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Thunder Dan Palyo highlights the top FanDuel and DraftKings MLB DFS lineup picks for the "Early Only" slate on 4/24/21, and a couple of sleepers to consider while building daily rosters.
Hello there, MLB DFS grinders! We have a split slate of MLB games today and while most of our MLB DFS coverage here at RotoBaller is geared towards the main slate, I wanted to give you some of my favorite pitchers and bats for these early games. DraftKings is running a 7-game early slate, while FanDuel has only five games on theirs as they left the two 4:05 starts off that slate.
I'll highlight my favorite pitching options here first and then give you some hitters at each price tier to consider as well as my favorite teams to stack up AND some sample lineups for both sites!
I'll be providing you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for the FanDuel and DraftKings early only slates at 1:10 PM on 4/24/2021. 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 MLB DFS lineup picks for the main slate here, and read more DFS advice and lineup picks for other sports too. Let's get to it!
MLB DFS Pitchers
Freddy Peralta @ CHC ($8,800 FD, $9,600 DK)
The Cubs bats have been heating up lately and they did hang 15 runs on the Brew Crew on Friday, but Peralta has been their kryptonite this season and is pitching at an extremely high level so far this year. In 11 innings against the Cubbies, he's allowed only one run and fanned 18 batters. He is a guy who has been HR-prone in his career, but he's racking up Ks and making hitters look silly with his breaking ball this year. It's a high price to pay, but I do think he's still one of the best pitching options on this slate and I would be looking to pair him with one of these other top-end guys in cash on DraftKings.
Nathan Eovaldi vs. SEA – ($8,500 FD, $8,900 DK)
Another pitcher having a breakout year so far is Eovaldi. The hard-throwing righty is 3-1 through his first four starts with a 1.09 WHIP and 24 strikeouts in 23.2 innings. His fastball regular registers in the high 90s and he's introduced a slider this year that has been a great out pitch for him, registering a 22.4% swinging-strike rate. He's facing a very strikeout-prone Mariners team and has an offense behind him that has been clicking. At -200 he's one of the bigger favorites on the slate and I look for him to continue his successful start to the 2021 campaign in this matchup.
Michael Pineda vs. PIT – ($9,500 FD, $8,100 DK)
I will admit that I was skeptical of Pineda to start the year, as he's never been a big favorite of mine. He's a fly ball pitcher who has had trouble keeping the ball in the park. But this year he's off to a great start with a 1.00 ERA and 0.72 WHIP over his first three starts. He did allow two solo shots to the Mariners, but he's been nearly perfect in his other outings. The Pirates have very little power in their lineup, especially against righties with Colin Moran being one of the only home-run threats. They also have some big strikeout rates this year and I think this is not only a great run prevention spot, but a matchup where we could see Pineda hit 7-8 strikeouts, too.
Others to consider: Marcus Stroman vs. WAS (DraftKings only) or Brady Singer @ DET
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MLB DFS "Bats Worth Paying For"
Byron Buxton – OF, MIN ($4,500 FD, $5,900 DK)
Buxton has been one of the hottest hitters in the first month of the season and is finally showcasing his five-tool skill set that many Twins' fans have been waiting to see on a consistent basis. He's no longer a bottom-of-the-order hitter with some speed but instead finds himself hitting cleanup this year behind the ageless Nelson Cruz and is showcasing his power. The Twins get a nice matchup against righty Trevor Cahill, who the Pirates picked up this season to take some beatings and eat some innings. It's going to be hard to stack the Twins on this slate due to the Cruz/Buxton prices, but I would recommend making Buxton a priority in your cash lineups.
Nolan Arenado – 3B, STL ($3,500 FD, $4,800 DK)
Arenado might not be playing in Coors anymore, but he's already hit four homers this April as the cleanup hitter for the Cardinals. He's got tremendous splits against lefties during his career and is facing southpaw Wade Miley here. While Miley isn't the gas can he once was, he's still not a guy who's missing many bats, and Arenado profiles well against his cutter/changeup combo. The Cards are certainly in play as a stack, but you can also just run Arenado and Goldy as one-offs or a mini-stack and hunt homers.
Whit Merrifield - 2B/OF, KC ($3,500 FD, $5,400 DK)
Merrifield is a dynamo on the baseball diamond! He has a .352 wOBA and .200 ISO against LHP over the last two seasons and only strikes out 12% of the time. He finds a way to get base via walk or hit and has already swiped six bags this season which is the most in the majors. Not only do he and the Royals match up well against Matt Boyd, but they should also find some success against Detroit's bullpen which has been one of the worst units in the majors so far this year.
MLB DFS Values
Daniel Vogelbach – 1B, MIL ($2,500 FD, $3,000 DK)
Vogelbach has incredible raw power and we saw that on display earlier this week when he left the yard twice in one game against the Pirates. He's a dead-red fastball hitter who I like here against the hard-throwing Cubs youngster Alozay. It's a boom/bust spot with Vogey being a strikeout victim quite often, but for this price, I'll happily go after his homerun upside and be satisfied with a hit or a walk if not.
Jake Cave – OF, MIN ($2,200 FD, $2,000 DK)
Cave hit his first dinger last night and is about as cheap as they come on both sites. I want some exposure to the Twins on this slate as I firmly believe Trevor Cahill is washed and Cave is a cheap lefty with some pop in his bat. He usually hits ninth so he could be used in a wraparound stack or just as a pure punt in cash games - but just keep in mind that he has plenty of goose eggs in that game log.
Jorge Soler – OF, KC ($3,100 FD, $3,800 DK)
Soler has about as much raw power as anyone in the game. He has excellent numbers against lefties with a .353 wOBA and a massive .238 ISO. After struggling to start the season, he looks to be settling in lately and has collected five hits (including a home run) over his last three games. He's much too cheap for a player with his power and splits in this spot.
Also Consider Dominic Smith - OF, NYM (DK only), Alex Kirilloff - IB/OF
MLB DFS Hitter Stacks
Kansas City Royals vs. Matt Boyd
The Royals scored six runs in the first game of the series Friday night and will look to keep their momentum going into this one. Matt Boyd is a good pitcher, I won't deny that. But he's had issues with control over the years and with giving up the long ball. He's just too reliant on his slider for my liking and if he's not getting ahead in the count, his fastball is very hittable and when it gets hit it goes a long way. The Royals are affordable (other than Perez and Merrifield) and will roll out 7 righties (including switch-hitter Carlos Santana). Like I mentioned earlier, if they can chase Boyd after 4-5 innings, they'll get a really bad Detroit bullpen the rest of the way, too.
Minnesota Twins vs. Trevor Cahill
The Twins offense was held in check by Brubaker Friday night, but I think they bounce back here against Trevor Cahill. With Miguel Sano and Max Kepler out, we can focus on Josh Donaldson, Nelson Cruz, and Byron Buxton as the big boppers and mix in some of those really cheap lefties like Kirilloff and Cave to make them fit. With an implied run total over five runs, Vegas has Minnesota pegged as one of the highest-scoring teams on the afternoon and I have to agree.
Other stacks: Houston Astros vs. Griffin Canning (DK only), NY Mets vs. Joe Ross (DK only)
MLB DFS Sample Lineups
FanDuel Sample Lineup
DraftKings Sample Lineup
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