DFS MLB DraftKings GPP Lineup Advice: Thursday (Main) 4/12/18

With only four games on the DraftKings main slate, ownership will be a massive factor to take down some significant cash. There are few pitchers to chose, but a lot of interesting, cheap hitters.
As always, make sure that there are no weather concerns in the games you look at and check the updated lineups from each team.

Pitchers

Jose Berrios (MIN): $11,000 vs. CWS
The far and away best pitcher with most upside on the slate is the Minnesota ace. He is still young and raw but is electrifying. He has 10K upside against a strikeout-prone White Sox team. He is coming off a start where he allowed five earned runs, six hits against through just four innings, but he still managed seven strikeouts. The Twins hitters should provide more than enough runs to support Berrios for a win which gives the 23-year-old a nice floor. The massive strikeout upside will also provide the highest ceiling of any pitcher throwing tonight.

Chad Bettis (COL): $6,000 @ WAS
For low-ownership and salary relief, I am looking at Chad Bettis. He is certainly not a high-upside starting pitcher, however, he is one of the safest hurlers to give you 12-15 fantasy points. If he can limit the base on balls, Bettis should be able to navigate through this lineup with a ton of ground balls. Bryce Harper is terrifying, but otherwise, there is not a lot of big hitters who will damage Bettis with one swing of the bat. There are only eight starting pitchers to look at this evening and all of them have risk attached. As a “punt” option, Bettis shouldn’t sink a lineup.

Hitting Stacks

Chalk – High Owned Stacks

1.) Washington Nationals
The Nats have the highest implied run total tonight. Vegas is a great way to determine ownership trends and Chad Bettis is not a pitcher to shy away from. Bryce Harper is still a great one-off selection, but he will likely see 30% or higher. Especially with the NYY/BOS weather concerns, there won’t be enough high-end hitters to pay up for. This is an easy fade for me as I do not eat high-owned hitting chalk.

2.) LA Angels
With the excitement behind the newly refined Angels team, the ownership will follow suit. The Angels travel to Kansas City to take on a declining pitcher, Ian Kennedy. The Royals starting pitcher will have a tough time getting outs against a pesky and powerful team. Although there will be high ownership of a lot of the Angels bats, they are still a great stack in a night with few options.

3.) Minnesota Twins
My favorite team stack is the Minnesota Twins. Unfortunately, they exploded yesterday with eight runs against the Astros. This will gain attention and ownership. The Twins are a great hitting team with plenty of dangerous bats throughout the lineup. Lucas Giolitto is a young prospect who has struggled to find much success in the MLB. He is also one of the worst pitchers at holding base runners. Through his first two starts, Giolitto has allowed three stolen bases. The 1-5 hitters in this lineup are all in play tonight.

Low Owned Stack

Colorado Rockies
With everyone looking at the Nationals and Gio Gonzalez, the Rockies will fall under the radar. Once this team leaves Coors Field, their ownership drops dramatically. Nolan Arenado is still an elite hitter and crushes left-handed pitchers. Trevor Story had a .353 ISO against lefties (.170 vs righties). Charlie Blackmon is still one of the most feared hitters in the MLB. This will not be an easy game for starter Gio Gonzalez and the Rockies are worth taking a shot on at very low ownership.

Position-by-position

Catcher
Chris Iannetta $3,400 @ WAS
Martin Maldonado $2,900 @ KC
Jason Castro $2,900 vs. CWS

First Base
Ian Desmond (narrative game) $4,100 @ WAS
Lucas Duda $3,500 vs. LAA
Luis Valbuena $3,200 @ KC
Logan Morrison $3,000 vs. CWS

Second Base
Zack Cozart $4,800 @ KC
Brian Dozier $4,400 vs. CWS
DJ LeMahieu $3,900 @ WAS
Whit Merrifield $3,700 vs. LAA

Third Base
Nolan Arenado $4,700 @ WAS
Mike Moustakas $4,100 vs. LAA
Miguel Sano $3,900 vs. CWS

Shortstop
Trea Turner $4,800 vs. COL
Andrelton Simmons $3,800 @ KC
Trevor Story $3,700 @ WAS

Outfield 
Bryce Harper $5,800 vs. COL
Mike Trout $5,700 @ KC
Justin Upton $5,100 @ KC
Shohei Ohtani $4,700 @ KC
Jorge Soler $3,000 vs. LAA
Max Kepler $3,000 vs. CWS
Eddie Rosario $2,900 vs. CWS
Byron Buxton $2,900 vs. CWS
Chris Young $2,700 @ KC

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