Welcome to our MLB DFS Building Blocks, DraftKings and FanDuel picks for 4/16/22! In this article, I’ll break down by top overall plays for today’s main slate. Last year was an extremely big year for the Karma team in MLB, and we are looking to continue that success in 2022. I will be providing Core Plays for every main slate (and day baseball) this season — you can gain access to that as well as our premium discord here. You can also try out the Core Plays package with a $5 daily pass. Let’s get to the plays…
Pitcher
Justin Verlander
Verlander was my AL Cy Young pick for 2022, and he didn’t show any signs that he had missed 18 months action while striking out seven in his season debut. This is an extremely watered down pitching slate, and I think Verlander is the highest-upside option. Aside from looking sharp in that first start, he was able to hit 80 pitches which means he should push into the mid-90’s tonight. Seattle is an up and coming team, but I’m really not scared of much in this lineup. We lack any sort of real safety on this slate outside of JV, and I’m just not going to overthink it and jam him in on Saturday.
Julio Urias
As I noted above, we don’t have much safety (or upside) at this position today, but Urias is the clear second-best when it comes to actual pitching ability. Urias doesn’t have massive strikeout ability, but a near 26% strikeout rate with elite control gets the job done more than often. Unlike Verlander, we really can’t count on mid to upper 90’s in pitches from him, but I also wouldn’t say he has a “short leash” — there is just some more risk baked in given how the Dodgers use their pitcher. All-in-all, it’s a solid spot against the Reds and he is the clear number two for me today, but I think he will come in way under-owned. Most will be locking in Verlander and a cheap SP2 with Coors bats a priority – so pivoting to a double-ace build could be smart in tournaments.
Jameson Taillon
I think a lot of people will be focused on the big name of Noah Syndergaard here tonight, but I’ll side with Jameson Taillon against the Orioles. It’s more of my style to take a shot on the tantalizing upside of Hunter Greene, but I can’t play any pitcher against this Dodgers lineup right now. Thor is a guy I’ve never been a huge fan of, he doesn’t strike guys out enough to garner my DFS interest especially if he’s going to see ownership. That’s not to say Taillon is a top pitcher by any means, but he has more strikeout ability and a good match-up against the Orioles. This is one of the worst pitching slates I can remember, so locking in 20-20 points from your two pitchers is more than enough for me tonight. My main team will likely be Verly paired with Taillon, and Verlander on FanDuel.
Building Blocks
Joey Gallo
It’s a Coors Field slate, and with it being a low number of games, most people will simply be jamming in full stacks of that game. Obviously that’s probably the preferred cash game route, but instead of highlighting the obvious, I will write up two of my favorite value plays. Gallo sticks out to me as too cheap on both sites, against Tyler Wells and the Orioles. Wells has survived vs left-handed batters over the last few seasons — but that comes with a scary 40% hard-hit rate and 50% fly-balls. Gallo has been locked in at the plate to start this season owning a 57% hard-hit rate through just over a week of action. We know he has slate-breaking power, and I think he is one of the better one-offs tonight.
Gavin Lux
Lux is another player I’ve noticed has been absolutely locked in thus far. This is a former top prospect, so buying into this fast start is a lot easier. Over the first week and a half of games — Lux has posted a 94 mph average exit velocity and a wOBA over .470. He’s been adding steals, as well, and is coming in low-owned nightly due to his low spot in the Dodgers order. The problem with that philosophy is, while typically being down in the order is a negative, the Dodgers lineup is so good that it can be viewed as a positive as it increases the likelihood of guys on base in front of him. Cody Bellinger is projecting for high OWN% tonight, but give me Gavin Lux as my cheap Dodgers bat.
Bold Call
Gavin Lux posts 5 total bases!
Written by Ben Hossler (Follow @BenHossler on Twitter)
