DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Sunday, 4/17/22 The opening week was bizarre, but we're starting to get back into the groove. Grinding every day is essential when it comes to MLB DFS, and that's tough when we have small sample sizes to deal with. The good news is that these rotations and lineups are finally solidifying, making things much easier on us going forward. We feel like we have a good read on this Sunday card, so let's go ahead and get into it! 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. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! Pitchers Alek Manoah FD - P 10000 DK - SP 10000 Opponent - OAK (Adam Oller) Park - TOR FD - 39.83 DK - 21.71 Manoah had a fantastic rookie season, and it looks like he's on his way to becoming an ace. The big right-hander had a 3.22 ERA and 1.05 WHIP in his impressive rookie campaign and added a new pitch to his repertoire. He presented it in the opener, holding a potent Yankees lineup scoreless across six innings of action. To say this is a step down in competition would be a drastic understatement, with Oakland owning the worst lineup in baseball. That has the Alek and the Blue Jays entering this matchup as a -250 favorite, with the A's projected for just 3.5 runs. Zack Wheeler FD - P 10200 DK - SP 10200 Opponent - MIA (Elieser Hernandez) Park - MIA FD - 38.28 DK - 20.61 How weird is it to see two pitchers at the same price on both sites? That really doesn't matter, but it's a completely random occurrence. In any case, Wheeler is the most expensive player on the board, and rightfully so. The right-hander registered a 2.78 ERA and 1.01 WHIP across 213.1 innings last season, striking out 247 batters! He showed glimpses of that in his shortened debut, surrendering just three baserunners across 4.2 one-run innings. He threw 65 pitches in that game, and it should have him ready for 80 here. That's really all he needs against Miami, with the Marlins ranked 29th in both runs scored and OPS while owning the worst xwOBA in baseball last season. In his previous three starts against them, Wheeler has allowed just five runs across 20 innings while flirting with a 1.00 WHIP. Nestor Cortes (FD $8400/DK $8200) has been fantastic filling in over the last two years, providing a 2.77 ERA and 1.06 WHIP since the start of last season. That's why he's a...

DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Saturday 4/16/22 - All Day 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. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! Pitchers Julio Urías FD - P 9800 DK - SP 9900 Opponent - CIN (Hunter Greene) Park - LADFD - 39.15 DK - 21.11 Urias doesn’t play until the last game on the slate, but that shouldn’t matter for our purposes here. He’s in a tremendous spot against the Reds, and the Dodgers are the biggest favorites on the slate, sitting at -250 at home. Urias, for sure, had a weird first outing of the season, striking out no batters and lasting only two innings. But I’m not letting that dissuade me too much here going against the Reds, and this is a guy who was a 9.5 K/9 guy last year with an xFIP in the 3’s. The deal is too good to pass up, on DraftKings especially. Hyun Jin Ryu FD - P 10800 DK - SP 8500 Opponent - OAK (Paul Blackburn) Park - TORFD - 34.06 DK - 17.83 I hate the FanDuel price, but the DraftKings salary is definitely in play. He’s the second-biggest implied odds favorite for the win on this slate with the Blue Jays sitting at -233 at home against the Athletics. Ryu isn’t a huge K guy for his career, getting by on limiting the long ball and rarely walking batters over the last few years. This Oakland offense isn’t one you worry about and there’s a chance that Ryu can dial up some swing and miss stuff. Again, we are mostly looking at a DK play here with the FD price a bit out of bounds. Trevor Rogers FD 7100 DK 9200 Opponent - PHI (Ranger Suárez) Park - PHIFD - 32.8 DK - 17.61 Jameson Taillon FD 8600 DK 7000 Opponent - BAL (Tyler Wells) Park - BALFD - 32.53 DK - 17.09 I’m putting these two guys together because I think they are mispriced on FanDuel and DraftKings respectively. Rogers doesn’t have a great matchup against the Phillies, but the $7000 price tag on FanDuel is simply too low for a dude who’s struck out almost 11 batters per nine over his first 166 innings and has a career 3.59 xFIP. Paying this salary on a day with a ton of bats really helps round out lineups. And then there is Taillon who is a -188 road favorite against a weaker Orioles team. The $7K salary on DraftKings is coming a tier below expectation and Taillon...

DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Friday 4/15/22 - Main Slate 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. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! Pitchers Carlos Rodón FD 10100 DK 9800 Opponent - CLE (Zach Plesac) Park - CLEFD - 37.7 DK - 20.91 I hate the matchup against Cleveland but just about everything else is working for Rodon. For starters, if his first game of the year can be believed, then the 2021 stats weren’t a fluke at all. In his first outing with the Giants, Rodon came out and struck out 12 batters in just five innings. It was a lights-out performance that solidified the idea that the changes he made in his approach were going to carry over to this season. Frankly, it was awesome. If he is operating on this ace level, and it sure seems like he is, then the price is simply too low independent of who he has to face while on the mound. The Giants are -153 road favorites in this game with the over/under set at 8. It’s still a good spot and we might look back and wonder how we're ever getting Rodon this *cheap*. Freddy Peralta FD 9900 DK 10000 Opponent - STL (Miles Mikolas) Park - STLFD - 37.01 DK - 20.11 On the other side of this coin was the first game from Freddy Peralta. He struggled some out of the gate, walking four batters in his first four innings against the Cubs. Sure, he struck out six batters as well in that stretch, as a reminder of his swing-and-miss stuff. But the control is definitely a concern. I don’t mind the matchup against the Cardinals here though they don’t strike out a ton as a team (17% this season, fourth-least in the majors). But like Rodon, I do think we are still buying a bit low on the potential K upside just because of his track record. MacKenzie Gore FD 6400 DK 5000 Opponent - ATL (Kyle Wright) Park - ATLFD - 27.78 DK - 13.74 If looking for a speculative play with some upside, Gore might be the guy. He’s set to make the start for the Padres, replacing Blake Snell in the rotation. The 23-year-old has been one of the top prospects for years and this will be a chance to start realizing some of that potential. He has elite swing and miss stuff in his bag and has flashed it in his limited time in the minors. As always with this, there is real risk...

DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Thursday 4/14/22(Main Slate) 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. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! Pitchers Walker Buehler FD - P 10500 DK - SP 9700 Opponent - CIN (Reiver Sanmartin) Park - LAD FD - 35.36 DK - 18.81 As expected, pitching has been a roller coaster ride early in the season but I am starting to get more confident as teams are now entering the second time through the rotation. Despite being limited to 78 pitches, Buehler looked good on opening day going five innings, allowing two earned runs on just four hits while striking out five. He is now the biggest favorite(-250) on this slate, and by a wide margin, and facing a Reds team that sits second to last in team wOBA(.257) and wRC+(59) early in the season. Buehler is our top projected pitcher on this slate and a core play in all formats. Charlie Morton FD - P 9000 DK - SP 9300 Opponent - SD (Joe Musgrove) Park - SD FD - 33.5 DK - 18.04 Morton's first start of the season was eerily similar to Buehler's as he went 5.1 innings, gave up two earned runs, and struck out five on 78 pitchers. He is a power pitcher who has recorded a 29% K rate since the start of 2019 and backed it up with a 12.5% swinging-strike rate. It aligns well with the matchup as he faces a Padres team that is still without their superstar, Fernando Tatis Jr, and are scoring just 3.7 runs per game while striking out 24% of the time. There is most definitely a path to 90 pitches for both these pitchers so paying up for both on DraftKings is not out of the question but my favorite spot to use Morton is on fanDuel where he the 8th most expensive pitcher on the main slate. Catcher/First Base C.J. Cron FD - 1B 4100 DK - 1B 4500 Opponent - CHC (Justin Steele) Park - COL FD - 15.83 DK - 11.9 The Rockies are off to a hot start winning four of their first five games and they are back home tonight where it comes as no surprise they lead all teams in implied runs. They face a young lefty in Justin Steele who has struggled against power-hitting righties so that is where we will start things tonight. Cron is coming off a very productive first season with the Rockies and has carried it over into 2022 as he comes in...

DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Wednesday, 4/13/22 - All Day Every team usually plays on Wednesday, with games spread all throughout the day. That has us with plenty to discuss, so, let's kick things off with the pitchers! 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. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! Pitchers Corbin Burnes FD - P 10400 DK - RP 9600 Opponent - BAL (John Means) Park - BAL FD - 42.92 DK - 24.11 Burnes won NL Cy Young last season and it's easy to understand why. The hard-throwing righty finished 2021 with a 2.43 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, and 12.6 K/9 rate. That's pretty much the guy we saw in 2020, and it's clear that he's taken the leap into ace territory. That's horrible news for Baltimore, with the Orioles ranked 26th in both runs scored and OBP while sitting 25th in xwOBA. The oddsmakers love this spot, too, making Burnes a -190 favorite in a game with a 7.5-run total. That means Baltimore is projected for just 3.5 runs, making Burnes the best play on the board. Zack Greinke FD - P 7300 DK - SP 5900 Opponent - STL (Jordan Hicks) Park - STL FD - 27.39 DK - 13.43 This might be an unpopular play, but Greinke is just too cheap. This guy has churned out quality starts for over a decade now and kicked off the season with 5.1 one-run innings in his Royals debut. That's the guy we've become accustomed to throughout Greinke's career, generating a 3.18 ERA and 1.11 WHIP dating back to 2009. He's fallen off a bit, but a 3.39 ERA and 1.08 WHIP since 2017 is nothing to scoff at. Facing the Cardinals sounds like a tough matchup on the surface, but St. Louis sat 20th in runs scored and 19th in xwOBACON last season. If he can just battle through the tough top half of this order, Greinke should cruise through the bottom half and provide the minimum quality start we need from a player this cheap. Kyle Hendricks (FD $8100, DK $6600) is a quality start machine and should pick another one up against Pittsburgh's 29th-ranked offense. Catcher/First Base Matt Olson FD - 1B 3900 DK - 1B 5300 Opponent - WSH (Josiah Gray) Park - ATL FD - 14.67 DK - 10.92 Olson opened some eyes when he signed that massive deal with the Braves, but he's earned every bit of it with his pristine power. The southpaw slugger generated a .371 OBP, .540 SLG, and .911...