MLB DFS Picks: Yahoo Plays and Strategy for Opening Day
Baseball is back! We have a packed Opening Day on Thursday that consists of 15 games. Yahoo will include 12 of those games in their main slate. Let's dig into the matchups and highlight some of the best pitchers and hitters to consider.
Pitchers
The Tigers might have their ace of the future in Tarik Skubal ($58). He made 15 starts for them last season, posting a 2.80 ERA and an even better 2.00 FIP. He was dominant, allowing just 0.5 HR/9 to go along with his 0.90 WHIP and 32.9 percent strikeout rate. His first start of the season is an ideal matchup against the White Sox, who have the makings of one of the worst hitting teams in the American League after failing to make any significant improvements during the offseason.
Shane Bieber ($44) made only 21 starts last season because of an elbow injury. Not only did he miss time, but his production took a step backward from his stellar 2022 campaign. He wasn't exactly bad, though, finishing with a 3.80 ERA and a 3.87 FIP. Expect him to be a popular option against an Athletics lineup that scored the fewest runs in baseball last season.
It's usually a big win to face the Rockies on the road instead of in Colorado. They had a .779 OPS at home last season, but just a .650 OPS on the road. Looking to exploit those splits in his season debut will be Zac Gallen ($43), who finished last season with a 3.47 ERA that was supported by a 3.26 FIP.
Top Targets
With this being the first game of the season for so many teams, the slate is loaded with ace pitchers. That might make runs difficult to come by in many games. A couple of the top hitters to consider are Jose Altuve ($20) and Alex Bregman ($18) for their matchup against Nestor Cortes. Cortes battled injuries last season and only had a 4.49 FIP over the 12 games that he was able to start. Altuve has a career .382 wOBA against left-handed pitchers, while Bregman has a career .374 wOBA against them.
Bargain Bats
A way to attack the Astros' matchup against Cortes with a player at cheaper salary is to roll with Yainer Diaz ($13). He only appeared in 104 games last season but finished with a .354 wOBA and a .256 ISO. This season, he's expected to be the primary catcher for the Astros.
One of the few bright spots on the Nationals last season was the production of Lane Thomas ($13). He provided plenty of counting stats, finishing with 28 home runs, 101 runs scored, 86 RBI and 20 stolen bases. One of his biggest improvements was increasing his barrel rate to 9.6 percent, which was more than three percentage points higher than the season prior. He'll look to get off to a hot start versus Frankie Montas, who made just one appearance last season because of a shoulder injury.
Stacks to Consider
Reds vs. Josiah Gray, Nationals: Christian Encarnacion-Strand ($14), Elly De La Cruz ($13), Jake Fraley ($8)
Gray had a much-improved 3.91 ERA last season, but there was still plenty to be concerned about. His FIP was much higher at 4.93, he had a 1.46 WHIP and he had just a 20.5 percent strikeout rate. This could be a great spot to stack the Reds, with De La Cruz one of their top hitters to include in a stack. In just 98 games last season, he hit 13 home runs and stolen 35 bases.
Dodgers vs. Miles Mikolas, Cardinals: Freddie Freeman ($20), Mookie Betts ($18), Shohei Ohtani ($18)
This is going to be one of the top trios to stack more often than not. Betts, Freeman and Ohtani are three of the best hitters in all of baseball and now they're all in the same lineup. Mikolas only has a career 17.6 percent strikeout rate, so his inability to miss bats could be particularly troublesome against this trio.
Diamondbacks vs. Kyle Freeland, Rockies: Christian Walker ($19), Ketel Marte ($20), Lourdes Gurriel Jr. ($16)
The Diamondbacks had problems against left-handed pitching last season as a team, but not this trio. Walker had a 141 wRC+ against them, Marte had a 138 wRC+ and Gurriel had a 121 wRC+. Freeland was a disaster last season, posting a 5.03 ERA and a 5.30 FIP across 29 starts. For his career, he has a 4.60 FIP. Look for the Diamondbacks lineup to start off the season on a high note.
