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With several afternoon games, there is a smaller main slate for Thursday night. There is still a nice offering of elite options at pitcher, highlighted by Noah Syndergaard, Danny Duffy, Stephen Strasburg, and James Paxton. Fanduel pricing has tightened since Opening Day, so if you want to fit any of them into your lineup, it'll be time to go bargain hunting.
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for FanDuel on 4/20/17. Enjoy the read and good luck out there today!
You can read our DraftKings and Yahoo DFS lineup picks as well. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to reach out to me on Twitter @DanMarcus3.
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Offensive Stacks
Arizona Diamondbacks vs Clayton Richard
The Arizona Diamondbacks have a trio of players who mash left-handed pitching; Brandon Drury, Yasmany Tomas, and Chris Owings. That will work nicely for tonight’s slate as they face left-hander Clayton Richard. If this game was in Arizona, this would be a highly owned stack, but because it is in San Diego, it shouldn’t be as popular. Pricing should also even itself out with this stack as well, as Goldschmidt obviously carries a hefty price tag, but both Tomas' and Owings' asking price is more reasonable.
FanDuel DFS Pitchers
Noah Syndergaard - P, vs PHI ($11,200)
Syndergaard is far and away the best pitcher on the board for the main slate on Thursday night. His strikeout rate is down just a bit from last season in the early going, but he has yet to walk a batter or allow a home run all season. That won’t continue forever, but in a home start against the Phillies on Thursday, he is the safest pitcher on the slate.
Danny Duffy - P, @ TEX ($9,400)
Duffy is an interesting case as he faces a tough Rangers lineup on the road. In most cases, that’s enough of a reason to toss a pitcher aside, especially with the likes of Noah Syndergaard and Stephen Strasburg on the same slate. However, this matchup is a little different for Duffy for a few reasons. For one, as a left-handed pitcher, Duffy will neutralize key members of the Rangers’ lineup, including Rougned Odor, Nomar Mazara, Shin Soo-Choo, and Joey Gallo. The other positive in this matchup is his chance to record a win, as he will go up against Andrew Cashner. Duffy’s velocity has been down and his results have not lived up to last year through a few starts, but he is an intriguing play tonight and should have low ownership.
FanDuel DFS Infielders
Mike Zunino - C, vs OAK ($2,000)
I’m not one to pay up at catcher. There are few of them that bat high in the order and even fewer that provide consistent production. We all know and have heard the book on Zunino over and over, so no more needs to be said other than he is a boom-bust option. He’s been just about all bust to this point in the year, but the A’s are starting Cesar Valdez, who last threw a pitch in the major leagues in 2010. Zunino’s power stroke is still intact as he is hitting the ball in the air and hard. Given that combination, he is due for a home run and tonight’s matchup should be conducive to that.
Wil Myers- 1B, vs. ARI ($3,800)
Myers has everything going for him in this matchup against Patrick Corbin. On the surface, Corbin looks like he’s pitched fairly well to start 2017, but with any digging, it becomes quite clear he’s going to get rocked in his upcoming starts. For one, his strikeout-to-walk ratio is 1, which is never a good thing for a pitcher. In addition, his ERA is 2.81 but his xFIP is 5.61. Corbin is in for some serious regression, and Wil Myers could smack a couple home runs in an effort to help that regression come sooner rather than later.
Kolten Wong - 2B, @ MIL ($2,500)
Wong hasn’t gotten off to the hottest start in 2017 as he is hitting only .187 through Tuesday’s games. Still, there are some encouraging signs in his profile, as he has walked four times, compared to just three strikeouts. He is chasing fewer pitches out of the zone than at any other time in his career, and that should help him make better contact. In a park that is very friendly for lefty power, Wong is a low-priced option with a lot of upside.
Wilmer Difo - SS, @ATL ($2,200)
No individual player particularly stands out at shortstop as far as matchup and skill, so my strategy for the slate will be to use this position as salary relief and a piece of a stack. Difo would provide plenty of salary relief, so he is in this lineup to illustrate the flexibility the position could offer to the rest of your lineup. Other pieces I like at the position who fit the same description include Chris Owings and Aledmys Diaz.
Anthony Rendon - 3B, @ ATL ($2,900)
Like Wong, Rendon is off to a slow start. However, unlike Wong, there isn’t a whole lot to be encouraged about in his plate discipline, batted ball profile, or just about anything else. Instead, the focus with this pick is the ability to pay down and get a piece of the Nationals offense against R.A. Dickey. Dickey has been a launching pad for home runs in the early going; a continuation from last season. Everyone will be on Bryce Harper, Daniel Murphy, and other standouts from the Nats lineup, but rostering an elite pitcher and those batters will leave a big hole in the rest of your lineup. Rendon is a nice compromise to get in on one of the highest scoring offenses of the day while also providing some salary relief.
FanDuel DFS Outfielders
Yasmany Tomas - OF, @ SD ($3,400)
Tomas isn't at the perfect price but he is so good against lefties it's worth paying up. He is the building block of my entire lineup and the centerpiece of my favorite stack of the night. He will go up against lefty Clayton Richard, and while Richard has acquitted himself nicely to this point in the season, it’s not enough to shake me off the Tomas play.
Hunter Renfroe - OF, vs ARI ($2,800)
I want some exposure to right-handed power in the Padres lineup on Thursday night, and Renfroe matches that description nicely. We only have a short sample size to work with, but Renfroe will have the platoon advantage against Patrick Corbin and he has been able to have success against left-handed pitching in the past. Petco Park still has the reputation as a pitchers park, but it is a positive for right-handed power according to most sites that tabulate park factors. The matchup was already highlighted as a positive one, so Renfroe is an intriguing play that should be under the radar.
Jarrod Dyson - OF, @ OAK ($2,900)
Dyson isn’t hitting home runs, driving in runs, or hitting for a particularly high batting average to start his tenure with the Seattle Mariners. However, what he is doing is stealing bases and scoring runs. The latter is an especially undervalued asset in all forms of fantasy baseball. Even though he has batted at the bottom of the lineup in the majority of his at-bats, Dyson has eight runs scored and four stolen bags. This gives him a nice floor for production and given their matchup, the Mariners should be able to put up plenty of runs on Thursday night.
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