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The top daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings on 4/28/21. Euan Leith's MLB DFS analysis and sleepers for building optimal DFS rosters.
Happy Wednesday, Rotoballers! We have 10 games to get us over the mid-week hump today, and there are plenty of exciting DFS options at our fingertips. Some series that started on Monday are having getaway days and will only be available on the earlier slates. However, if you are only focusing on the evening slate, you came to the right place. There are some brilliant pitchers to fill our two starting slots and some weaker-armed hurlers to attack with the bats.
Some of the better arms to target come against some of the weaker offenses in baseball. Carlos Rodon will get to see the Detroit Tigers for the first time this season, while Alex Wood hopes to send the Rockies out of Oracle Park on a sad note. Alex Cobb gets to rack up some strikeouts against the Texas Rangers, and Tyler Glasnow and Huascar Ynoa will have the chance the impress against the Oakland Athletics and Chicago Cubs, respectively. Glasnow is the most expensive pitcher on the slate, and it will be interesting to see his roster percentage ahead of lineup locks tonight.
This article will provide you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings on 4/28/2021. The lineup will range from some of the elite players to mid-priced options and value plays. You can also check out today's FanDuel MLB DFS lineup picks and read more DFS advice and lineup picks for other sports too. It’s also important to monitor injury news and today's MLB starting lineups. If you have any questions or comments, contact me on Twitter.
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DraftKings DFS Starting Pitchers
Carlos Rodon - P, CWS vs. DET ($9,800)
The Detroit Tigers plus any left-handed pitcher equals massive amounts of upside for the guy throwing the ball. When that guy is Carlos Rodon, it becomes a must-play. Rodon already has a no-hitter under his belt in 2021 and will look to have another excellent performance to continue his incredible start to the season. Through three starts and 19 innings, the southpaw is pitching a 0.47 ERA and a 0.68 WHIP with 24 strikeouts to eight walks. The 28-year old is sporting a 32.4 percent strikeout rate, and it will pair nicely with a Tigers lineup striking out a league-leading 34.24 percent of the time against left-handers. Rodon has scored at least 24 DraftKings points in all three starts and will have a great chance at making it 4-for-4 against the Tigers on Wednesday.
Alex Wood - P, SF vs. COL ($8,300)
There is a pitcher on tonight's slate twirling a 2.13 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 10.1 strikeouts per nine innings, and averaging 24.2 DraftKings points per start. That pitcher is the average starting pitcher versus the Colorado Rockies on the road in 2021. The Rockies have played eight contests outside of Coors Field this year and have been downright awful. They are slashing .195/.244/.261 with a 28.8 percent strikeout rate and a 40 weighted Runs Created plus.
Wood doesn't even have to be a good pitcher tonight to be a DFS option. Fortunately for us, he has been electric to start the year. He's striking out 27.5 percent of the batters he's facing while pitching to a 0.75 ERA, .042 WHIP, and a 2.40 SIERA. The advanced metrics back up the surface numbers, and Wood is an excellent starting pitcher option for the hump-day slate.
Other Options: Tyler Glasnow vs. OAK ($10,300), Huascar Ynoa vs. CHC ($7,800), Alex Cobb at TEX ($7,600)
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DraftKings DFS Infielders
Carson Kelly - C, ARI vs. Ryan Weathers ($4,600)
Kelly has three home runs in his last four games and is mashing the baseball so far in 2021. The backstop is slashing .340/.508/.766 with 12 runs, two doubles, six home runs, and 14 RBI. Kelly's impressive start to the season is backed up by a .493 weighted On Base Average and a .703 expected slugging percentage. He hits fifth on most nights for the Diamondbacks, and that will give him a feast of opportunities to rack up the counting stats on Wednesday. As a team, Arizona is crushing left-handed pitching with a .943 OPS, a .402 wOBA, and a 154 wRC+. With Kelly in some fantastic form and the Diamondbacks hitting their stride against southpaws, I love Kelly as my catcher on tonight's slate.
Matt Olson - 1B, OAK at Tyler Glasnow ($4,800)
The meeting between Olson and Glasnow feels a bit like the unstoppable force versus the immovable object. Both of these players are playing great baseball right now, and you can't go wrong picking either side. However, on Wednesday, I am going with the red-hot first baseman over the electric right-handed hurler. In his previous 10 games, Olson is slashing .359/.390/.769 in 39 at-bats, with eight runs, four doubles, four home runs, and 10 RBI. The two-time Gold Glove winner has a .464 wOBA and a 213 wRC+ against righties this year. Those numbers are good enough to rank him 10th and eighth, respectively, among hitters with at least 20 plate appearances to right-handers this season. It's a tough matchup, but Olson can hit the long ball in a leverage play against a highly-rostered Glasnow.
Jose Altuve - 2B, HOU vs. Justin Dunn ($5,300)
With George Springer leaving for Toronto/Buffalo/Dunedin in the offseason, the Astros decided to return Jose Altuve to the leadoff spot. He occupied that role earlier in his career, and, through 13 games, the results are overwhelmingly positive. The 2017 American League MVP is slashing .340/.390/.453 with 12 runs, three doubles, a home run, seven RBI, with five walks to eight strikeouts. The second baseman stole his first base of the season in the series opener on Monday, and hopefully, that's a sign of Altuve returning to his glory days when he was swiping 30 bags every season. Houston has won five of their last six games while averaging 6.3 runs per contest. With Altuve sitting atop that potent offense, he is in a terrific position to cross home plate multiple times on Wednesday.
Evan Longoria - 3B, SF vs. German Marquez ($3,700)
Longoria returned to the Giants lineup on Monday and then pinched hit in Tuesday's extra-inning loss. The veteran corner infielder is averaging a robust eight fantasy points per game through 20 games and showing fantasy baseball players that his days as a helpful addition to their lineups is not over yet. On most nights, he's slotting in as the fourth hitter on the Giants lineup card, and it paid off in a big way to start the week. Against Austin Gomber, Longoria went 2-for-2 with a run, a double, and three RBI for 16 fantasy points. German Marquez is probably the best pitcher the Rockies can throw out on any given evening, but he can also get into trouble on the odd occasion.
Nico Hoerner - 2B/SS, CHC at Huascar Ynoa ($2,800)
Don't look now, but we've got a potential leadoff hitter for less than $3,000 on the board for tonight's slate. Nico Hoerner batted leadoff on Monday and Tuesday for the Cubs and made the case to stay there even after Javier Baez (hamstring) returns to the lineup. Since his season debut on Apr. 22, the infielder has reached base in five of six games with a 1.111 OPS. Four of his seven hits have been of the extra-base variety, and he has an impressive four walks to four strikeouts. Hoerner is playing over his head right now, but that shouldn't stop us from riding the hot hand. While the Cubs are far from a great offense versus righties (87 wRC+), they did tag Braves starter Huascar Ynoa for six earned runs and three homers in their last meeting. With Hoerner at the top of the lineup, he should get a handful of at-bats to produce fantasy points for our DFS lineups tonight.
DraftKings DFS Outfielders
Randy Arozarena - OF, TB vs. Cole Irvin ($4,400)
Arozarena was a polarizing player during drafts for season-long leagues. However, after a sluggish start, the playoff phenom is turning it around and turning into a great DFS play. Despite a gaudy 34.4 percent strikeout rate to lefties this year, the outfielder still finds ways to crush southpaws. Among players with at least 30 plate appearances versus lefties, Arozarena sits inside the top eight in OPS (1.006), wOBA (.433), and wRC+ (191). The strikeouts are scary, I get that, but $4,400 for a guy with as much pop as Arozarena has could be a night-winning play. His average exit velocity is up three miles per hour from last season, and he's reached base in nine of his previous 10 games with six runs, three doubles, one home run, six RBI, and one stolen while sporting a .914 OPS.
Shohei Ohtani - OF, LAA at Dane Dunning ($4,200)
Ohtani hasn't hit a home run since Sunday, so he's probably due for another one, right? As ludicrous as that sounds, the two-way player is averaging a home run every 12.7 plate appearances this year, and it's been eight since his last blast left the park. Regardless, Ohtani shows us what he can do when he gets at-bats every day and produces excellent results for fantasy baseball players. Through 22 tilts, Ohtani is rocking a .969 OPS with 17 runs, five doubles, two triples, seven home runs, 18 RBI, and three stolen bases. He can do it all and is a must-play for me at $4,200 tonight.
Guillermo Heredia - OF, ATL vs. Kyle Hendricks ($3,100)
Heredia keeps finding his way onto the Braves lineup card and tallying positive fantasy outings. The 30-year old is averaging 8.5 FPPG after 11 appearances and is having a whale of a time when facing right-handed pitching. Heredia has gone to the plate 33 times against righties this year and is smashing them to the tune of a 1.091 OPS. His .451 wOBA and 185 wRC+ back that up. He is incredibly inexpensive and a discounted piece of an Atlanta offense that has far better success against right-handers than southpaws this year.
DraftKings DFS Stacks
- Los Angeles Angels at Texas Rangers (Dane Dunning, RHP)
- Atlanta Braves vs. Chicago Cubs (Kyle Hendricks, RHP)
- Sneaky Stack: Arizona Diamondbacks vs. San Diego Padres (Ryan Weathers, LHP)
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