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Thunder Dan Palyo highlights the top FanDuel and DraftKings MLB DFS lineup picks for the "Early Only" slate on 4/29/21, and a couple of sleepers to consider while building daily rosters.
Hello there, MLB DFS grinders! It's Thursday, and that means we have yet another split slate of MLB games today with five games in the afternoon and four games on the evening slate.
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. 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 1:05 PM on 4/29/2021. 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
Aaron Nola @ STL ($9,600 FD, $10,00 DK)
Nola chalk incoming! With so few decent pitching options on this slate, I would expect people to gravitate to Nola based on a few factors. First of all, he has the reputation and pedigree of a top-end starter. Secondly, anyone who takes a quick glance at his game log is going to see the complete game shutout he tossed against the Cards on 4/18 in which he struck out 10.
You know what you're getting with Nola - a guy who can pitch deep into games, doesn't walk guys, and he's going to rack up some strikeouts while doing it. Facing a lineup with mainly right-handed power bats, Nola is in a great spot here and he's my pitcher on FD and SP1 on DK.
Shane McClanahan vs. OAK – ($5,500 DK)
He's only available on DraftKings, but my preferred SP2 over there today is the rookie McClanahan who is making his big league debut. He's a former first-round pick who hasn't pitched much in the minors, but he was throwing his fastball up around 100 this Spring and is a highly-regarded prospect. At this price point, all I am really looking for is 4-5 innings with some strikeouts and run prevention. It's certainly not an entirely safe spot for him since Oakland's RHH can be tough on lefties, but I give the advantage to the pitcher here as none of these hitters have ever seen him before.
Others to consider: Chris Bassitt @ Tampa Bay, Jordan Montgomery @ Baltimore
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MLB DFS "Bats Worth Paying For"
Rhys Hoskins – 1B, PHI @ STL ($4,500 FD, $5,000 DK)
Hoskins has been one of the hotter hitters in baseball recently, slugging six homers in the last 10 days. Over the last two seasons, he holds a .445 wOBA and .333 ISO against LHP and Kim is not the type of pitcher that I fear. He's the first of three "lefty-mashers" that I am prioritizing in my main builds today.
Alex Bregman – 3B, HOU vs. SEA ($3,700 FD, $5,300 DK)
Bregman is facing lefty Kikuchi today, and while I respect the young Mariners pitcher, he will have his work cut out for him against this Houston lineup. Bregman owns a .437 wOBA and .319 ISO against LHP since 2019 and absolutely demolishes sliders, which is Kikuchi's main offspeed pitch. Some of the bigger names on this slate might sit out (Judge, Harper) so I don't mind paying up at third base for Bregman in this spot.
Giancarlo Stanton - OF, NYY @ BAL ($3,500 FD, $5,200 DK)
Stanton is a lefty-masher, but facing a RHP today in Jorge Lopez. Against righties, he still owns a .300 ISO over the last two seasons and left the yard on Tuesday night. He's been heating up of late and in this series, he's already gone 6-13 in the first three games. Home runs win GPPs and there's simply no one else on this slate with the power that Stanton has. I'll happily take 4-5 at-bats in Camden Yards for this price.
MLB DFS Values
Kyle Lewis – OF, SEA @ HOU ($2,900 FD, $3,300 DK)
Remember Kyle Lewis? The young Seattle slugger busted out last year with 11 homers in the shortened 2020 season and displayed some impressive power. He's homered in two of his last three games and is hitting cleanup for this Seattle offense that faces Luis Garcia as an opener and then lefty Kent Emanuel as the bulk reliever.
Rougned Odor – 2B/3B, NYY @ BAL ($2,500 FD, $3,800 DK)
Odor is a guy that I don't really want to roster, but I am not sure I can pass up a lefty with his power against a guy like Lopez in Camden. He does hit the sinker/curve combo well and all it takes is one swing of the bat to pay off here. Just know that he could strike out three times, too, as he's still a guy who struggles to make contact.
Austin Meadows – OF, TAM vs. OAK ($3,000 FD, $3,700 DK)
I am not going out of my way to pick on Bassitt, but these prices on Meadows are just silly. He should lead off for Tampa and owns a .365 woBA and .264 ISO against RHP over the last two years. The Rays offense has slumped quite a bit this season, but I definitely think we can take some shots at Meadows or a guy like Brandon Lowe as cheap one-offs against Bassitt and a mediocre Athletics bullpen.
Also Consider Austin Hays - OF, BAL vs. NYY, Myles Straw - OF, HOU vs. SEA
MLB DFS Hitter Stacks
New York Yankees vs. Jorge Lopez
The Bronx bombers' bats are finally waking up and they'll face a very hittable RHP today in Lopez. Camden Yards is an elite hitters' park and I expect the Pinstripes to keep hitting today. Lopez throws a mid-90s sinker and a curveball as his main pitches but gives up a ton of hard contact and has been hit hard by lefties and righties, both. On FanDuel, the Yankees continue to be ridiculously cheap so I would expect them to be the chalk stack to pair with Nola and I'd probably go that route in cash games.
Philadelphia Phillies vs. Kwang Hyun-Kim
The Phillies could be without Bryce Harper today, but I still want to roll them out here against the lefty Kim. He pitched well against the Reds in his last start, but we saw Philly chase him after only three innings in their first meeting. Hoskins is locked in right now and Realmuto is way too cheap on both sites as a second piece. You can add righty Alec Bohm and a dirt-cheap Scott Kingery to build a very affordable Phillies stack today.
Other stacks: Houston Astros vs. Yusei Kikuchi, Seattle Mariners vs. Garcia/Emanual
MLB DFS Sample Lineups
FanDuel Sample Lineup
DraftKings Sample Lineup
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