MLB DFS Picks: Spotlight Pitchers and Top Stacks | April 30
MLB DFS Picks: Spotlight Pitchers
Last year, Sanchez made his first All-Star team, finishing 10th in the National League Cy Young Award race while also leading the league with a pair of complete games, including one shutout. Though he did not maintain his 8.7 strikeouts per nine innings from his 99.1 frames in 2023, his 7.6 were decent when viewed with his strong 57.4% ground ball rate and miniscule 0.54 home runs per nine innings. His 181.2 innings were a hefty workload, but barring any health issues, he should have one or two more years of potential improvement on his trajectory.
Washington has been pesky on offense, being at or just above league average for scoring, power, total bases and steals. Most of the production does come from its left-handed batsmen, who will be at a disadvantage this evening against a southpaw. Shortstop CJ Abrams is an All-Star bat and glove, though he is not joined by many other offense stalwarts when going against left-handed pitching. Alex Call is a replacement-level player, and he will likely be hitting in the two-hole, with the 30-year-old never really flashing any consistency or upside.
Switch-hitting veteran Josh Bell is back with the team for a second tour, but he is better against righties, as are Nathaniel Lowe, Luis Garcia and baseball’s top offensive prospect James Wood.
Other potential options for the featured slate include RHP Nathan Eovaldi in Texas against the Athletics and LHP Matthew Boyd in Pittsburgh against the Pirates.
King will celebrate his 30th birthday next month, getting an early jump on the festivities with his 2.18 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 10.9 strikeouts per nine innings, which are in the upper echelon of the league.
The current iteration of the San Francisco offense has a collective 23.9% strikeout rate against right-handed hurlers since the start of last year. Only Jung Hoo Lee and Wilmer Flores have a below-average rate, and neither proffers a lot of pop against righties. This bodes well for King to make his own magic, plus there is the added bonus of Luis Arraez and Jason Heyward returning from the injured list, which will bolster what was a pretty thinned-out Padres lineup.
The other option is reigning National League Cy Young Award winner LHP Chris Sale, who should be able to hold his own against the Rockies in Coors Field. In a direct comparison of the Atlanta offense against RHP Chase Dollander, versus Colorado against Sale, we see a wild 6.7 team total for the Braves, while the hometown heroes are well behind at 4.1 runs.
MLB DFS Picks: Top Stacks
Early Slate Secondary Target: Los Angeles Dodgers
LHP Tyler Anderson is a 35-year-old fly ball pitcher who can survive with balls to the warning track or dying quails and cans of corn, keeping the bases relatively empty when the inevitable longball occurs. Julio Rodriguez, of course, is a key one-off, and he can be augmented with a teammate or two, from catchers Cal Raleigh and Mitch Garver to the terrific Randy Arozarena.
In turn, the Halos have appeal against RHP Emerson Hancock, who has meandered through the minors after being the sixth overall selection in the 2020 MLB Draft.
It remains to be seen if he will be able to make good on his promise as a weak-contact, ground ball-inducing innings-eater since those attributes have not followed him to The Show.
The paucity of strikeouts is also concerning, which bodes well for sluggers Jorge Soler and Jo Adell to actually make contact this afternoon. Mike Trout, Taylor Ward, leadoff man Zach Neto and catcher Logan O’Hoppe also profile well against Hancock, though they are definitely a tier below their SoCal counterparts and Atlanta.
The Dodgers hammered the Marlins for 15 runs last night, with Miami turning to outfielder Javier Sanoja to handle the final four outs. This afternoon they have a great matchup against RHP Cal Quantrill, who ceded 14 runs in his last three starts, spanning 16 innings, with only seven strikeouts against eight walks.
Los Angeles is heading to Atlanta for a weekend series, then Miami and Arizona. It would not be a surprise to see a couple of regulars get the day off, which would give a few discount dandies access to a great matchup.
Main Slate Primary Target: Chicago Cubs
Chicago is wrapping up a series in Pittsburgh, going against RHP Carmen Mlodzinski, who has had issues with walks and being very hittable. To his credit, he has allowed just two home runs on the year and struck out 18 strikeouts in 22 innings, but the 6.95 ERA and 1.82 WHIP are very unsightly.
The top of the Cubbies batting order is the envy of most teams in the league. Switch-hitter Ian Happ is an excellent table setter who has extra-base hit upside, while Kyle Tucker and Seiya Suzuki bring plenty of pop against pitchers of either handedness. Michael Busch is a burgeoning bopper who should be in the cleanup slot tonight, and lightning quick Pete Crow-Armstrong is a wicked threat on the basepaths while also developing into a strong hitter when he holds the platoon advantage, as he will tonight against the right-handed Mlodzinski.
Today’s Top Sports Betting Picks
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Edwards is mostly a contact hitter, as evidenced by his .309/.373/.380 triple-slash line. In his 463 at-bats, he has just one home run, six triples and 18 doubles, with his 118 other hits being singles. The plus money is intriguing, even though the odds are on any base knock for Edwards being a one-bagger. Starter Tony Gonsolin gives up his share of contact, but he also has a propensity for walks, and with Edwards having a 10.1% walk rate in his last 288 lefty-righty matchups, that could be how he gets on board, rather than via a single.
