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Happy Thursday, RotoBallers! With the NFL Draft starting tonight, baseball has (wisely) moved nine of its 10 games to a daytime slot. Eight of those nine games are on the schedule for our featured contest on DraftKings, while FanDuel has limited its slate to seven games. If you are tuning into the NFL Draft after all the daytime baseball, read up and prep with all our fantastic RotoBaller coverage.
The slate begins at 1:10 p.m. EDT with three games in Cincinnati, Minnesota, and Cleveland. The final matchup of the eight-game contest takes place in the nation's capital as the Dodgers meet the Nationals. On the weather side, strong winds should blow in Kansas City, and there may be some rain to navigate in the Chicago-Minnesota contest.
This article will provide my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings and FanDuel on 4/25/2024. The lineup picks will range from some elite players to mid-priced options and value plays. You can also read more DFS advice and lineup picks for other sports here. Monitoring injury news and today's MLB starting lineups is also essential. Follow me on X @EuanFPL for more DFS advice.
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DraftKings, FanDuel Pitchers - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Zack Wheeler at Reds ($10.0K DraftKings; $10.6K FanDuel)
If a DFS manager decides to skip Zack Wheeler because of his 1-3 record on the year, that's one less opponent to worry about on Thursday's slate. Despite the win-loss record, the Phillies ace is having a great start to the year. Through five starts, the 33-year-old pitcher has a 2.30 ERA and 0.89 WHIP with 38 strikeouts in 31 1/3 innings. Cincinnati's 88 wRC+ versus RHPs this season is the ninth lowest in baseball. Meanwhile, its 27.2 percent strikeout rate to RHPs is the third highest. Managers would be wise to roll with Wheeler as their SP1.
Zack Wheeler.
That's it.
That's the Tweet.#CarryTheFreight | #RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/Lst5TyxWLI— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) August 8, 2021
Andrew Heaney vs. Mariners ($6.0K DK; $7.2K FD)
Andrew Heaney has faced the Houston Astros twice through four starts and had bad results. However, the Texas southpaw is having greater success in games not versus Houston. In those non-Astros starts, Heaney has 12 strikeouts in 9 2/3 innings and averages 15.8 DraftKings PPG. DFS managers can look for Heaney to have another solid SP2 start on Thursday because of the matchup. Seattle strikes out the 11th most against LHPs and still ranks in the bottom nine for ISO, average, and slugging percentage.
Also consider: Yoshinobu Yamamoto at WAS, Justin Verlander at CHC, Simeon Woods Richardson vs. CHW
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DraftKings, FanDuel Infielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Alex Kirilloff - MIN, 1B/OF vs. Michael Soroka ($4.1K DK; $2.9K FD)
Minnesota gave Alex Kirilloff the day off on Wednesday, so he will slot right back into the lineup for Thursday's day game. Despite moving between first base and outfield quite often, Kirilloff is anchored into the top half of Minnesota's batting order. Through 21 games, the left-handed hitter has 19 hits, and nine of them (47 percent) have gone for extra bases. This will come in handy against Michael Soroka's 7.50 ERA, 1.79 WHIP, and 17.9 percent HR/FB rate. We've just got to watch out for the weather forecast in case of a possible rain delay.
Alex Kirilloff sends the @Twins home in #Walkoff fashion! pic.twitter.com/6SChLGmzjC
— MLB (@MLB) April 24, 2024
Nico Hoerner - 2B, CHC vs. Justin Verlander ($4.2K DK; $2.8K FD)
We don't select Nico Hoerner for his power in our DFS lineup, but it was a rough start to the season, even for his standards. Fortunately, things are turning around for the second baseman. In the last six games, the Cubs infielder has four doubles, four runs, and four RBI with four multi-hit games. Batting atop the lineup is always a nice spot in DFS, so managers shouldn't shy away from his price tag even with the lack of home-run potential in Hoerner's profile.
Justin Turner - 1B/3B, TOR at Cole Ragans ($4.3K DK; $3.0K FD)
Buy the dip! Justin Turner's posted a .758 OPS over the last 10 games, but his season-long number sits at .914. In this top-heavy Toronto lineup, Turner has plenty of chances to accumulate runs and RBI. It feels wrong to go against everyone's favorite preseason breakout in Cole Ragans, but the southpaw was roughed up in his last outing (-7.7 DK points), and the Blue Jays love facing left-handed pitching. On the year, Toronto has the ninth-highest OPS against southpaws and the sixth-best wRC+.
Also consider: Michael Busch, Salvador Perez, Josh Naylor, Jose Altuve, Tyler Freeman
DraftKings, FanDuel Outfielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Kyle Schwarber - OF, PHI at Nick Martinez ($5.6K DK; $3.5K FD)
Kyle Schwarber gets the nod as Thursday's boom-or-bust pick. He's playing in Great American Ball Park against Nick Martinez, a pitcher who concedes a 42.9 percent hard-hit rate. This is a prime spot for the Phillies outfielder to add his seventh home run of the season. Schwarber's only rocking a .712 OPS on the year, but that can quickly change for someone with his power potential. Remember, this is a player who hit 52 home runs and 51 singles in 2023.
Jackson Merrill - OF/SS, SD at Dakota Hudson ($4.2K; $3.2K FD)
It hasn't been all sunshine and lollipops for Jackson Merrill over the first four weeks of the season, but he's making a lot of contact and drawing enough walks to stay in the DFS conversation. Plus, when you add in a game at Coors Field, everyone's floor is elevated. San Diego scored 12 runs over the first three games of this series, and Merrill is responsible for five of them and has two multi-hit games in the process. He rose to sixth in the batting order on Wednesday, and it would be great to see that again versus a struggling Dakota Hudson.
Wilyer Abreu - OF, BOS at Triston McKenzie ($3.5K DK; $2.7K FD)
After a cup of coffee last year, Wilyer Abreu is making his mark on the major leagues in his first full season. Through 20 games, the outfielder is slashing .322/.412/.542 with 11 runs, seven doubles, two home runs, nine RBI, and four steals. Over the last six games, the Red Sox left-handed hitter has hit anywhere from second to fourth. Regardless, those are elite destinations for accruing DFS points. Triston McKenzie (5.76 xERA) should not be a match for Boston's lineup, and there will be several crooked numbers on the scoreboard this afternoon.
Raffy's back & Abreu keeps hitting!
Great combo. pic.twitter.com/hCoUImm1Sy— Red Sox (@RedSox) April 24, 2024
Also consider: Kyle Tucker, Daulton Varsho, Julio Rodriguez, Jarren Duran, Brandon Marsh
DraftKings, FanDuel MLB DFS Stacks
1. San Diego Padres at Dakota Hudson
- Favorite Plays: Luis Campusano, Jackson Merrill, Xander Bogaerts
2. Los Angeles Dodgers at MacKenzie Gore - DraftKings only
- Favorite Plays: Andy Pages, Miguel Rojas, Mookie Betts
3. Philadelphia Phillies at Nick Martinez
- Favorite Plays: Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner, Johan Rojas
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