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Mike Marteny highlights the top FanDuel MLB DFS lineup picks for 4/21/21, and a couple of sleepers to consider while building daily rosters.
It's getaway day in MLB, so only six games permeate the main night slate. Only one pitcher tips the five-figure scale. Can we get away with a fade here? Are there enough other options to gain an advantage by using a cheaper pitcher? We'll get into that.
Rain could affect the start time of the Yankees game, but they should be able to get the game in after an initial delay. The only thing to worry about would be if they can't keep the field in good shape when it rains throughout the afternoon. I do expect it to play and the wind should be blowing heavily out to right. Use pitching at your own risk in that one. They are going to have problems getting the Boston game in. It's possible that the rain will miss Boston, but right now it doesn't look promising.
I'll be providing you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for the FanDuel main slate on 4/21/2021. Be sure to also check out all the MLB player news, including late scratches, and the projected and confirmed daily MLB lineups for each DFS slate. You can also check out today's DraftKings MLB DFS lineup picks, and read more DFS advice and lineup picks for other sports too. Let's get to it!
FanDuel DFS Pitchers
Cash Game/GPP Anchor Play:
Aaron Civale – CWS at CLE($10,200)
Civale beat the White Sox just five days ago, but he only picked up four strikeouts. The lack of strikeout potential is a bit of a ding on him, but he is 3-0 with a 2.18 ERA so far this year. Civale hasn't gone less than six innings in any start this year. That alone gives him the highest floor on this slate. Civale isn't a high strikeout guy so I can get on board with a fade here. The big issue is that there aren't many good secondary options.
Potential Alternate Play
Tyler Mahle – CIN vs. ARI($8,800)
The issue with Mahle over the course of his career has been his ability to get through the order a second time. He simply doesn't go deep into games. Over the course of 64 career starts, Mahle averages just a shade over five innings per start. That's not much time to accumulate points. This season has been much of the same with Mahle only pitching 14 innings across three starts. It has nothing to do with his effectiveness because in the start in which he only lasted four innings, Mahle did not give up a run. That was against tonight's opponent, Arizona. Mahle still picked up 30 FanDuel points in that game. The thing that has me leaning towards Mahle is the 22 strikeouts in 14 innings. That's something I can work with.
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FanDuel DFS Infielders
Joey Votto – 1B, CIN vs. AZ ($2,800)
It has been a rough start for Merrill Kelly again this year. A small ballpark with the wind blowing out wont help him either. Votto has only been shut out in one game this season and just got done with a series in which he destroyed Cleveland pitching. The Arizona staff and bullpen is significantly worse. Votto makes a lot of hard contact against the fastball and changeup that Kelly throws, which comprises almost 70% of his pitches to lefties. He should be able to stay hot here.
Ozzie Albies – 2B, ATL at NYY ($3,000)
Corey Kluber has really struggled this year and this is a terrible matchup for him anyway. Kluber's fastball velocity is down a bit which could explain the struggles. Still, this is not a team you want to struggle against. I'm not going hard after Kluber since the Yankees bullpen has one again been a strength. Albies profiles well and is reasonably priced.
Jose Ramirez – 3B, CLE vs. CWS ($3,300)
This feels cheap for Ramirez, especially when you consider that the White Sox basically turning this into a bullpen game. Ramirez started slowly, but he has 78.4 FanDuel points over the last five games. I'm not scared of Jonathan Stiever or the White Sox bullpen. Stiever struggled in his cup of coffee in 2020 and he didn't have a strong spring either. ATTACK!
Javier Baez – SS, CHC vs. NYM ($3,800)
Kris Bryant has been the talk of the Cubs this year and for good reason. However, he doesn't profile nearly as well as Baez does. Baez absolutely destroys sliders with a 72.7% hard contact rate. The only thing he doesn't profile well against is changeups. All eight home runs that David Peterson has allowed in his career have been given up to righties. If anyone is hitting one in Wrigley tonight, the metrics strongly suggest that it will be Baez.
FanDuel DFS Outfielders
Jesse Winker – OF, CIN vs. AZ ($3,700)
Winker is leading off a potent offense against a pitcher that has given up a run per inning so far this year in a small ballpark with the wind blowing out. The Arizona bullpen has been one of the better units so far this year, but I'm banking on the Reds putting up some big numbers against Kelly before they knock him out of the game.
Franmil Reyes – OF, CLE vs. CWS ($3,200)
Reyes has the rawest power of anyone on the team. Reyes made up for his cold series on the Southside last week in which he went 0-13 by picking up three hits and a walk in the first game of the series in Cleveland. We don't really know who or what the White Sox are going to throw at Cleveland tonight. We only know that Jonathan Stievers will be part of it. That's good enough for me knowing he has a bullpen with an ERA on the wrong side of 4 backing him up.
Jorge Soler – OF, KC vs. TB($2,600)
Soler is quite familiar with Michael Wacha. He started his career with the Cubs when Wacha was with the Cardinals. Then Soler moved to Kansas City where they play the Cardinals in the I-70 series every year. Wacha is 5-12 with three homers, seven runs, and seven RBI in his career against Wacha. BvP worked for those of us last night who threw a struggling Mitch Moreland out there against Matt Shoemaker. This could work for a struggling Soler as well.
FanDuel DFS Stacks Options
- Cincinnati Reds
- Kansas City Royals
- Cleveland Indians
- Chicago Cubs right-handers
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