Wednesday’s MLB action brings a seven-game featured slate with a 7:05 p.m. ET first pitch on DraftKings, FanDuel and Yahoo. Before we get to our MLB DFS picks, as always, we will use Stokastic’s tools to help identify today’s MLB DFS stacks, key pitchers and daily fantasy baseball lineups. Look to Joe Ryan and Clarke Schmidt as key arms, with the Atlanta and New York offenses being the top stacks, along with the Coors Field Extravaganza.
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MLB DFS Picks: Spotlight Pitchers and Top Stacks | April 24
MLB DFS Picks: Spotlight Pitchers
Main Slate Primary Pitching Target: RHP Joe Ryan vs. Chicago White Sox — 2.8 implied runs
First Pitch: 7:40 p.m. ET
- DFS Salary: DraftKings $10,400 | FanDuel $10,600 | Yahoo $47
The Stokastic Top Pitchers Tool apologizes for RHP Pablo Lopez last night but does not apologize for going right back to RHP Joe Ryan against the White Sox tonight. Lopez wasn’t horrible, he just was not good and we were expecting great. Chicago still found a way to lose the game, ceding a walk off home run to Alex Kirilloff. The last perspective angle is that, while the ChiSox plated five runners, that was just the fifth time in 23 games where they have tallied more than three runs.
Ryan is on par with Lopez as a pitcher, which is a luxury for Minnesota. The 27-year-old did allow seven runs in his last two starts, both of which were against the Detroit Tigers. Two of the runs were unearned, and he also had 18 strikeouts across 11.2 frames. Go back to the well once more today, friends, and probably tomorrow for the afternoon game with RHP Bailey Ober and then on Thursday against Zach Eflin in Tampa Bay.
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Late Slate Primary Pitching Target: RHP Jon Gray vs. Seattle Mariners — 4.5 implied runs
First Pitch: 8:05 p.m. ET
- DFS Salary: DraftKings $8,300 | FanDuel $7,500 | Yahoo $39
The SP2 for the featured slate is RHP Clarke Schmidt, who has the cherry matchup against the Oakland Athletics.
For those savage enough to play the late slate, the four options are RHP Bryce Miller in Texas against the world champion Rangers, a pair of struggling pitchers in Coors Field or veteran RHP Jon Gray facing the Seattle Mariners. On the featured slate, Gray is in play on FanDuel for his heavily discounted salary and the possibility of a second quality start. Gray did appear in relief on Saturday in Atlanta, recording four outs on his “throwing” day. This was just a wrinkle for the Atlanta series, and he is by no means being pulled from the starting rotation.
Julio Rodriguez got his first home run of the season last night, and he has just three doubles for four total extra-base hits through 90 at-bats. Switch-hitting Cal Raleigh got his sixth of the year, as this duo propelled the Mariners to a 4-0 road victory against Dane Dunning and the Texas bullpen. Those two are the only scary hitters for the M’s, though the lineup does not have many easy outs. Gray will easily be the most popular pitcher on the two-game late slate, so taking Rodriguez and/or Raleigh against him would be a path towards differentiation, without dabbling with the pitchers in the Coors Field Extravaganza.
MLB DFS Picks: Top Stacks
Main Slate Primary Target: New York Yankees vs. RHP Joe Boyle — 5.2 implied runs
First Pitch: 7:05 p.m. ET
The Stokastic Top Stacks Tool has said Coors Field Extravaganza as the most likely source of fantasy goodness tonight, with the shaky LHP Ty Blach going for the home team and RHP Matt Waldron on the bump for the Friars. Keep in mind, Waldron throws what is classified as a knuckleball around one-third of the time. It is not his exclusive pitch, but considering his heater barely averages 90 mph, he does lean on it. Atlanta is also jumping to the top of the tool, but again it is a day ending in “y,” so that is no surprise.
The Yankees are hosting RHP Joe Boyle and the Athletics, so let’s see how things are shaping up in the Bronx. Boyle is coming off a game in Cleveland where he allowed seven runs, matching the seven he allowed in his debut. Shockingly, he has 18 strikeouts in his 18.1 innings, with just one home run allowed. However, the 12 — yes, TWELVE — walks are not doing him any favors, nor are the six doubles and one triple. This has resulted in a 7.23 ERA, 1.71 WHIP and fantasy goodness for DFS gamers.
Boyle has not allowed a lot of power, and he does not really project to, with most systems having him right around one home run per nine innings. Those same systems also have him with 5.4 to 6.6 walks per nine. Singles and doubles with ducks on the pond can make for a successful stacking situation. Also, the raw power of Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Juan Soto can send the ball out of the park against anyone.
Anthony Rizzo got his second round-tripper of the season yesterday, though it also ended a nine-game drought with no extra-base hits. This is the type of pitcher that the 34-year-old should find success against, so he is in play tonight. Alex Verdugo and Gleyber Torres are stacking candidates from the back half of the lineup, and, of course, Anthony Volpe is worthy of consideration if he is batting leadoff.
Main Slate Secondary Target: Chicago Cubs vs. RHP Spencer Arrighetti — 3.9 implied runs
First Pitch: 7:40 p.m. ET
Tonight will be the third start for RHP Spencer Arrighetti, who has appeared to be overmatched in The Show with a lack of command and a consistent strikeout pitch. To be clear, the Cubbies are a deeper cut today, with several alternative options listed in the preceding section. The Chicago lineup is not deep, nor is it loaded, particularly after the team dismantled the World Series clubhouse. There is a tight core, however, that should be adjacent to each other in the lineup, which gives excellent stacking synergy.
Cody Bellinger had a turnaround season, though the 2019 National League MVP still did not get the multi-year deal he desired. He is the keystone for this lineup, with switch-hitter Ian Happ slotting in where needed and Christopher Morel improving as a power source. Michael Busch gets the slight nod over Dansby Swanson, but it is hard to quibble over either being the final stacking option. Nico Hoerner is best left for when southpaws are on the schedule, and Mike Tauchman is too inconsistent to trust with so many players in the pool today.
Other DFS and Sports Wagering Opportunities
Targeting the under for LHP Nick Lodolo’s 7.5 strikeouts prop does not feel great, but that is a big number and he is at home in the homer-friendly Great American Ballpark. OddsShopper shows this bet has -145 “true odds,” and the -120 line currently available at Fanatics provides an enticing 8.6% expected return on investment (ROI).
There is a 59% probability of this wager coming through, but we would still not really want to go much worse than the -130 line on ESPN BET or the -135 posted at Hard Rock.
In his two starts, Lodolo has racked up 16 strikeouts in a dozen innings, allowing just one run and issuing one walk. This will be the second time targeting the under, and he utterly destroyed that recommendation by recording 10 strikeouts in his season debut.
The Phillies bring a lot of strikeouts, and in the projected lineup, four different players have whiffed at a 27% clip or higher against lefties since the start of last season. There also is a lot of power and dangerous hitters in the lineup, with the group collectively posting a .231 ISO. The hope here is that Lodolo either gets hit hard while challenging batters or burns through his pitch count while nibbling at the corners of the plate. Today he projects for 6.34 strikeouts, but that gives a little wiggle room from the eight he will need to accumulate for the under to lose.
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Final Thoughts for Wednesday, April 24 — MLB DFS Picks
Wednesday looks to be clear across the country, at least as far as today’s MLB venues are concerned. Be sure to check in with your favorite DFS meteorological resources closer to first pitch to see if there are any urgent updates.
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