MLB DFS Picks Today (4/17/22): Spotlight Pitchers & Top Stacks Sunday
Sunday, April 17, brings an intriguing main slate starting at 1:05 p.m. ET on Yahoo, DraftKings and FanDuel. Let’s get into the top MLB DFS picks for pitchers and stacks for Yahoo, DraftKings and FanDuel daily fantasy baseball lineups. As always, you can head over to the Awesemo MLB DFS & Fantasy Baseball home page for all the fantasy baseball content you need for any given slate.
MLB DFS Picks Today: Spotlight Pitchers and Top Stacks | Sunday, April 17
Yahoo Stack of the Day: Pittsburgh Pirates vs. LHP Patrick Corbin — 4.3 implied runs
Today will be the third start for Patrick Corbin, who has been abysmal since the All-Star break last season. Perpetually injured Stephen Strasburg is on the shelf again, and of course Max Scherzer was traded away late last season. The Nationals’ de facto ace has yet to allow a home run, but he has suffered 19 baserunners in just 6.2 innings across his first two appearances. This has resulted in a 10.8 ERA and a 2.85 WHIP.
Bryan Reynolds, Ke’Bryan Hayes and Yoshi Tsutsugo are the trio to target against southpaws. If Roberto Perez is behind the plate, he can be employed as part of a stack or as a one-off to address the pesky catcher requirement. Utilizing Pittsburgh today will provide differentiation as well as an affordable stack which will facilitate working in the top pitchers or a premium stack. The Washington bullpen has seen a lot of action over the last five days, and though nobody has been overworked, they are a below-average collection of arms that are unlikely to quell any rallies allowed by Corbin.
Afternoon Slate: St. Louis Cardinals at LHP Aaron Ashby — 4.0 implied runs
Youngster Aaron Ashby is yet another talented arm for Milwaukee, though his future could be that of a multi-inning reliever. Control has been an issue for the 23-year-old southpaw, but he has earned a crack at sticking in the rotation. Today he should be in line for 70 to 75 pitches as long as his effectiveness holds. The main risk is that St. Louis will be rolling out a lineup loaded with right-handed batsmen.
Both Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt have a long history of destroying lefties, and Tyler O’Neill is looking like he will be joining their illustrious ranks as well. Switch-hitters Dylan Carlson and Tommy Edman will be at the top and bottom of the order, though that means they are in adjacent slots as the lineup turns over. Both are quite effective when swinging the stick from the right side of the plate, and they can be part of any Cardinals stacks. Depending on who else makes the Sunday lineup, Harrison Bader, Paul DeJong and Lars Nootbaar all have above-average power.
Late Slate: Houston Astros at RHP Matt Brash — 3.7 implied runs
If you are playing on a site that has the Coors Field Extravaganza as part of the late slate, that will be the primary source of offense. Houston provides the next-best options in a matchup against rookie Matt Brash, who will be making his second career start this afternoon. In his debut against the White Sox, Brash was outstanding while relying on his breaking pitches. The danger here is that he is making the jump from Double-A to The Show, and he did allow a lot of hard contact in his debut when the batters did connect.
If Yordan Alvarez is able to return from the health and safety protocol, he is the primary Astros option in all formats. Kyle Tucker, Kyle Bregman and Jose Altuve are of course the other trio to target as long as they are in the lineup. Veterans Michael Brantley and Aledmys Diaz both have success against right-handed pitching, and if Jason Castro is behind the dish, he looks good as a punt catching option.
Spotlight Pitchers
Top MLB DFS Picks Target: RHP Alek Manoah vs. Oakland Athletics — 3.4 implied runs
DFS Salary: Yahoo $50 | FanDuel $10,200 | DraftKings $10,200
Pitching is thin at the top on Sunday, with 24-year-old Alek Manoah standing out as one of the preeminent options in the player pool. In his first start of the season, Toronto’s wunderkind shut out the Yankees in the Bronx across six scoreless innings, allowing one hit with seven strikeouts. While the four walks were a little concerning, Manoah did go for 89 pitches, which indicates he is nearly ready for a mid-season workload. Seth Brown and Sean Murphy do have above-average power, but their track records are not exactly robust.
Oakland traded away most anything that was not nailed down, and their batting order is stretched to the max. Chad Pinder, who is better known as a lefty masher, has actually been batting in the heart of the order against same-handed hurlers. The remainder of the lineup is filled out with a collection of players that would be reserves and batters who would be relegated to the last couple lineup spots on most MLB teams.
Secondary MLB DFS Picks Target:
RHP Zack Wheeler at Miami Marlins — 3.5 implied runs
DFS Salary: Yahoo $50 | FanDuel $10,200 | DraftKings $10,200
In his first start of the season, Wheeler had 4.2 solid innings in New York against his former team the Mets. Though he threw just 65 pitches, he allowed only one run on a solo shot by Brandon Nimmo with two outs in the fifth inning. Wheeler was dealing with a sore shoulder through the offseason, so he is a little behind the stamina curve. Today he should have enough leeway to make it through the fifth inning, which would have him as the pitcher of record and in line for a win if the Phillies have the lead at that time. Something around 80 pitches seems reasonable, though these are coming at a premium salary.
Final MLB DFS Thoughts + Weather Notes for the Sunday, April 17 Fantasy Baseball Slate
Keep an eye on the games in Boston and Kansas City, with the latter having above-average precipitation risk as well as seeing game-time temperatures in the upper 30s. Once again the East Coast and Midwest venues that are outdoors will be chilly with the early afternoon start times which are typical of Sundays.
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