Hey, hey, hey…..it’s your DFS MLB buddy @Choppodong!! I am a coach and contributor inside DFS Army, where our entire goal is teaching you the fundamentals that will make you a better, more competitive player as quickly as possible. Give me a follow on Twitter and YouTube for the latest content drops and video uploads. Use code CHOP for a 10% discount, and get busy learning/winning today!! As always, your best compliment is retweeting and/or sharing this information across social media. Thank you!
Remember, this article is designed to get you pointed in the right direction. It’s not a slate write-up and it’s not a player picks piece. I would rather get you started, then have you interact with us in our VIP slack forums as we banter picks and strategies back and forth. Learning MLB the right way is the fastest way to grow your skill level.
DFS MLB Condensed Slate Breakdowns
Get a quick feel here, but watch the date. APRIL 24 is up…
MLB DFS Slate Quick Glance
Today is a small 4 game main. When looking at our softer pitching, it will be easy to spot the bats we need to target…..for there we won’t have many other options. Differentiating lineups today will be handled by varying your stacks. We always focus on opportunities, and we do that with sheer numbers of at bats. But, today, we might focus on some lower-order hitters just to get off the pure chalk because our direction will be pretty clear.
The pitching is also clear, but the pricing between our two lead dogs is far enough that alone will put us on different bats. But, get off these two pitchers and you are getting too cute for the slate. Let’s look at pitching…
DFS MLB Pitchers Advice
Chris Archer – $8300, 98 DFSA Grade, 552 KScore – I have been waiting all year for an Archer slate, and I finally have it. The price is nice, the strikeout potential rivals Sale’s, and the DFSA Grade is actually a point higher tonight. Archer is our lead dog. When all things are similar, that price discount really becomes necessary, especially if you want big bats.
Chris Sale – $11, 400, 97 DFSA Grade, 562 KScore – I would think people will flock to Archer, which might make Sale a slightly contrarian option. You won’t be stacking BOS bats if you take sale……unless you focus on the bottom of the order. If you get a great performance from Sale and the bottom of the order does the damage, you have a GPP winning combo and I’m not joking. But, Sale is also very cash-viable tonight, too.
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MLB DFS Soft Pitchers to Attack
Lucas Giolito – Giolito is facing the KC Royals. I’m sick of the Royals coming up high in our matchups, but it is what it is. Part of DFS is running the numbers over and over until they eventually pan out. Giolito only strikes out 16% of his batters and gives up 36% hard contact. No matter who he faces, until he fixes those, they will be in a good spot. It helps that KC is cheap. Expect them to be chalky.
Marco Estrada – Estrada surprises me a bit. But, this is more about who he is facing than who he is. Boston is loaded this year and they are still running rather hot. Estrada isn’t showing shut-down stuff right now, so I expect BOS to be the chalk of chalk tonight. Estrada grades out as our worst pitcher (15.82) and attacking the worst pitchers on the slate is a good habit to keep.
MLB DFS Teams to Stack
BOS – When 8 members of the Red Sox appear on your default page of matchups, you have to pay attention. 6 of these guys have wOBAs over .330 vs RHP making this a juicy spot for sure. When you have 6 or 8 to choose from, look deep for value or bottom order stacks to make your lineup different tonight. If using a cheaper pitcher, just eat the chalk and load up on the top of the order……they are at the top for a reason and you can differentiate in another game/lineup.
KCR – I’m not a fan of spots like these were the whole team is supposed to do well, but the whole team isn’t a good team. I tend to focus on those actually hitting well. If stacking, though, against a weak pitcher, I will take those next to my key hitter in the order. Tonight, that centers around Moustakas. KC hasn’t released their lineup yet, but Moose should hit 3rd, leaving us with choices like Merrifield, Perez, and Duda. Duda is cheap and our research station likes him. I think the world will be on him and I don’t like his current form. I might get away from him in my contests and hope he continues to falter.
MLB DFS Position Rankings
1B/C – Duda, Hanley Ramirez, Rizzo, Moreland, Abreu, Aguilar
2B – Moncada, Baez, Merrifield, Sogard, Goins, Holt
3B – Moustakas, Bryant, Shaw, Davidson, Devers
SS – Nunez, Machado, Russell, Escobar, Anderson
OF – JD Martinez, Betts, Yelich, Schwarber, Bradley jr, Benintendi, Happ, Braun, Gordon, Delmonico, Almonte, Span
I notice a lot of Cubs in there, so we should likely add them to the stacks lists. Another thing our VIPs should be paying attention to is the DFSA Grades and form tiers. For example, JD Martinez is a 96 grade hitter and Betts is an 88. That large gap separates these two quite a bit. Now, OF is likely deep in terms of a position, but that doesn’t mean we dont prioritize players. 1B is usually deep, but I can tell you for sure that one of either 3B, SS, or 3B has no hitters graded over a 78. That tells me the position is shit tonight and I can likely punt it. I will pay way down there and spend up in other spots where there is a clear plus matchup or two. It’s these nuances that take your game from good to great.
The only place you are going to find this Research Station I reference is inside the VIP progam at dfsarmy.com. And, the only place you will learn how to drive the race car is from our coaching as a VIP. In a nutshell, if you are ready to stop being “good” and start being “great,” you need to simply join us and use the same tools and optimizer we are using to keep our army hats on top of the leaderboards daily. Hope to see you there!
#DongCall Time!
This section takes on a change. I will simply leave it at my #200on200 guys for the foreseeable future. Posting pictures on the web is becoming more trouble than it’s worth, and it’s not like many people comment out on Twitter anyway. That’s a shame because it was fun. That said, I have 4 dong calls for the main slate listed below.
#200on200 – #DongCall worthy
Moustakas, Duda
Final MLB DFS Thoughts
For MLB cash games, keep the stacking to a minimum. You can’t afford to grab stack Rockies in Coors and have them fall flat, which they occasionally do. ISO is a great stat to look at with wOBA for hitter-friendly parks. Remember to head over to DFSARMY.com, your one-stop-shop for stats, player recommendations, coaching, winning lineups discussion, and everything DFS related. Use code CHOP to trigger a 10% discount every month as long as you remain a member regardless of any future price increases. You are grandfathered in at your rate permanently!!
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