MLB DFS Picks: Spotlight Hitters & Stacks for Thursday, April 22nd
MLB DFS action on Thursday, April 22, features eight games across five 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 Mets, Reds and Giants.
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MLB DFS Picks: Spotlight Hitters and Stacks, Thursday, April 22nd
Yahoo Stack of the Day: New York Mets at RHP Trevor Williams — 4.9 implied runs
It seems impossible that Trevor Williams has yet to allow a home run across his first three starts. In his 14.1 innings, he has allowed just one extra-base hit, which was a double to Dustin Fowler. Williams has allowed seven walks and 16 hits, and at some point the crooked numbers are going to appear.
Today in there is a 7- to 10-mph breeze blowing out to right field in Chicago, which should give a nice little assist to the Mets swinging the stick from the left side of the plate. Since the beginning of the 2019 season, 413 opposite-handed hitters have taken Williams out of the park, to the tune of a 1.49 HR/9 rate. He does not help himself out of jams with a 14.8% strikeout rate against lefties. While same-handed hitters have struck out 21.3% of the time in this span, they also have accounted for a 2.20 HR/9 rate. With the wind blowing out, Wrigley Field is not going to be as forgiving as PNC Park.
Brandon Nimmo was out of the lineup yesterday with a sore hip, but if he is leading off, he becomes an intriguing option on Yahoo at the lofty $21 salary cap hit, which should keep most gamers away. In the event he is out, Jeff McNeil will likely be at the top of the order. Regardless of his lineup spot, he is worth targeting as well. Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso and Michael Conforto are going to be employed by the masses as the most recognizable names. However, it looks like Dominic Smith is not projecting to be very popular with his $18 salary. In his last 337 lefty/righty matchups, he leads all Mets with an uber-elite .274 ISO.
Early Slate
Cincinnati Reds vs. RHP Taylor Widener — 4.6 implied runs
In his three career MLB starts, all coming this month, Taylor Widener has survived by allowing just one home run despite some heavy flyball tendencies. This season he has 11 strikeouts against five walks over a 17 innings. In his debut season last year, he made 12 relief appearances, spanning 20 innings, while allowing five home runs, which were mitigated by his 22 strikeouts. While he will get a chance to stick in the back half of the rotation, Widener may be better suited as a reliever capable of going five or six outs a couple times a week in higher-leverage, late-inning scenarios.
Lefties have absolutely hammered Widener in The Show, with a .281 ISO across 72 at-bats accounting for four of the six career home runs he has allowed and all but one of the other extra-base hits. Jesse Winker is a fine MLB DFS pick at the leadoff spot, though he is a little spendy on Yahoo with a $16 salary. Joey Votto can still get it done, though most of his power is now in the form of doubles. Tucker Barnhart is fine as a one-off catching option or as part of a full stack, with a .188 ISO in his last 439 lefty/righty matchups. Eugenio Suarez is the Reds’ best hitter, and gamers can look to him, Nick Castellanos and Nick Senzel for power from the right-handed side of the plate on the early slate.
Late Slate
San Francisco Giants vs. LHP Daniel Castano — 4.7 implied runs
This is an impressive implied run total for an Oracle Park game with first-pitch temperatures in the upper-40s. Daniel Castano debuted in last year’s shortened season with 29.2 innings in The Show. His 3.34 K/9 rate was barely above his 3.34 BB/9 rate, and he was very lucky with his hit sequencing and timely groundballs at a 46.6% rate. Even with the key projection systems doubling his strikeout rate, Castano does not have much upside, and the best-case scenario is becoming a crafty lefty innings eater.
Tonight there is a 12- to 14-mph wind blowing out to center field, and while this park is designed for those conditions next to the San Francisco Bay, that will certainly be in the hitters’ favor. The Giants will likely load the top of their lineup with righties, including Evan Longoria, Wilmer Flores, Austin Slater and Daniel Ruf. If Buster Posey is in the lineup, he is a good way to fill the catcher slot on any slate. With Brandon Belt (quad) dealing with a sore right leg, Mike Yastrzemski will likely be the lone lefty, and he handles same-handed pitching quite well with a .249 ISO over his last 189 opportunities.
Final Thoughts for the Thursday, April 22nd MLB DFS Slate
While there is not any precipitation in the forecast, with Wednesday and Thursday being the main MLB travel days, some reserves could draw starts. Also 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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