For just the second time this season under my watch, we’ve got a loaded 11-game main slate at FanDuel, giving us a plethora of options to sort through. Tyler Glasnow ($10,500) is the only arm priced in five-figures on what feels like a deep, yet unspectacular, pitching slate. Rosters lock at 7:07 p.m. EDT.
Overall, weather does not look like it will factor heavily. There’s no rain to be concerned with, and only some minor wind potential in New York, Baltimore and Los Angeles. As always, the Dodgers (-230) are the slate’s biggest favorite, followed by the Brewers (-205). Despite a lack of star power on the mound, there aren’t many clear and obvious games to target, with no matchup having a run total north of 8.5. This should allow for plenty of diverse lineups, low roster percentages across the board and easier paths to success when we identify the right spots.
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Pitching
Kris Bubic, KC vs. CWS ($9,800): I feel like this is the obvious pay-up given the matchup, so much so that I’d probably only use Bubic for cash lineups and look elsewhere in tournaments. The White Sox are striking out at a 27.9 percent clip, a number that rises to 30.9 against lefties. That said, they have had a bit more success when making contact against southpaws, slightly tempering expectations. There’s no BvP to report on here, so I’ll take my chances on Bubic against a lineup whose two biggest threats hit from the left side.
Bryce Elder, ATL vs. CLE ($8,600): I can’t believe just two starts in I’ve moved Elder from targeting bats against to targeting him on the mound. But the form is tremendous, as he’s not allowed an earned run to date while striking out 13 in as many innings. Offseason work with Greg Maddux appears to have unlocked something; Elder is throwing his slider 37.2 percent of the time and his sinker 26.7 percent. It’s resulted in a career-high 54.8 percent ground ball rate and career-low 25.8 percent fly ball rate. Sure, it’s a really small sample size but encouraging nonetheless. Cleveland has a marginal 23.8 percent K rate, hitting .211 with a .315 wOBA off righties.
Luis Gil, NYY at TB ($7,400): Personal opinion of course, but I believe Walker Buehler ($7,000) and Tatsuya Imai ($7,700) will be the popular pay-downs. I’m fading Buehler completely, as he’s yet to go five frames, but there’s nothing wrong with using Imai. Priced in between them, we have Gil making his season debut. He was terrific in spring training, not great in his only Triple-A appearance. The Rays don’t strike out a ton, but Gil usually does force that issue, giving him an elevated ceiling. Yes, it’s fair to question his workload. No pitcher in this tier is perfect, and Gil has shown he can combust. But the Rays have a low-ish 3.9 run expectancy, and Gil should get run support.
Top Targets
Milwaukee comes with the second-highest run expectancy at 5.4, but its production can come from anywhere, making them better in real life than in fantasy. Christian Yelich ($3,900) has six multi-hit efforts in 12 games and is 6-for-11 with two doubles and a homer off Jake Irvin, seemingly making him an easy set-it-and-forget-it option.
It looks like an Aaron Judge ($4,300) kind of day facing lefty Steven Matz. He had an absurd .493 wOBA, 225 wRC+ and .447 ISO off southpaws last season, and through 10 plate appearances in 2026, he’s at .594/.301/.667.
Bargain Bats
There are a ton of underpriced stars who have slumped out of the gates. Ronald Acuna ($3,000) at this number feels like a no-brainer and he had two doubles in his last outing. Fernando Tatis ($3,200) and Manny Machado ($3,100) make for a tremendous mini-stack against Tomoyuki Sugano.
Byron Buxton ($2,900) fits this mold as well. I’ll never not target against Patrick Corbin, and Buxton hit .308 with a .427 wOBA and 178 wRC+ off lefties last year.
If we’re backing Bubic to earn a win, it makes some sense to come back with some Royal bats to provide him support against Davis Martin. Maikel Garcia ($3,300) isn’t too expensive and has 10 hits in his last six games. Vinnie Pasquantino ($2,800) is 3-for-10 off Martin with two homers.
Stacks to Consider
Blue Jays vs. Simeon Woods Richardson (Twins): George Springer ($3,500), Vladimir Guerrero ($3,500), Daulton Varsho ($2,700)
Woods Richardson doesn’t have targetable splits; this season or last. The target is regression, he enters with a 2.31 ERA but 4.93 xFIP and is allowing 1.5 HR/9. Obviously incredibly limited, but Guerrero is 3-for-4 off the Twins’ starter. Varsho gives us some salary relief and likely allows us a standard 1-2-3 lineup stack. The Blue Jays come with a solid 5.2 run expectancy.
Mets vs. J.T. Ginn (Athletics): Luis Robert ($3,900), Francisco Lindor ($3,500), Bo Bichette ($2,800)
Ginn is making his first start of the year, so we don’t expect him to work deep, so we don’t care too much about handedness here. He’s allowed four runs in seven relief innings, striking out just four. Robert is priced a little rich for me, but the form justifies it. Lindor gives us a second high-end run producer. The third piece can be altered based on positional needs and budget, but I’ll side with Bichette’s potential. Jorge Polanco ($2,700) is a fine pivot, and I could be convinced to use him and Bichette with one of the two bigger names mentioned above. It would still be top of order, allowing us to benefit from whichever of Roberts or Lindor aren’t in your lineup. The A’s bullpen is rested, throwing just two innings yesterday, but it’s not an elite unit.
Try our FanDuel MLB Lineup Optimizer to discover more expert recommendations, customize the player pool, set exposure percentage and mass-enter DFS lineups.
The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it’s possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire. Chris Bennett plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: FanDuel: k30kittles, DraftKings: k30kittles.
