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Welcome back, RotoBallers, to another massive Friday night MLB DFS slate! We have three early games that are on their own separate slate, but then the other 12 MLB contests are all grouped together for the evening main slate. There's not as much as pitching as you would like, but an abundance of hitting so I would expect ownership to be more heavily concentrated on pitchers while it should probably be more spread out among various offenses.
This article contains my picks for the twelve-game main slate on Friday, April 14, 2023, for both DraftKings and FanDuel which locks at 7:05 PM ET.
The lineup picks will range from some elite high-priced players to mid-priced options and value plays. I'll give you a few of my top pitching options and then some infielders, outfielders, and teams to stack. You can also read more DFS advice and lineup picks for other sports here. It's also essential to monitor injury news and today's MLB starting lineups.
DraftKings, FanDuel Pitchers - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Kodai Senga, NYM @ OAK ($10,400 DK, $10,800 FD)
The Mets head out west for a series against the lowly Oakland Athletics, who at just 3-10 are only one of two teams with only three wins this year (with Detroit being the other). The A's are in full rebuild this year again and have been bullied by pitchers so far this season. Brent Rooker had himself a nice series in Baltimore, but Oakland's remaining regulars have failed to hit for much average or power this season and are striking out 25% of the time against RHP.
Senga had two solid starts against the Marlins and now gets another poor offensive club here in his third major league start. He's shown some quality stuff so far and the only thing we could be picky about would be the control as he has walked more guys than you like to see. But the strikeouts have been there and he has looked very much the part of a front-end rotation arm thus far. With very few other big-time pitchers going today, I would expect Senga to soak up a lot of ownership and be the cash game chalk pitcher on both sites.
Michael Wacha, SDP vs. MIL ($8,100 DK, $9,600 FD)
Here I am recommending Michael Wacha - something I never thought I would do after like 2019. But it's looking, at least in the early going, that he may have successfully remade himself into an above-average pitcher here in the middle of his career. He's no longer a flamethrower like he was in his early days in St. Louis, but he features a fantastic changeup and can keep hitters off balance with a cutter and sinker since his fastball tops out around only 91-92 MPH these days.
He really got my attention when he whiffed ten Braves last week and shut them out over six innings. I'm not saying we get that type of performance again, but his 25% K rate and only 8% walk rate are what I am looking for in a starting pitcher and a lefty-heavy lineup from Milwaukee actually works in his favor as he's been better in his career against lefties than righties.
Others to consider: Drew Rasmussen vs. Toronto, Austin Gomber vs. Seattle (GPP only)
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DraftKings, FanDuel Infielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Vinnie Pasquantino - 1B, KCR vs. ATL ($3,400 DK, $2,700 FD)
The big lefty that so many in the industry have been waiting to break out this season just might be starting his ascendency. He finished off the series in Texas by going 4-7 over the final two games with a HR and two doubles and today he and his fellow Royals hitters will get to face a veteran who has struggled out of the gate in Charlie Morton.
Morton has always struggled against lefties and has become more and more reliant on his curveball over the last few seasons. If Vinnie sits on a curveball today, he's going to hit really hard and hopefully, really far. He's still super cheap on both sites, too, I am going to keep playing him in good spots until he finally gets priced up.
Nico Hoerner - 2B, CHC @ LAD ($4,200 DK, $3,200 FD)
Nico is off to a great start this season, hitting .347 over the first few weeks while scoring 12 runs and stealing 5 bases. He has 6 multi-hit games and has been on base in all but one game this season for the Cubbies.
Tonight he will face Noah Syndergaard, who after a solid first outing, got blown up by Arizona in his second start as he allowed 8 hits over just 4 innings. Syndergaard is well-known throughout the league as one of the worst pitchers at holding runners, too, so Hoerner is a great bet to swipe another bag or two tonight if he gets on base.
Manny Machado - 3B, SDP vs. MIL ($4,900 DK, $3,000 FD)
A slow start for Machado means we are getting him at a discount compared to where would normally expect him to be priced, especially on FanDuel where he costs only 3k. Manny mashed his first homer of the season last night for the Pads and I wouldn't be surprised if he gets rolling here in this series as he gets lefty Eric Lauer on the hill tonight.
Machado has a .395 wOBA against lefties this season but only a .095 ISO so far. That's bound for some positive regression as he had a .253 ISO against LHP last year. He doesn't whiff much and walks a lot when he has the platoon advantage, so I love using him in cash formats tonight or tossing him into some Padre stacks.
DraftKings, FanDuel Outfielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Chas McCormick - OF, HOU vs. TEX ($3,900 DK, $3,400 FD)
McCormick has been a nice addition to the leadoff spot for Houston as they have been without Jose Altuve to start the year and it's allowed them to drop Jeremy Pena down in the lineup where his power can drive in more runs. Houston can now split up lefties Yordan Alvarez and Kyle Tucker with righties Alex Bregman, Jose Abreu, and Pena every other hitter from 2-6 in the lineup and that's going to be a nightmare for LHP.
Back to McCormick though - he's hitting for power and getting on base with regularity. He's even swiping some bases, too. He's a no-brainer for me in cash games as the Astros are one of only a few teams implied for 5 or more runs here in a good matchup against a high-contact pitcher Martin Perez.
Brandon Nimmo - OF, NYM @ OAK ($4,000 DK, $3,000 FD)
Nimmo is hitting just .243 to start the year but is still getting on base via walks and scoring runs at the top of this Mets lineup. He's also swiped three bases already this season and is a threat to run.
Kaprielian has been victimized by lefties for the last few seasons now, and I like targeting him with high-contact guys like Nimmo. If you need another leadoff guy who has a high floor tonight for cash games to pair with McCormick, then Nimmo makes a ton of sense.
Randy Arozarena - OF, TBR @ TOR ($6,000 DK, $3,800 FD)
Not too many people are going to pay 6k on DraftKings for Aroz, but I might. He's been destroying the baseball this year and scoring fantasy points in bunches. He also happens to have some really good career numbers against Toronto starter Jose Berrios, who has been known to leave fastballs out over the plate where Randy likes them. With Randy, we have HR upside, stolen base potential, and a hitter who seems locked in here at the start of the season (and really going all the way back to the World Baseball Classic).
DraftKings, FanDuel MLB DFS Stacks
San Diego Padres vs. Eric Lauer
I love how the Pads line up 1-4 tonight against the lefty Lauer. Bogaerts has been great as the leadoff man against lefties, Juan Soto has handled LHP well in his career despite the lack of platoon advantage, and then you have the aforementioned Manny Machado and career lefty-masher Nelson Cruz. Lauer isn't a gas can by any means, but he is a guy who gives up a lot of home runs and has a major flyball tendency. This foursome has serious power and they are too cheap as a group because of Machado and Cruz's depressed prices.
Tampa Bay Rays vs. Jose Berrios
Call me crazy, but I want to keep rolling the dice on this red-hot 13-0 Tampa team against Berrios and his 11 ERA. Perhaps both the pitcher and the offense are bound for regression, but let's not act like Berrios has been very good now for a while. I don't think Tampa will be that popular today, too, just based on how many other teams appear to be in better spots on paper.
Also consider: New York Mets vs. James Kaprielian, Houston Astros vs. Martin Perez
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