Kevin Luchansky highlights the top MLB DFS lineup picks for 4/14/16, as well as sleepers for your daily fantasy baseball roster on FanDuel.

There are twelve games on the schedule, which is quite a bit for a Thursday. You may be able to find some day games available for your workday pleasure, but this post will just concentrate on the five games that start at 7:05 EDT or later.

Looking at the lines made available for the night games, just two games fit the description of what I would consider to be above-average run projections. Both the Orioles at Rangers and Royals at Astros have over/unders of 8.5 runs. Normally I like leaning on Vegas lines a little heavier in the early season as the sample sizes we have from hitters is so small, but nothing really jumps out as an obvious selection here, though Orioles - Rangers in Arlington is relatively attractive.

In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy baseball MLB lineup picks for FanDuel on 4/14/16. The DFS lineup picks will range from high-priced to low-priced options and identify options who will out-perform their expectations, including sleepers and value plays on FanDuel.

DFS Lineup Stacks to Target for FanDuel

Kansas City right-handed bats versus Doug Fister

This is one I'd consider more of a value stack than a power one as the Royals don't usually get it done with the deep fly, though it is nice they get a little bit of a park upgrade in Houston. In 2015, right-handed hitters tagged Fister with a .495 slugging percentage, a .365 wOBA and allowed 1.13 HR/9. Not incredible numbers, but the Royals are priced as bargains and this isn't a huge slate. They have a nice core of right-handed hitting hitters in Kendrys Morales (switch), Lorenzo Cain, Alcides Escobar and Salvador Perez.

Rangers right-handed bats against Chris Tillman

This stack I'd consider to be a little riskier than the Royals one above, but with a higher ceiling. Arlington is a great power hitter's park and Chris Tillman was tagged quite a bit by right-handed batters in 2015. He allowed a .353 wOBA, but most importanly a .500 slugging percentage and 1.75 HR/9. The right-handed hitters I'm targeting are Adrian Beltre, Elvis Andrus and perhaps Ian Desmond. A good case can be made for a few of their left-handed hitters as well, namely Prince Fielder and Rougned Odor.

Also Consider: Cubs versus Raisel Iglesias 

DFS Starting Pitchers to Consider for FanDuel

Let me start out here by saying I'm not in love with anyone here, namely because I don't see a lot of strikeout upside. I think Hammel and Stroman provide the best mix of safety and upside, but I use the term upside only relative to the other options.

Jason Hammel (SP, CHC) - $7,900

Jason Hammel, though not as talented as Stroman, might have the safer matchup of the two and the safest matchup of the night. The Reds lineup is a tire fire and what helps Hammel's case is that he is particularly adept at not getting hit hard by left-handed batters, which helps neutralize two of the Reds' best hitters in Joey Votto and Jay Bruce. In 2015, Hammel held lefties to a .290 wOBA and a .329 slugging percentage.

Marcus Stroman (SP, TOR) - $8,100

If I had to pin one of these picks as the cash guy and the other as the GPP guy, Stroman would get the nod as the tournament guy. The matchups look somewhat similar and Stroman isn't currently flashing big strikeout numbers. However, he's a little more talented, has a higher ceiling and happens to be facing a Yankees squad that's striking out in more than 30% of their at-bats against right-handers this season.

DFS Infielders to Consider for FanDuel

Catcher (C)

A.J. Ellis (C, LAD) - $2,200

The options as a whole here aren't too appealing at this position. Ellis does, however, hit left-handed pitching pretty well. He gets the nod from me in any of my cash lineups. It's a very small sample size, but he has a .391 wOBA against southpaws over six games this season and Robbie Ray isn't a very intimidating opposing starter.

First Base (1B)

Kendrys Morales (1B, KC) - $3,100

Morales will be doubling up for me tonight. I'll have a handful of his shares in tournaments as I like the Royals stack, and he'll get the nod as my cash game starter too. So far this season, Morales has hit right-handed pitching to the tune of a .367 wOBA and .247 ISO.

Second Base (2B)

Tommy La Stella (2B, CHC) - $2,300

Make sure to keep an eye on Joe Maddon's lineup as La Stella isn't a guy guaranteed to be in it. If he is, he's a great value as he hits right-handers very well and could see a lot of RBI opportunities hitting behind such a talented core at the top of the Cubs' lineup.

Shortstop (SS)

Addison Russell (SS, CHC) - $2,700

Like his middle infield partner, his splits suggest Russell much prefers facing right-handed pitching and offers a lot more value in facing them. He's priced as a bargain and had a 104 wRC+ against righties in his rookie season.

Third Base (3B)

Adrian Beltre (3B, TEX) - $3,700

As I mentioned in the stacks section, on this small slate I want to get as many right-handed bats from the Rangers as I can. The game is being played in a hitters park and they face an opposing pitcher that allowed a higher slugging percentage to right handed hitters last season than any other pitcher on the bump tonight.

DFS Outfielders to Consider for FanDuel

Mark Trumbo (OF, BAL) - $3,600

There is always the chance this pick could be a little chalky thanks to his recent success and the small slate. That said, he came back down to earth last night and the threat of facing Cole Hamels could scare people off. I'm not confident enough in him to recommend him as a cash game play, but I think his power upside, .511 career slugging percentage against left-handed pitching and the game being played in a good hitter's park make him a nice option in tournament formats.

Jose Bautista (OF, TOR) - $4,600

Joey Bats is one of the rarer power hitters that when it comes to splits, his numbers suggest he much prefers facing a pitcher that deals from the same side that he swings. In a small sample size this season, he's got a .313 ISO and .571 slugging percentage.

Trayce Thompson (OF, LAD) - $2,500

Thompson is a southpaw hitting specialist. He's the type of guy you want to fit in your lineups when you're looking for power upside in tournaments at a cost that wont handcuff the rest of your lineup building.

Full Season MLB Premium Pass - Only $29.99

The clock is ticking... get a Premium Pass for the entire MLB season - including preseason draft kit and playoffs - for only $29.99. That's eight months of Premium access to over 10 tools, and over 20 valuable resources, for one incredible price.

No other site offers this type of deal. What are you waiting for?

What Do You Get With Your Full Season Pass

Premium In-Season Tools and Resources

• Live Expert Q&A Chats exclusive to RotoBaller's premium subscribers
• Hitter Daily Matchups Ratings & DFS Lineup Optimizer (all hitter matchups)
• Pitcher Daily Matchups Ratings & DFS Lineup Optimizer (all pitcher matchups)
• Pitcher Upcoming Matchups & Schedules (analyze the next 10 starts for any pitcher)
• Home Run / Power Surgers (power hitter sleepers about to surge)
• Stolen Base / Speed Surgers (speed demon sleepers about to surge)
• Strike Out / K-Rate Surgers (strikeout sleepers about to surge)

Full Season of Premium DFS Lineup Picks (Including Playoffs)

• DFS lineup picks and cheat sheets for FanDuel and DraftKings - seven days a week
• Sample expert DFS lineups for FanDuel and DraftKings - seven days a week
• Top DFS value plays (pitchers, hitters) for FanDuel and DraftKings - seven days a week
• Top DFS avoids (pitchers hitters) for FanDuel and DraftKings - seven days a week
• Top DFS stacks for FanDuel and DraftKings - seven days a week
• Daily injury updates across MLB - seven days a week
• Weekly DFS strategy, tactics and lineup construction advice columns

Pictures Are Better Than Words

Access to our Premium Draft Kit, In-Season Tools and also DFS Lineup Picks (cheat sheets, sample lineups) delivered every single day. Take a look for yourself at some of these Premium resources:

DFS Lineup Picks (Cheat Sheets & Sample Lineups)

Published Every Day, Seven Days A Week - Including Playoffs!

Hitter Matchup Ratings & DFS Lineups Tool

All the Hitter Data You Need to Set Killer Lineups!

Pitcher Matchup Ratings & DFS Lineups Tool

Start/Sit Assistant for Pitcher Matchups - Every Day!

MLB Pitcher Upcoming Schedules & Matchups

Pitching Planner for the Next Ten Starts

No other site offers this type of deal. All of this for just $29.99... it's simply the best deal around!

MLB & Fantasy Baseball Chat Room

[iflychat_embed id="c-12" hide_user_list="yes" hide_popup_chat="no" height="400px"]