DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Thursday 4/21/22

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Pitchers

Carlos Carrasco FD - P 10100 DK - SP 9800
Opponent - SF (Anthony DeSclafani) Park - NYM
FD - 33.48 DK - 17.62

To say the Mets are absolutely loaded at starting pitcher would be a massive understatement as today's starter, Carlos Carrasco, is the #4 starter in the rotation. After a rocky 2021, he is off to a terrific start in 2022 giving up just five hits and one earned run over his first two starts while striking out 13(33%) and walking just two. All this on a pitch count of 72 and 82 but the good news is seeing it climb each start so we likely see around 90 tonight in a plus matchup against the Giants who are mid-pack in wOBA(.303) but are striking out at a 25.5% rate. The price is rising but Carrasco is still my top pitcher on this slate.

Paul Blackburn FD - P 7600 DK - SP 8600
Opponent - BAL (Tyler Wells) Park - OAK
FD - 31.51 DK - 16.93

At first glance, it was very close at SP2 for me between Joe Ryan and Paul Blackburn but I am leaning the latter here for multiple reasons starting with the elite matchup. Both pitchers face bottom five offenses but Blackburn faces an Orioles team that leads the league in strikeouts(28%) and 10% more than the Royals. The other thing I like with Blackburn here is when he isn't striking guys out he is creating a ton of ground balls(59%). All things considered, he is my top PTS/$ play at pitcher today.

Catcher/First Base

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. FD - 1B 4100 DK - 1B 5900
Opponent - BOS (Tanner Houck) Park - BOS
FD - 13.79 DK - 10.38
Zack Collins FD - C 2700 DK - C 2700
Opponent - BOS (Tanner Houck) Park - BOS
FD - 7.34 DK - 5.44

The Jays lead all teams in implied runs and with the amount of value at both the pitcher position and with the bats, it is not all that hard to build around Vlad in all formats. If not for Ohtani who was doing modern-day Babe Ruth things, Vlad would have won the MVP last year and is off to a hot start in 2022 as he went into last night with a .317/.364/.707 slash line with five home runs and 10 RBI.

One of the value plays helping us get to Vlad comes at the catcher position and just happens to be his teammate. The Jays traded for him in early April and it has been a great start as he enters the night with hits in four straight games including three multi-hit efforts and two home runs. I always love punting catcher on DraftKings and making it better is when that catcher comes on the top projected team.

Second Base

César Hernández FD - 2B 2800 DK - 2B 3400
Opponent - ARI (Zach Davies) Park - WSH
FD - 10.19 DK - 7.82

The Nats are a close second in implied runs and while they have sputtered out of the gate, they get a great matchup to break out on Thursday. They are facing Zach Davies who runs a sub 90 mph fastball and gives up a ton of contact(11 hits in 9 IP) and has as many walks(4) as strikeouts(4) through two starts. Hernandez is not going to win you a GPP but he has provided a solid PTS/$ floor with hits in 11 of 13 games. He will be a part of my cash game core on both sites today.

Luis Arraez FD - 3B 2800 DK - 2B/3B 3100
Opponent - KC (Zack Greinke) Park - KC
FD - 9.31 DK - 7.29

Another value play at the second base position and like Hernadez, gets the duty of leading off in a plus matchup. On a team level, the Twins are ranked in the bottom third in most categories but Arraez has been a bright spot and solid floor play in fantasy with hits in six of eight starts and enters with an impressive .386 wOBA and 158 wRC+. He faces aging veteran Zack Greinke who is giving up a ton of hard-hit balls(19) and has just one strikeout through two starts(2.3% K rate). I will have exposure on both sites, but Arreaez's best value comes on DraftKings in the sub $3K range.

Shortstop

Francisco Lindor FD - SS 4400 DK - SS 5700
Opponent - SF (Anthony DeSclafani) Park - NYM
FD - 10.45 DK - 7.93

Thankfully there is more than enough value at pitcher and other positions as there is next to none at shortstop and two elite ones I want a ton of exposure to today. Let's start with Francisco Lindor who has been one of the hottest players in the league to start the season posting an insane .423 wOBA and 208 wRC+ in 12  games. As a switch hitter, he has been good from both sides of the plate but much better against righties and faces DeSclafani who has given up a ton of contact(13 hits in 8 IP) early in the year. If you are not sold on the Jays tonight, Lindor is an elite play in all formats with the abundance of value.

Bo Bichette FD - SS 3300 DK - SS 5300
Opponent - BOS (Tanner Houck) Park - BOS
FD - 12.51 DK - 9.63

Back to the Jays here and while it will be tough to stack him with Vlad on DraftKings, he is underpriced on FanDuel where we like him much more today. It has been a disappointing start for Bo who is hitting just over .200 and has yet to take a walk but does have hits in six of his last eight games and hits right in the middle of a loaded Jays lineup. I won't be forcing him in my DraftKings builds but he is most definitely a core piece for me on FanDuel in all formats.

Third Base

Eduardo Escobar FD - 3B 3600 DK - 3B 4900
Opponent - SF (Anthony DeSclafani) Park - NYM
FD - 8.79 DK - 6.66

The pay up at third base is Jose Ramirez who is on another level to start the season but the price makes it hard to fit and he also gets below-average matchup. With that, I will turn to Escobar who not only comes in with hits in three straight including two extra-base hits but is also a high floor play as he currently sits fourth in the entire league in walk rate(21.2%) helping him to an elite .462 OBP. He is in play in all formats.

Matt Chapman FD - 3B 3500 DK - 3B 3900
Opponent - BOS (Tanner Houck) Park - BOS
FD - 10.44 DK - 7.76

If you are looking for a little bit of savings at the position on DraftKings, Matt Chapman is still sitting underpriced in the sub $4K range. It was a bit of a slow start with his new team with just four hits in his first eight games but the good news is that he is starting to heat up entering the night with hits in four straight. All things considered, Chapman is my top PTS/$ play at the position on DraftKings and a perfect fit with a partial or full Jays stack.

Outfield

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. FD - OF 3600 DK - OF 3800
Opponent - BOS (Tanner Houck) Park - BOS
FD - 10.32 DK - 7.91

I am pretty sure I haven't mentioned a Jays player at each position so let's keep the trend going here in the outfield. With the injury to Teoscar Hernandez, Gurriel has moved up into the cleanup spot and comes in scorching hot with hits in six of his last seven games including multi-hit efforts in four of his last five with six runs scored. I am biased as a Jays fan but what I really like about them for fantasy is that there are multiple options at different price points making it easy to get exposure no matter the pitchers you are using. Lock and load in all formats.

Aaron Judge FD 3600 DK 5200
Opponent - DET (Michael Pineda) Park - DET
FD - 13.12 DK - 9.81
Aaron Hicks FD 2700 DK 3400
Opponent - DET (Michael Pineda) Park - DET
FD - 8.52 DK - 6.38

I have yet to mention the Yankees in this article but left the best for last as they are absolutely loaded with power in the outfield. I am going to concentrate on my favorite of the group here and it starts with Aaron Judge who, despite only having one bomb on the season, is showing signs he is close to a breakout. He enters the night ranked 5th overall with an average exit velocity of 93.4 mph and is 4th overall in barrels, as well. Even with a lower average(.250) at the moment, he has still posted a 122 wRC+(22% above league average).

For value, I will be turning to Aaron Hicks who has spent each of the last four games in the leadoff spot, totaling hits in three of those and pushing his average up over .300 on the season. The other key factor here for the Yankees bats is the fact they are facing Michael Pineda who is likely limited to 3-4 innings with it being his first start. That means the bats should get an extended run at the absolutely trash Twins bullpen which owns the 2nd worst ERA(5.28) and HR/FB rate(20%) in the league.

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