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Zach's top DraftKings and FanDuel MLB DFS picks for today, Thursday, 4/3/25. His favorite daily fantasy baseball lineup sleepers and value picks for DFS on DraftKings and FanDuel.
The stateside portion of the regular season is already a week old, and most Major League Baseball teams are traveling this Thursday, getting ready for new weekend series that start on Friday. However, 10 teams are still in action throughout the day. The first two games get underway at 1:05 p.m. ET in Baltimore and Philadelphia. The Twins have their home opener against the Astros at 4:10 p.m. ET in the middle of the afternoon. The two evening games feature the Dbacks looking to finish a sweep of the Yankees in New York and the Brewers starting a four-game set against their NL Central rivals from Cincinnati.
FanDuel offers a five-game, all-day slate in addition to the two early and two late games on separate slates. DraftKings has a split slate with the three afternoon starts in one set of contests and the main contest starting at 7:05 p.m. ET with the two night games. This article will provide my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings and FanDuel on 4/3/2024, with the first games starting at 1:05 p.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 always essential. While this post will have a few picks from the early games, it will also include options for the evening contests, so however you choose to play, it should have helpful information.
DraftKings, FanDuel Pitchers - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Joe Ryan vs. Astros ($9,500 DraftKings; $9,000 FanDuel)
The central game of the five games on Thursday features an excellent pitching matchup between Ryan and Hunter Brown on a cold, clear day in Minneapolis. Ryan has posted strong splits at Target Field throughout his career, with a K/9 of 10.5 at home, which is almost a full strikeout higher than his road rate. Last year, his K/9 was down overall, but he still managed to go 7-7 with a 3.60 ERA, 3.44 FIP, and 9.8 K/9.
He looked solid in spring training and started the season with five innings against the Cardinals, with five strikeouts and 15.1 DraftKings points while allowing one run on five hits in a no-decision. He should be comfortable in this environment and fired up to help his team win their home opener. He faced the Astros twice last season and went 1-1 while picking up 12 strikeouts in 10 2/3 innings but also giving up a total of eight runs.
Ryan's strikeout upside makes him my top arm of the day, especially since the Astros rank in the top 10 in the MLB in K% and have 54 strikeouts in their first six games.
Joe Ryan’s 2025 Debut:
5 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 81 Pitches
7 Whiffs
19% Whiff%
32% CSW%87.9 MPH Avg EV
Max Fastball Velo: 94.9 MPHpic.twitter.com/DGLAFgSQvt— Running From The OPS (@OPS_BASEBALL) March 29, 2025
Nick Lodolo at Brewers ($8,500 DraftKings; $9,300 FanDuel)
Under the lights, Lodolo is my favorite starting pitching play. The Reds' lefty worked six strong innings against the Giants in his 2025 debut, giving up two runs on five hits. He oddly only had one strikeout after posting a 9.5 K/9 last year and a 9.8 K/9 in spring training. He should bounce back from a strikeout perspective against the Brewers, and he was much better last year on the road (3.56 ERA, 3.23 FIP) than at home (6.09 ERA, 4.74 FIP), so don't be afraid of giving him a start in Milwaukee.
Nestor Cortes vs. Reds ($6,900 DraftKings; $8,000 FanDuel)
Cortes's second start with the Brewers is almost guaranteed to go better than his first one since his Brew Crew debut resulted in his first three pitches of the season flying out of Yankee Stadium. He ended up giving up eight runs and five home runs in just two innings in a brutal outing.
Whether he was tipping pitches or the Yankees' new torpedo bats just sank his battleship, he'll look for a bounce-back outing against the Reds. Last season, he had a solid 9-10 record with a 3.77 ERA, 3.84 FIP, and 8.4 K/9. He also looked fine in spring training, giving up just four runs in 11 innings with 14 strikeouts. He's a good buy-low candidate with a nice spot to bounce back at home against the Reds, who ranked in the bottom 10 in the MLB against lefties in most major categories last season.
Also consider: Hunter Brown at MIN, Taijuan Walker vs. COL
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DraftKings, FanDuel Infielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Eugenio Suarez - 3B, ARI vs. Carlos Carrasco ($4,300 DK; $3,700 FD)
Suarez is off to a big start for the Diamondbacks, who can close out a three-game sweep of the Yankees with a win against Carrasco, who dominated spring training but gave up three runs in two innings against the Brewers last week.
Suarez has only gone 5-for-21 (.238), but all five of those hits have been home runs. He had a key grand slam on Tuesday in Arizona's win and finished that game with 20 DraftKings points and 29.2 FanDuel points. Suarez is 4-for-17 with a home run and a triple in his career against Carrasco and is still an affordable option at the hot corner despite his strong start.
Kristian Campbell – 2B/OF, BOS vs. Charlie Morton ($3,500 DK; $2,400 FD)
Campbell signed a big extension with the Red Sox on Wednesday and continued to deliver on the field as well. The rookie is 8-for-20 (.400) in his first six games in the MLB with four walks, four doubles, a home run, and a .523 wOBA. He is extremely affordable on FanDuel at under $2,500, and he brings added flexibility on DraftKings, where he can fit into roster constructions either at 2B or in the outfield.
Make that 4 doubles in Kristian Campbell's first 6 big league games! pic.twitter.com/JMEU0uqyy8
— Tyler Milliken (@tylermilliken_) April 2, 2025
Ben Rice – 1B, NYY vs. Merrill Kelly ($3,100 DK; $2,700 FD)
On the other side of the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry, the Yankees also have a nice infield value to consider in Ben Rice. The 26-year-old mashed his way onto the Opening Day roster with five home runs in spring training and a .359 wOBA. He kept right on producing when the games counted as well, going 5-for-13 (.385) with a pair of home runs and a .565 wOBA in his first five games. He is 4-for-8 (.500) this season against righties, and seven of his eight MLB home runs have come on that side of the split.
After going 0-for-3 on Wednesday, I expect Rice to bounce back and bring great value in this matchup against Kelly.
Also consider: Bryce Harper, Ketel Marte, Matt McLain
DraftKings, FanDuel Outfielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Aaron Judge - OF, NYY vs. Merrill Kelly ($6,300 DK; $3,800 FD)
Judge has looked human in this series against the Diamondbacks, going just 1-for-8 with five strikeouts, but he should be able to get back on track on Thursday night against Kelly, whom he is 1-for-4 with a home run against in six plate appearances. Judge is 7-for-19 (.368) on the season despite this down series with four home runs and a .626 wOBA.
Jackson Chourio - OF, MIL vs. Nick Lodolo($4,200 DK; $2,900 FD)
Since starting the season 0-for-5 with five strikeouts in a game that both he and Nestor Cortes will never want to see again, Chourio has been excellent. He has picked up at least one hit in each of his five games since then with three doubles, four RBI, and a home run. He went 3-for-5 with a double, a home run, and 24 fantasy points on Wednesday against the Royals to help deliver the Brewers their first series win of the season. He's 5-for-16 (.313) in the early going this season against lefties and will look to continue that success against southpaws when he faces Lodolo on Thursday.
Jackson Chourio clears the left field fence for his first home run of the season! pic.twitter.com/ho029mVUWc
— MLB (@MLB) April 2, 2025
Heston Kjerstad - OF, BAL vs. Tanner Houck ($3,100 DK; $2,300 FD)
Kjerstad is a bargain outfielder with a high ceiling if he can find his way to playing time. With the injury to Colton Coswer (thumb), Kjerstad should start against righties for the next few weeks. He sat Wednesday against Garrett Crochet but should be back in the lineup against Houck, who had a rough spring training (11.20 ERA) and gave up four runs in 5 2/3 innings in his last start. Kjerstad is just 1-for-7 (.143) so far this year, but is still considered an excellent prospect after hitting .303 with 16 home runs and a .425 wOBA last year in Triple-A.
Also consider: Kyle Schwarber, Yordan Alvarez, Wilyer Abreu, Hunter Goodman
DraftKings, FanDuel MLB DFS Stacks
1. Yankees vs. Merrill Kelly
- Favorite Plays: Aaron Judge, Ben Rice, Jazz Chisholm Jr.
2. Orioles vs. Tanner Houck
- Favorite Plays: Gunnar Henderson, Jordan Westburg, Heston Kjerstad
3. Phillies vs. Antonio Senatela
- Favorite Plays: Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper, Max Kepler
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