Free Player Lab TrialBaseball Picks Daily Fantasy Expert Advice
DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Tuesday 4/27/21
Now’s your chance to get DFSR PRO, which will give you access to our MLB, NBA, PGA, NHL, and NFL optimizers and our new player lab! Get started for free by clicking the button below.
Pitchers
Walker Buehler FD - P 9800 DK - SP 10200
Opponent - CIN (Jeff Hoffman) Park - LAD
FD - 43.43 DK - 24.13
Buehler is coming off his best start of the season last Thursday as he held the Padres to four hits and two earned runs while striking out a season-high nine batters and walking none. He now gets a plus matchup against a Reds team that has really struggled lately losing eight straight and have struck out over 28% of the time during that streak. Buehler is my favorite ace pitcher on the slate and in play in all formats.
Aaron Sanchez FD - P 6700 DK - SP 7200
Opponent - COL (Chi Chi Gonzalez) Park - SF
FD - 30.81 DK - 15.51
Loading up with one of the top pitchers in cash games without sacrificing your bats is made much easier with value plays Aaron Sanchez. While the upside is limited with his 17.5% K rate, he has been consistent, giving up two or fewer earned runs in all four starts with the help of an elite 59% groundball rate. He and the Giants are -19- favorites against a Rockies team that was red-hot on their most recent homestand but have struggled on the road with a .243 wOBA and 51 wRC+. Sanchez is my favorite SP2 on DraftKings tonight.
Catcher/First Base
Pete Alonso FD - 1B 3900 DK - 1B 5300
Opponent - BOS (Garrett Richards) Park - NYM
FD - 12.29 DK - 9.13
The Polar Bear has been heating up in a big way recently as he enters tonight with a five-game hit streak including three home runs. He is never going to provide that consistent average and strikes out 25% of the time for his career but has game-changing power and making it even more enticing is the fact both his xwOBA(.416) and xSLG(.636) are much higher than his wOBA and SLG. The matchup is also on the plus side as he faces Garrett Richards who owns a 6.48 ERA/6.26 xFIP and has really struggled against right-handed batters with an 8.02 xFIP and .382 wOBA against. I would reserve Alonso to GPP only on FanDuel but will have exposure to him in all formats on DraftKings.
Jared Walsh FD - 1B 3200 DK - 1B/OF 4100
Opponent - TEX (Mike Foltynewicz) Park - TEX
FD - 11.51 DK - 8.64
If you are looking to go a little more balanced tonight, Jared Walsh is my top mid-range play as the Angels are once again a core team in my builds in all formats. They get a plus matchup against Mike Foltynewicz who has struggled mightily giving u a league-high eight home runs through his first four starts. For Walsh, he has provided consistent fantasy output all season with hits in 16 of 20 games, good for a .394 wOBA and 161 wRC+. He hits smack dab in the middle of the lineup behind Trout/Rendon and that opportunity combined with the mid-tier price makes him a top play in all formats.
Second Base
Jed Lowrie FD - 2B 3200 DK - 2B 4300
Opponent - TB (Michael Wacha) Park - TB
FD - 8.89 DK - 6.78
Second base is almost always a value position for me so I am going to start in the mid-range with Jed Lowrie. He has been back up near the top of the lineup since the first week of the season and that is paying off for both fantasy managers and the actual team(but who cares about them). He enters tonight with a .371 wOBA, 149 wRC+ and has already scored 13 and driven in 17 runs. Combine that success with a plus matchup vs. Michael Wacha who struggles against righties(.370 wOBA, 1.46 WHIP) and you have a solid play on both sites suitable for all formats.
Kike Hernández FD - 2B 3000 DK - OF 3800
Opponent - NYM (David Peterson) Park - NYM
FD - 10.41 DK - 7.85
The Red Sox have flung up the middle finger to all the doubters this season as they lead the league with 119 runs and a 122 wRC+. In no way is Kike Hernandez a sexy pick but he gets a ton of opportunity hitting in the leadoff spot and has already scored 15 runs which is Top 20 overall to start the season. Combine that with his mid-tier price and I will have exposure in all formats.
Shortstop
Fernando Tatis Jr. FD - SS 4400 DK - SS 5400
Opponent - ARI (Merrill Kelly) Park - ARI
FD - 15.43 DK - 11.67
There is definitely more than enough value to pay up for multiple players and no one better than the hottest player on the planet. He is coming off an incredible series against the Dodgers in which he went 8 for 18 with five home runs and eight runs scored. He now gets a shot at the D-Backs Merrill Kelly who has allowed 3+ earned runs in all four of his starts and has given up a .419 xwOBA which ranks 276th out of 293 qualified pitchers. With a price on DraftKings that is fourth highest at the position, Tatis is my favorite pay up in all formats tonight.
Also Consider: If not paying up at SS it is pretty thin pre-lineup but Freddy Glavis(BAL) stands out if you are wanting to punt the position
Third Base
Alex Bregman FD - 3B 3800 DK - 3B 5200
Opponent - SEA (Marco Gonzales) Park - HOU
FD - 14.74 DK - 10.98
Making his regular appearance in my article is Alex Bregman who is one of our system's favorite plays, especially against left-handed pitching. He has posted a whopping .451 wOBA/204 wRC+/.250 ISO against lefties this season and tallied a .456 wOBA/197 wRC+/.346 ISO against southpaws since the start of the 2019 season. He now faces an average-at-best arm in Marco Gonzales who comes in with a 6.04 ERA/4.54 xFIP and has already given up six long balls. Bregman is a top play in the system and one of my favorite payups on the slate.
Maikel Franco FD - 3B 3100 DK - 3B 3800
Opponent - NYY (Corey Kluber) Park - BAL
FD - 8.87 DK - 6.74
This one doesn't stand out in the system just yet but Maikel Franco is off to a great start with his new team. He comes into tonight with hits in five straight and eight of his last nine games and while the average(.253) is nothing to write home about, he has three long balls and 16 RBI hitting cleanup for the surprising Orioles offense. The opportunity is there in the middle of the lineup and the O's get a plus matchup against Corey Kluber who has not been what the Yankees expected and comes in with an ugly 1.93 WHIP, 5.40 ERA, and even worse 5.93 xFIP. If you need value at the position, Franco is in play in all formats.
Outfield
Ramón Laureano FD 3400 DK 4400
Opponent - TB (Michael Wacha) Park - TB
FD - 10.9 DK - 8.25
The A's are a core team for me tonight against Michael Wacha and at the top of the list are the right-handed bats. Wacha has reverse splits and while he has been great against lefties, he has a 1.46 WHIP and given up a .370 wOBA against righties. Laureano's price stands out as a value tonight on bothsites as he hits 2nd in the lineup on one of the best offensive teams in the league thus far. While the average is lagging a bit, he enters tonight with three home runs and eight RBI while averaging 12.2 FD/9.5 DK points per game. One of my favorite PTS/$ stacks is the A's 1-2-3 for cash and add 4-5 for GPP.
Dylan Carlson FD 2900 DK 3400
Opponent - PHI (Zach Eflin) Park - PHI
FD - 10.23 DK - 7.8
Former Cardinal's first-round pick Dylan Carlson is finally making an impact at the major league level. He started the year hitting down in the order but his steady performance has earned him a huge boost up the lineup card where he has spent each of the last four games hitting 2nd ahead of Goldy and Arenado. The best part here is that the sites have yet to adjust to his new role making him a top PTS/$ on the slate at any position.
