MLB DFS Picks: Spotlight Pitchers and Top Stacks | April 26
MLB DFS Picks: Spotlight Pitchers
Thought RHP Luis Castillo had a rough start in Cincinnati against his former team 11 days ago, being saddled with six “Ernies” in 4.1 innings, he battled through 10 hits and two walks across five innings in Toronto, garnering his second victory of the season. The 1.59 baserunners per inning is uncharacteristic for the 32-year-old veteran of nine MLB campaigns, so ideally he takes advantage of this “get right” spot.
The return of Connor Norby and Jesus Sanchez from their respective oblique injuries his helpful for Miami, but the Marlins get a ballpark downgrade from their already pitching friendly home.
Lawrence helped the bullpen get a bit of a respite with his five frames, allowing the four key arms to get a break after pitching on Thursday, with close Andres Munoz and top-lefty reliever Gabe Spier also having worked on Wednesday. Game time temperatures will be dipping into the upper-50s, which is favorable weather for the pitchers.
Tampa Bay ranks 20th in home runs, 15th in total bases and sixth in steals. This still has them in the middle of the pack, with and average of 4.23 runs per game. Speedy rookie Chandler Simpson is a stolen base threat any time he is on board, but he has a lot of pressure on him as a leadoff hitter with 14 plates appearances in The Show against right-handed pitching. Fellow rookie Kameron Misner has 73, though the 27-year-old has been a regular for a few weeks now. Late-blooming rookie Jake Mangum was put on the injured list Thursday, which takes another lefty out of the mix.
Brandon Lowe and Jonathan Aranda are the only worrisome bats for Cease, with the back of the lineup looking pretty dodgy. The Rays embrace doing all the little things and while that adds up over the course of a season, it can be pretty barren on a game-to-game basis with actual results.
For the afternoon action, RHP Hunter Greene is in play against the Rockies, though he has had uneven production this season and Coors Field is always tricky. The strikeout potential is so appealing, it pushes the scales in his favor.
Other options are RHP Sonny Gray at home against Milwaukee, with Garrett Mitchell suffering an oblique injury that could force him to miss time. That may not seem like much, but the success of the Brew Crew offense is predicated with solid hitters up and down the lineup, including Mitchell. Jake Bauers will probably find his name on the lineup card with him being the best left-handed hitter off the bench. LHP Jeffrey Springs left his last start early, but he has a date with the pitiful Pale Hose and we know how historically bad the Chicago White Sox have been over the last season and change.
MLB DFS Picks: Top Stacks
Main Slate Contrarian Target: Seattle Mariners
In these matchups against Arizona and in Philadelphia, the 27-year-old allowed 12 earned runs in 10 innings, with nine strikeouts, with three doubles and a pair of round-trippers.
The focus for the Mariners should be the first six hitters in the lineup. Seattle clearly has a decent offense, though it usually hides at home and comes out in force on the road in the better hitting parks.
Switch-hitting catcher Cal Raliegh has power that plays everyone, as does Luke Raley, when he holds the platoon-advantage.
Righties Julio Rodriguez and Randy Arozarena are solid in righty-right matchups, while we should see a discounted Rowdy Tellez, who has been crushing the ball, when he actually makes contact. He is a pinch hit risk if a southpaw comes in, but still in play for stacks.
Main Slate Contrarian Target: San Diego Padres
That leads us to an injury riddled Padres lineup, that is going against RHP Ryan Pepiot. To be clear, Pepiot is a solid pitcher, when he is in Tropicana Field. Through some scheduling quirks, all five of his starts have been at home, in George Steinbrenner Field, which is a home run park as evidenced by his eight longballs in his last 22 innings.
Pepiot has decent strikeout stuff, but he allows too many fly balls to survive if runners are on base. The focus for the Friars will be Fernando Tatis Jr. Manny Machado, discount dandy Gavin Sheets and veteran Xander Bogaerts for those needing a full-stack. To be clear, the back of this lineup is terrible and could suffer two three-up, three down innings against Pepiot. That is what happens when Jackson Merrill, Jake Cronenworth, Luis Arraez and Jason Hewyward are all out with various maladies.
For the early-slate, of course the Reds are the priority in Coors Field, though the Athletics are strong options once again against RHP Jonathan Cannon, who did survive against them 10 days ago, sandwiched in between a pair of disappointing showings.
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India has not done much against lefties this season, but when he was with the Reds, he provided solid contact with a little pop. He is at the top of the order and while LHP Framber Valdez is a top-notch pitcher, he has had some struggles in the early going. A fortuitous double or a pair of singles will have India’s backers whistling to the bank.
