Happy Easter weekend! Hopefully the weather is glorious wherever you are but if not, you can stay inside and play some MLB DFS. Like last Saturday, I will discuss all MLB slates but I will keep it short and sweet since it is super late here on the West Coast. Let’s get down to it!
Pitcher
Very Early/Morning: Carlos Carrasco
Carrasco is off to a good start and he faces one of the worst teams in baseball. Arizona can’t hit and the Mets are a heavy favorite at home. You can count on Carrasco getting the W with at least 5 IP and 5-6 Ks with maybe 1-2 ER.
Early/Afternoon: Nick Martinez
Martinez has been a pleasant surprise this season. He spent the last 4 seasons in Japan and has returned to the US as a transformed pitcher. His K/BB ratio is solid and is keeping the ball in the park. That is a clear sign of good command of his pitches. He faces a tough team with the defending World Series Champions but the game is in San Diego which is arguably one of the best pitcher’s parks in all of baseball. Plus the Braves are a free swinging group so Martinez can get us some Ks.
Main/Evening: James Taillon
Like Carrasco, Taillon faces a very weak team in Baltimore. Not much has changed with the Orioles. They simply cannot hit and are destined for another 100 loss season. The Yankees are heavy favorites so Taillon has a good chance of earning the W. Plus he tends to pitch at least 5 innings and averages about 1 K per inning. He is priced reasonably on all DFS sites which will enable you to pay up for some strong stacks.
Stacks
Very Early/Morning: Toronto Blue Jays
Did you see what Vladimir Guerrero Jr. did earlier this week? My goodness! The apple doesn’t fall from the tree as he is on his way to matching the superb career his father had with Montreal and Anaheim. Overall the Blue Jays are a modern day murderer’s row. This is a young team that is hungry and uber talented. They led the majors in HRs last year and could very well do the game this season. They will feast on the hapless A’s.
Early/Afternoon: Cleveland Guardians
This selection is all about leverage. Giants pitcher Anthony DeSclafani is the highest priced pitcher for the afternoon slate on FanDuel but he is a mediocre pitcher at best. Meanwhile, the Guardians have shocked the MLB world by scoring at least 10 runs in 3 consecutive games. Of course Jose Ramirez will be pricey but the rest of the bats are affordable. I would consider stacking the 2-3-4-5 hitters and enjoy the fireworks as they tee off DeSclafani who is a flyball pitcher and tends to give up the long ball more frequently than most pitchers.
Main/Evening: Los Angeles Dodgers
Hunter Greene will be on the mound for Cincinnati and he is a rising star. He was drafted 2nd overall in the 2017 draft and if not for COVID, he probably would have made his Major League debut in 2020. He looked sharp a few days ago against Atlanta, and he is coming back home as he is from Sherman Oaks which is not too far from Chavez Ravine. However, he is young and the Dodgers are very good at knocking around inexperienced pitchers. LA is an offense that can explode at any given moment. Just look at what they did in the 8th inning against the Reds on Thursday night. They exploded for 6 runs and the Reds bullpen is worn out given that they needed at least 4 relievers each in the last 2 games.
There you have it! Grab pitchers who play for heavily favored teams. Then stack the batters who are facing struggling pitchers or could could give you some leverage over the rest of the crowd. Sounds easy but it’s not. We will need some luck on our side so good luck and Happy Easter!
Design by J.R. Caines (@JRCainesDesign on Twitter and @caines_design on Instagram)