and Miguel Vargas are playable and inexpensive. The Dodgers are an elite option in a vacuum, but they may be a challenging team with which to build lineups given their pricing and what will almost certainly be hefty ownership. There are equally good spots that will be more affordable and less popular that have been featured throughout this article, and undercutting the field on this side of the late game could be worthwhile.

Play: Rockies stacks, Dodgers stacks (potential undercut)

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