DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Thursday 4/28/22

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Pitchers

Justin Verlander FD - P 10700 DK - SP 10100
Opponent - TEX (Martin Pérez) Park - TEX
FD - 38.19 DK - 21.37

It has been an excellent return to the mound for Verlander who has been out since the 2020 season. As expected he has been limited but thrown 80+ pitches in all three starts and has looked really good over his last two striking out 13 and walking just one across 14 innings. The matchup doesn't project for a ton of strikeouts as the Rangers have a sub 20% K rate on the season but also rank in the bottom third in wOBA(.288) and wRC+(91) among all teams in baseball. With a pitch count that likely disappears tonight and a price that is still in check for an ace, I will have exposure in all formats.

Jameson Taillon FD - P 8500 DK - SP 8100
Opponent - BAL (Bruce Zimmermann) Park - NYY
FD - 37.8 DK - 20

Pitch counts have been the lead story this season with shortened spring and Taillon is another one who has been held in check early on and has yet to top 84 pitches in his three starts. The good news here, like for Verlander, is that the pitch count could disappear and no better time for fantasy as the price is still in the mid-range. He also gets an elite matchup against an Orioles team that ranks near the bottom of the league in every hitting category including the 2nd highest K rate(26.3%) in baseball. Taillon is our top PTS/$ pitcher on both sites today.

Catcher/First Base

Ty France FD - 1B 4200 DK - 1B 5600
Opponent - TB (Undecided) Park - TB
FD - 11.73 DK - 8.94

The Mariners are not my top team to stack tonight but I most certainly want some exposure to Ty France who is arguably the fantasy MVP thus far. He has been everything(and more) the Mariners expected when they got him from the Padres and is in the midst of a breakout season with a .466 wOBA, 220 wRC+, and five home runs going into last night. He also gets at least one at-bat vs a lefty and he destroys in the split with a .384 wOBA/151 wRC+ since the start of last season. There appears to be more than enough value on this slate to pay up for France in all formats.

Eric Hosmer FD - 1B 2700 DK - 1B 3800
Opponent - CIN (Tyler Mahle) Park - CIN
FD - 8.89 DK - 6.86

If you are looking for value at the position, I love turning to Hosmer who is having a bounce-back season with a .390/.429/.542 slash line through 16 games. He is firmly back up in the five-hole and producing at an elite PTS/$ in the short-term with multi-hit games in three straight and four of his last five. He and the Padres also face Tyler Mahle at the right time as he has struggled to an ugly 2.00 WHIP and 9.75 ERA since his terrific opening day outing. Hosmer is a top PTS/$ value at first base and overall on this slate.

Second Base

DJ LeMahieu FD - 2B 3300 DK - 2B/3B 4500
Opponent - BAL (Bruce Zimmermann) Park - NYY
FD - 11.9 DK - 9.22

The Yankees come in as our top team to stack today sitting with nearly five implied runs and it starts with some mid-range value. He got off to a slow start opening week with just one hit in his first 13 at-bats but has since caught fire going into Wednesday night with hits in 12 straight and is back atop the lineup in the leadoff spot. All things considered, he is underpriced on both sites and is my top second baseman in all formats.

Jonathan India FD - 2B 2900 DK - 2B 3200
Opponent - SD (Nick Martinez) Park - CIN
FD - 11.52 DK - 8.7

Stacking top pitching without sacrificing too many elite bats has been a breeze recently the way pricing has worked out and while DK has corrected the Braves, the Reds are practically free tonight. I get they are a bottom-feeder offense but they get a plus matchup vs a pitcher with a 1.77 WHIP, 4.30 ERA, and 5.15 xFIP on the season and has given up five home runs in his last two starts. For cash, my top choice is India who got a late start to the season but has hits in seven of his first nine games. Second base is a great spot to use value and India is in play for me in all formats tonight.

Shortstop

Willy Adames FD 3300 DK 5000
Opponent - PIT (José Quintana) Park - PIT
FD - 10.87 DK - 8.23

The Brewers are back on top of the NL Central led by an elite pitching staff and the good news for them is that the bats are starting to come around, as well. That includes Willy Adames who has hits in four of his last six games but more importantly has found his power stroke and has three home runs and a double in that time. They get a nice matchup today facing Jose Quintana who has walked(8) as many batters as he has struck out and given up at least four hard-hit balls each start. Adames is my top PTS/$ shortstop in all formats tonight.

Gleyber Torres FD - SS 2400 DK - 2B 3300
Opponent - BAL (Bruce Zimmermann) Park - NYY
FD - 10.21 DK - 7.82

The nice thing about this slate is that there seems to be terrific options at every price point and at every position. While there seems to be a ton of payups at the position, Torres stands out as a top value if you need the savings or if you are stacking Yankees. The average(.212) has been hard to look at early on but there are signs of life as he comes in with hits in five of his last six and he hits lefties well with an above-average .338 wOBA and 127 wRC+. He is in play in all formats.

Third Base

Eugenio Suárez FD - 3B 3500 DK - 3B 5000
Opponent - TB (Jeffrey Springs) Park - TB
FD - 9.3 DK - 6.91

Suarez hit just .197 last year with the Reds but has found new life hitting cleanup for a Mariners team that is on the rise(see Ty France above). He went in Wednesday night's game with hits in five straight pushing his average up to .271 and it is backed up by an elite .399 wOBA and 173 wRC+. The Mariners could also come a bit under-owned today given they are currently outside the Top 10 in implied runs against an above-average Rays pitching staff but have been red-hot and come with a ton of upside. I will have exposure in all formats, especially on FanDuel where he has the most value compared to the other top-tier SS/3B.

Alec Bohm FD 2500 DK 3300
Opponent - COL (Austin Gomber) Park - COL
FD - 8.37 DK - 6.43

With pitchers shedding their pitch counts and with it seeing their prices rise combined with so many top bats, I am always looking for value at every corner of the slate. At third base, I think we can ride with a slight buy-low on a former first-round top prospect, Alec Bohm. Hard to hold the slow start against him as he was splitting time with rookie Bryson Stott but he was sent to the minors on Monday paving the way for full-time duties for Bohm. In three games since then, Bohm has an RBI in each game and hits in two straight. He hits down in the order but is very cheap on both sites and can allow you to load up elsewhere and comes with PTS/$ upside.

Outfield

Aaron Judge FD - OF 3700 DK - OF 5700
Opponent - BAL (Bruce Zimmermann) Park - NYY
FD - 14.5 DK - 10.84
Giancarlo Stanton FD - OF 2800 DK - OF 4800
Opponent - BAL (Bruce Zimmermann) Park - NYY
FD - 12.63 DK - 9.45

I mentioned the Yankees being our top team to stack above and they are loaded with power in the outfield. Let's start with Judge who has been consistent all season with an elite .399 wOBA/169 wRC+ and comes in with hits in three straight and seven of his last eight games. On top of that, he has absolutely crushed lefties to the tune of a .421 wOBA, 173 wRC+. and .318 ISO since the start of last season.

For Stanton, while he is nowhere near as consistent as Judge, he comes much cheaper on both sites. Good news as he has also picked up hits in three of his last four including his third home run of the season last night. Both these guys are in play in all formats but if paying up for pitching on DraftKings, I am fine running leMahieu/Stanton as a top two-man stack.

Tyler Naquin FD 2600 DK 2900
Opponent - SD (Nick Martinez) Park - SD
FD - 10.23 DK - 7.81
Chas McCormick FD 2200 DK 2600
Opponent - TEX (Martin Pérez) Park - TEX
FD - 10.34 DK - 7.86

As you can probably tell by reading through the article, I am very much a proponent of stars and scrubs builds. The fact we get so many sub $3K players hitting at the top of lineups and in good matchups makes it easy and as expected the outfield is loaded with them. Let's group these two together as they are both expected to hit at or near the top of their respected lineups and facing below-average pitching. Naquin faces Nick Martinez who is getting hammered by lefties so I will be pairing him with Jonathan India as a top two-player stack for cash games. McCormick has been better so far this season in terms of average(.280) and already has five multi-hit efforts and is projected to hit leadoff against lefty Martin Perez. Fire up both in all formats tonight.

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