MLB DFS Picks: Spotlight Hitters & Stacks for Sunday, April 18th
MLB DFS action on Sunday, April 18, features 15 games across three slates with giant contests on Yahoo, DraftKings and FanDuel. Before locking in MLB DFS picks and lineups, make sure to check out Awesemo’s daily fantasy baseball top stacks, picks, rankings and projections. Let’s dig into some MLB DFS picks and daily fantasy baseball stacks, including the Nationals, Brewers and Athletics.
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MLB DFS Picks: Spotlight Hitters and Stacks, Sunday, April 18th
Yahoo Stack of the Day: Washington Nationals vs. LHP Madison Bumgarner — 5.0 implied runs
Oh, how the mighty have fallen. It has been a bit of a debacle for Madison Bumgarner with the twin milestones of turning 30 years old and leaving San Francisco’s pitching-friendly venue. Across his nine starts last season for the Diamondback plus the three this year, Bumgarner has been just dreadful. The strikeouts are down to 7.32 K/9, the walks are up at 3.42 BB/9, and the home runs have been frequent, at 2.60 HR/9.
The last 202 batters swinging the stick from the right side of the plate have produced numbers that would make Hank Aaron jealous. All told, Bumgarner has ceded a .418 wOBA and a .314 ISO and has a paltry 14.9% strikeout rate. It has been no picnic against fellow lefties, who have produced a .352 wOBA and a .255 ISO.
The hope for today is that gamers decide Juan Soto is too spendy at $27 in a lefty/lefty matchup. In his last 72 at-bats against same-handed hurlers, Soto has a .415 ISO. Trea Turner has been nearly as other-worldly with his .386 ISO over 79 plate appearances. Gamers can round things out with Josh Bell and Kyle Schwarber, and in the event Yan Gomes is behind the plate, he can fill the required catcher slot. It will likely be righties coming out of the bullpen, with Stefan Crichton and Yoan Lopez the most rested relievers.
Mid-Afternoon Slate
Milwaukee Brewers vs. RHP Chad Kuhl – 4.4 implied runs
In a quirky schedule twist, the Brewers have yet to face a left-handed starter this season. On tap today is a matchup with Chad Kuhl, who has been serviceable against same-handed hitters, but lefties can make his life miserable. Fortunately for gamers, Milwaukee will be running out a lefty-heavy lineup.
The best option is Omar Narvaez if he is behind the plate because he is a phenomenal hitter against opposite-handed hurlers. His last off day was Thursday, so there is a decent chance he will be behind the dish today. Travis Shaw strikes out nearly a third of the time against righties, but he also has light-tower power. Billy McKinney provide salary relief, which is essentially at the minimum across all of the DFS sites. Finally, though this is a same-handed matchup, Keston Hiura is by far the best hitter on the Brewers with Christian Yelich sidelined. In his last 500 righty/righty matchups, Hiura has posted a .260 ISO.
Afternoon Slate
Oakland Athletics vs. LHP Matthew Boyd — 4.6 implied runs
Matthew Boyd has allowed 54 home runs since the beginning of the 2019 season, which is the most in that league by a mile. In that same timeframe, Bumgarner has allowed the second-most home runs with 46 in one fewer start. Though Boyd has been outstanding from a strikeout perspective, getting 27.3% of righties and 28.1% of lefties in this stretch, that is not enough to offset the home runs.
The primary power trio to target will be Mark Canha, Matt Chapman and Ramon Laureano. They all have a ISOs over .200 in their last 200 at bats against lefties. Stephen Piscotty should be in the lineup, and remember that home runs from the bottom of the order count for just as many fantasy points as home runs from the cleanup hitter. Matt Olson thrives in same-handed matchups when he makes contact, with an uber-elite .240 ISO over the last two-plus seasons. Finally, if Sean Murphy is in the lineup, he is a fine option at catcher.
Final Thoughts for the Sunday, April 18th MLB DFS Slate
It looks like there should not be any weather issues today for a nice change. Keep in mind that salaries and scoring formats differ across the various fantasy sites, and a home run play on Yahoo may be a below-average MLB DFS pick on DraftKings or FanDuel.
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