MLB DFS Picks Today (4/25/22): Spotlight Pitchers & Top Stacks Monday
Monday, April 25, brings a five-game main slate on Yahoo and FanDuel with a 7:07 p.m. ET first pitch. DraftKings has elected to roll with a seven-game featured slate beginning at 6:10 p.m. ET. 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 | Monday, April 25
Yahoo Stack of the Day: Cleveland Guardians at RHP Michael Lorenzen — 4.1 implied runs
Somehow the Guardians are scoring five runs per game, which is the third most in the league. This is likely an anomaly with just 10% of the season in the books. Michael Lorenzen has spent eight seasons in The Show; however, this is his first campaign away from Cincinnati. The 33-year-old is a league-average pitcher who induces ground balls from lefties, though righties have had some power success. However, they also strikeout nearly 25% of the time.
Most of the Cleveland production will be coming from switch-hitting Jose Ramirez and the light-tower power of Franmil Reyes, who brings the lumber from the right side of the plate. Rookie Steven Kwan has been impressive in the early going, with nine walks and just six strikeouts in 57 plate appearances. Leadoff man Myles Straw was projected to be among the league leaders in stolen bases this season. However, while he has four swipes, none have come in the last dozen days. If he is not tearing up the base paths, he is a slap singles hitter at best, and that does not bring much MLB DFS upside.
Late Slate: Los Angeles Dodgers at RHP Merrill Kelly — 5.3 implied runs
All eyes will be on the Dodgers today, as they have one of the best matchups on the slate. The Chase Field roof should be open, which is not going to do any favors for Merrill Kelly. The 33-year-old righty has been solid this season, allowing just one run across 15.1 innings with an unexpected 18 strikeouts. Kelly is a fun story, having spent five years in the minors with Tampa Bay before heading over the KBO for another four seasons with the SK Wyverns prior to Arizona taking a chance on him as a 30-year-old. The book is out on Kelly, who allows home runs at an above-average rate with below-average strikeouts. That is a recipe for disaster against a loaded Los Angeles squad.
The offseason addition of Freddie Freeman gives the Dodgers a third MVP in their everyday lineup along with Mookie Betts and Cody Bellinger. They are surrounded by fellow All-Stars Trea Turner, Max Muncy, Justin Turner and Chris Taylor. The lineup against right-handed hurlers is rounded out with catcher Will Smith and shortstop Gavin Lux, who are also above-average hitters. This just does not seem fair to opposing pitchers.
Spotlight Pitchers
Top MLB DFS Picks Target: RHP Max Scherzer at St. Louis Cardinals — 3.2 implied runs
DFS Salary: Yahoo $60 | FanDuel $10,800 | DraftKings $9,300
Max Scherzer looks to be in mid-season form, with his pitch counts increasing from 80 in his debut to 102 in his most recent start. On the season, through a trio appearances, the three-time Cy Young Award winner has allowed just five runs and one long ball in 18 innings. Most impressive are the 23 strikeouts, which show that even in his age-38 season, Scherzer still has it. While the Cardinals are a relatively disciplined group of hitters, the advantage still goes to Scherzer tonight.
Early Slate MLB DFS Picks Target: Kyle Gibson vs. Colorado Rockies — 3.6 implied runs
DFS Salary: Yahoo N/A | FanDuel $8,400 | DraftKings $6,800
Veteran Kyle Gibson has been efficiently effective through three starts, allowing a 3.57 ERA and 1.019 WHIP with 19 strikeouts across 17.2 innings. Tonight he has a great matchup against a Rockies team that still struggles outside of Coors Field, even though they have retooled their offense. Kris Bryant and C.J. Cron have excellent righty-righty metrics. However, Gibson allows almost no power to same-handed batsmen, ceding only a .097 ISO in his last 361 such matchups. The salary for the well-travelled hurler is too good to pass up on DraftKings, and he is even in play on the all-day FanDuel slates, as this is a matchup where he should have a strong possibility of getting the fantasy points for a quality start.
Final MLB DFS Thoughts & Weather Notes for the Monday, April 25 Fantasy Baseball Slate
Once again, the weather looks good today with warmer temperatures on the West Coast. The only variable today seems to be finding out which of the Boston Red Sox are unvaccinated, as they will not be able to play in Toronto against the Blue Jays tonight per Canada’s health and safety protocols.
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