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Opening Day is in the books, and what fun it was to have baseball back. The day started with a surprise Cubs win versus the Brewers and ended with a walk-off 3-run home run by Seth Beer over the Padres. Now, we head to a full Friday of action. There is a five-game early slate, a three-game mid-day slate, and a five-game main later slate. Usually, I will only cover the main slate in this article, but I will mix the early and main five-game slates for analysis. Check out the other articles and tools to get the full rundown of all the slates to build your winning DFS lineups.
When it comes to the early slate, we shall return to the fun with the Brewers. Woodruff is an elite option on the mound, while their bats lineup to be chalky but in a great spot versus Steele. The White Sox and Tigers game should be fun, with two solid pitching options against two offenses that can also supply some fireworks. The Braves and Jays should be your bats for the evening slate, but the Padres may be your "sneakier" stack and some Angels versus Jake Odorizzi. There are many more avenues to success on the late slate, making for an entertaining lineup build.
This article will provide my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for Fanduel and DraftKings on 4/8/2022. The lineup 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. It's also essential to monitor injury news and today's MLB starting lineups. If you have any questions or comments, find me on Twitter and ask away! Note: BOS/NYY and SEA/MIN have been postponed till Friday.
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DraftKings, FanDuel Pitchers - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Brandon Woodruff - P, MIL at CHC ($9,500 DK, $10,200 FD)
Woodruff is coming off a strong 2021 season where he racked up a 2.56 ERA to go with a 3.05 xFIP and a 29.8% strikeout rate. He was so good that his K-BB was 23.7% which is elite, and it was his third straight season with a K-BB over 22.9%. Woodruff will face a Cubs team that he has dominated throughout his career and, outside of a Nico Hoerner home run on Thursday, was held in check. Woodruff should be a popular play today, a cash game lock, and should be worth every penny in your lineups.
Jose Berrios - P, TOR vs. TEX ($8,900 DK, $9,300 FD)
There are a few options for the evening, but Berrios is one of my favorite. He is not overly expensive and faces a Rangers lineup; albeit it improved, it still has a lot of holes worth attacking for fantasy. Berrios increased his strikeout rate to 26.1% in 2021, his 5th straight season over 20%, and had his first season with a K-BB over 20%. Berrios has proven to be an innings eater with solid ratios throughout his career, and that could bode well early in the season when we do not know how long a lot of pitchers will go in games. I will have a lot of Berrios tonight.
Other options: Lucas Giolito at DET ($8,400 DK, $10,000 FD), John Means at TB ($6,100 DK, $8,100 FD), Max Scherzer at NYM ($10,200 DK, $11,000 FD), Charlie Morton vs. CIN ($8,400 DK, $9,000 FD)
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DraftKings, FanDuel Infielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Hunter Renfroe - 1B/OF, MIL at Justin Steele ($4,600 DK, $3,000 FD)
I will be targeting a lot of Brewers today, but they will be chalky. One of my favorite Brewers will be Renfroe as he faces an LHP. Renfroe is coming off a 2021 season where he hit 31 home runs. He hit 11 of those home runs versus LHP while hitting .276. His .882 OPS and 135 wRC+ were quite outstanding versus LHP as well. Renfroe will fave Steele who allowed RHH to hit .264 with a .358 wOBA and 2.2 HR/9. The Brewers are loaded with RHH like Andrew McCutchen, Lorenzo Cain, Hiura, etc. Stack them up and make sure you are building those stacks around Renfroe.
Bryson Stott - SS, PHI vs. Frankie Montas ($2,200 DK, $2,200 FD)
Stott is coming off a strong 2021 in the minors, where he hit 16 home runs, stole ten bases, and hit around .300. He continued his success in the Arizona Fall League and then into Spring Training. This spring, he hit .419 with three extra-base hits, including a home run. Stott will face Montas tonight, and that may not be an easy task, but the A's bullpen is what we want to target. Stott is one of the better values on the slate, and hitting in the loaded Phillies lineup should add to his tremendous upside.
Ozzie Albies - 2B, ATL vs. Reiver Sanmartin ($5,300 DK, $4,000 FD)
Albies is coming off a monster 2021 where he hit 30 home runs and stole 20 bases. Now he gets a juicy matchup tonight versus the lefty Sanmartin, which is a situation we want to target. Albies is a switch-hitter, and he mashes LHP. Last year, he hit .323 versus LHP with a .940 OPS, .393 wOBA, and a 13.6% HR/FB. He will face Sanmartin tonight, which, in a small sample last season, was hit very hard by RHH. RHH hit .346 with a .345 wOBA versus Sanmartin. The Braves should be quite chalky tonight, and Albies will be the main piece in Braves stacks for me and a great cash game play.
Francisco Lindor- SS, NYM at Josiah Gray ($4,800 DK, $3,800)
Lindor is coming off a strong spring, which was quite encouraging after his 2021 season. He went 1-5 last night with three strikeouts, but tonight is a new night, and targeting Gray will be on my agenda. Gray showcases a lot of strikeout appeal, but he also is known to give up a lot of long balls. If Gray struggles at all, Lindor and the Mets should capitalize in a big way. Look to build some Mets stacks to differentiate a bit from the Braves, so get Lindor in those builds.
Other Options: Keston Hiura at CHC ($2,700 DK, $2,000 FD), Tyler Wade vs. HOU ($2,500 DK, $2,100 FD)
DraftKings, FanDuel Outfielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Manuel Margot- OF, TB at John Means ($3,400 DK, $2,400 FD)
I like using Means as a cheap GPP play tonight, but if you wish to target bats against Means, look to target RHB, as he allowed 27 home runs to RHH last season. One RHH to target is Margot. Last season, Margot hit .273 versus LHP with a .753 OPS and .134 ISO. By no means is Margot a smash play against LHP, but it is the time to target him. He brings solid value to your builds and brings an excellent stack piece versus Means.
Tyler Naquin - OF, CIN at Charlie Morton ($4,200 DK, $2,400)
Naquin had the day off on Thursday with the lefty Fried starting, but he should be back into the lineup on Friday. Naquin takes on Morton, a great pitching option, but Naquin loves facing an RHP. Last season Naquin hit .283 versus RHP with a .853 OPS and a .231 ISO. Naquin mashed versus RHP, and if Morton slips up, which he can do with the longball, Naquin is an excellent tournament play in your lineups. He can be a one-off play or a great piece in a contrarian Reds stack.
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. - OF, TOR vs. Jon Grat ($4,200 DK, $3,100 FD)
The Jays will be extremely popular tonight, and most of them are very expensive. The two main, cheaper targets are Alejandro Kirk and my man Gurriel. Gurriel was a staple of my lineups last season, and at his price point tonight, there is no reason not to target him again. Last year he hit .276 with 21 home runs, and versus RHP, he hit .279 with 16 of those home runs, a .802 OPS, and a .197 ISO. Hopefully, Gurriel is overlooked tonight, making for a nice contrarian piece of a rather popular Jays' stack.
DraftKings, FanDuel MLB DFS Stacks
Milwaukee Brewers at Chicago Cubs (Justin Steele, LHP)
The Brewers will be very popular on the early slate and will be hard to ignore. McCutchen, Cain, and Renfroe will be very popular, but bats like Hiura and Mike Brosseau could be lovely value pieces of the stack. The Brewers' bats were quiet on Thursday, but I do not expect that to continue on Friday.
New York Mets at Washington Nationals (Josiah Gray, RHP)
With the Braves and Jays being popular tonight, playing teams like the Astros, Padres, and Mets is excellent to differentiate. The Mets look to target Lindor, Starling Marte, Pete Alonso, and maybe even a cheap Dominic Smith for starters when looking to stack.
Atlanta Braves vs. Cincinnati Reds (Reiver Sanmartin, LHP)
The Braves should be popular against Sanmartin, who can get hit hard by RHB. Albies, Austin Riley, Marcell Ozuna, and Adam Duvall are great places to start. But do not worry about playing bats like Matt Olson, as Sanmartin should not go long in this game, and the Braves should feast on a poor Reds bullpen.
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