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Happy Tuesday and happy 2024 MLB season, RotoBallers! After a long winter and Spring Training, it's finally time for the games to count. Los Angeles and San Diego start the season with a two-game swing in South Korea.
With only one game per day to kick off the year, we are looking at a couple of showdowns and single-game slates to begin the DFS season. The newly acquired Tyler Glasnow takes the ball for the Dodgers while Yu Darvish mans the mound for the Padres. With an early wake-up call for most of us in the States, set that alarm to grab a peak at the lineups before the contests lock.
This article will provide my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings and FanDuel on 3/20/2024, with the slate locking at 6:05 a.m. EDT. 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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Pitchers - MLB DFS Showdown Picks
You can't roster pitchers on FanDuel; you can only roster five hitters. But both starting pitchers (and relief pitchers, too) are in the player pool on DraftKings.
Tyler Glasnow ($11.6K DraftKings; $17.4K DraftKings Captain) at Padres
After Clayton Kershaw started eight consecutive Opening Days for Los Angeles from 2011-2018, the Dodgers now turn to their sixth different starting pitcher in six seasons to open the campaign in Tyler Glasnow. The towering right-hander was acquired via trade during the offseason and dominated Spring Training.
Tyler Glasnow ⛽️ pic.twitter.com/SzhJdfpl6U
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) March 12, 2024
Over 10 innings, Glasnow posted 14 strikeouts to three walks while allowing one run and four hits. The 30-year-olds had at least a 33 percent strikeout rate in five straight seasons and will have a great chance to clean up versus a San Diego side that posted the fourth-lowest average (.233) versus right-handed pitchers in 2023.
Yu Darvish ($10.6K DK; $15.9K DK CPT) vs. Dodgers
Yu Darvish steps on the mound for the third time in four years to start San Diego's season. While he's no longer the overwhelming strikeout pitcher of years gone by, the Japanese veteran can still put together quality campaigns. Over the past four seasons, he's averaged 9.89 strikeouts per nine innings, and his xERA has never climbed above 3.82. Darvish wouldn't be the first name on my DFS teamsheet for 2024, but he's a high-risk, high-reward play for those managers looking to get different on Opening Day.
Top Hitters - MLB DFS Showdown Picks
Freddie Freeman ($9.2K DK; $13.8K DK CPT; $8K FD) at Yu Darvish
Everyone will be clamoring to shove Shohei Ohtani into their DFS lineups on Opening Day. Therefore, this is a perfect opportunity to swerve the general public and grab some value in Freddie Freeman. In his first two seasons with the Dodgers, the first baseman sported a .328 average with a .948 OPS, combining for 50 home runs, 248 runs, 202 RBI, and 36 steals. Batting behind Mookie Betts and Ohtani will result in unthinkably high counting stats for Freeman in 2024, and those numbers will start to tick up on Opening Day.
Players with 25 HR and 50 doubles prior to September in a season:
2023 Freddie Freeman
2000 Todd Helton
1930 Chuck Klein pic.twitter.com/ipuPSmAI8U— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) August 31, 2023
Fernando Tatis Jr. ($8.8K DK; $13.2K DK CPT; $8.5K FanDuel) vs. Tyler Glasnow
Los Angeles occupies the three most expensive batters on DraftKings for the season's first slate, creating an opening for Fernando Tatis Jr. to come in under-rostered. The explosive outfielder acquires DFS points in every way imaginable and is a great tournament pick as your DK Captain or FanDuel MVP. Despite a subpar season-long .772 OPS for Tatis, that doesn't tell the whole story. He started the season on fire as he posted top-25 numbers in average (.288), OPS (.871), wOBA (.370), and wRC+ (138). Grab him now before the rest of the DFS world wakes up.
Top Value - MLB DFS Showdown Picks
Jake Cronenworth ($6.8K DK; $10.2K DK CPT; $6K FD) vs. Tyler Glasnow
While we won't know until we get the official lineups in the middle of the night, Fangraphs currently has Jake Cronenworth slated to bat third in San Diego's lineup on Opening Day between Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado. If those predictions come true, then his price to open the year is way too low. The RBI potential as the three-hole hitter in this lineup is through the roof. Tyler Glasnow will likely be capped at five or six innings in his Dodgers debut, so the Padres will get several cracks at the Dodgers bullpen.
Gavin Lux ($5.2K DK; $7.8K DK CPT; $5.5K FD) at Yu Darvish
While it's not ideal to get moved off a position because of poor defense, Gavin Lux's move from shortstop to second base gives me encouragement for his long-term outlook in the Dodgers lineup. His bat is good enough to warrant his spot in the lineup, and the Dodgers recognized they needed a way to keep him in the starting nine. His spot in the lineup (eighth/ninth) could be better, but his price offers an excellent chance to create a wrap-around Dodgers stack with Mookie Betts and Shohei Ohtani.
Putting up a four-spot! pic.twitter.com/23JTutytpS
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) March 17, 2024
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