Welcome to Fantasy Alarm's MLB DFS Playbook for Tuesday, April 2! By now you've had a chance to pore over the MLB DFS Playbook and both the Hitting and Pitching Coach pieces (available exclusively to Fantasy Alarm subscribers), and you should be rolling through the array of tools settling into the Lineup Generator to start putting everything together.
We are working off of a 10-game main slate today. There are some interesting pitchers in each tier, so you can play around with different lineup constructions. I am willing to pay up at shortstop a bit today, especially on FanDuel, but I gave a lot of different price points for each position.
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Today's MLB DFS Picks: DraftKings, FanDuel advice for Tuesday, April 2
| Pos | Player | Matchup | Opp SP | DK | FD | Y! | Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP | J. Verlander (R) | HOU@TEX Tue 8:05 | S. Miller (R) | $11500 | $11300 | $57 | UPGRADE |
| SP | UPGRADE | ||||||
| SP | UPGRADE | ||||||
| SP | UPGRADE | ||||||
| SP | M. Gonzales (L) | LAA@SEA Tue 10:10 | T. Cahill (R) | $5900 | $8200 | $38 | See below |
| SP | UPGRADE | ||||||
| C | UPGRADE | ||||||
| C | UPGRADE | ||||||
| C | J. Realmuto (R) | PHI@WSH Tue 7:05 | M. Scherzer (R) | $3800 | $3700 | $14 | See below |
| 1B | Y. Gurriel (R) | HOU@TEX Tue 8:05 | S. Miller (R) | $4200 | $2700 | $12 | UPGRADE |
| 1B | J. Smoak (B) | BAL@TOR Tue 7:07 | A. Cashner (R) | $4200 | $3600 | $14 | See below |
| 1B | UPGRADE | ||||||
| 1B | UPGRADE | ||||||
| 2B | J. Altuve (R) | HOU@TEX Tue 8:05 | S. Miller (R) | $5200 | $4300 | $24 | UPGRADE |
| 2B | R. Canó (L) | NYM@MIA Tue 7:10 | J. Ureña (R) | $3900 | $4200 | $20 | See below |
| 2B | UPGRADE | ||||||
| 2B | UPGRADE | ||||||
| 3B | UPGRADE | ||||||
| 3B | UPGRADE | ||||||
| 3B | M. Chapman (R) | BOS@OAK Tue 10:07 | C. Sale (L) | $3800 | $3900 | $19 | UPGRADE |
| 3B | J. Turner (R) | SF@LA Tue 10:10 | M. Bumgarner (L) | $4100 | $4100 | $20 | See below |
| 1B | UPGRADE | ||||||
| SS | C. Correa (R) | HOU@TEX Tue 8:05 | S. Miller (R) | $4600 | $3000 | $18 | UPGRADE |
| SS | T. Turner (R) | PHI@WSH Tue 7:05 | Z. Eflin (R) | $4900 | $4800 | $26 | See below |
| SS | UPGRADE | ||||||
| LF | UPGRADE | ||||||
| LF | M. Brantley (L) | HOU@TEX Tue 8:05 | S. Miller (R) | $4500 | $3700 | $17 | UPGRADE |
| LF | UPGRADE | ||||||
| LF | UPGRADE | ||||||
| CF | M. Smith (L) | LAA@SEA Tue 10:10 | T. Cahill (R) | $4100 | $3400 | $17 | See below |
| LF | UPGRADE | ||||||
| RF | UPGRADE | ||||||
| DH | UPGRADE |
Marco Gonzales, SP, Mariners vs. Angels. Gonzales has not been overly impressive in his first two starts of the season, but he has managed decent outings against very strong offenses and has a hot offense behind him that has helped him to a 2-0 record. While I don’t love his price on FanDuel, on DraftKings he is only $5,900 and gets an Angels team that is missing Shohei Ohtani and Justin Upton right now. He is worth the gamble in a GPP.
J.T. Realmuto, C, Phillies @ Nationals. Realmuto has started off his Phillies career hot at the plate and while you will have to pay up for him, he is worth the money, especially versus a Zach Eflin, who struggles with home runs. I am not a fan of paying up for catchers normally, but Realmuto is the exception to that rule.
Justin Smoak, 1B, Blue Jays vs. Orioles. Andrew Cashner is awful, so this is a great day for a Blue Jays stack. Smoak has a ton of power versus righthanded pitching, and there are few better matchups than facing Cashner at home. Smoak can be part of a fun Blue Jays stack today on both sites.
Robinson Cano, 2B, Mets @ Marlins. Cano has struggled a bit to start the season, but his price on DraftKings reflects the slow start. He gets a equally struggling Jose Urena, who looked just awful in his first start. Cano bats in the middle of an improving lineup and is well worth the gamble in a GPP on DraftKings today.
Trea Turner, SS, Nationals vs. Phillies. Turner is an expensive option on both DraftKings and FanDuel, but he is one worth paying for if you can grab cheaper position players in other spot. Turner has been absolutely fantastic thus far, hitting .385/.429/.923 with two home runs and four stolen bases in just three games. He will be hitting out of the two-hole versus Zach Eflin, who really struggled with walks and home runs in the second half last season.
Justin Turner, 3B, Dodgers vs. Giants. Turner absolutely murdered lefthanded pitching last season to the tune of four home runs and a .336/.448/.580 triple slash. His career numbers against Madison Bumgarner aren’t overwhelming, but I don’t buy into BvP. Turner crushes lefties and looks good already this year.
Mallex Smith, OF, Mariners vs. Angels. Smith is likely going to lead off once again for the Mariners. He appears completely healed from the injury issues that hampered him in spring training and is hitting .294/.350/.588 with a homer and two stolen bases in just 20 plate appearances through four games. The entire Seattle offense has been hot, and there is no reason to jump of the bandwagon right now.
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