Welcome to our MLB DFS Building Blocks, DraftKings and FanDuel picks for 4/28/22! 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
Tarik Skubal
I already was planning on writing up Skubal here today, and then the Twins lineup dropped and that was the cherry on top. If you have followed my content for the last few years, you know I’ve been very high on Tarik Skubal. He struggled mightily upon his call-up by the Tigers — and was pretty average last season. That being said, the stuff is what’s important and he has always had the stuff. He’s starting to put it together this season with a 25% strikeout rate, 11.5% swinging strike rate and walking under 2% of batters faced. Minnesota sits atop the AL Central, but that’s not exactly because they’ve been setting the world on fire. He gets a big boost with Byron Buxton out of the lineup today, and favorable pitching conditions with wind blowing in. The Twins starting lineup owns a combined 24% strikeout rate since the start of last season, with a scary low .289 wOBA. It’s a great spot for Skubal to break out here, and I love him in this price range.
Freddy Peralta
Peralta is a conviction play for me today on DraftKings, priced at just $7,700 against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Peralta had a slow start to 2022 like a lot of pitchers, but he rebounded in his last start tossing five innings of one run ball and striking out six. Most importantly, we saw the return of his slider. Last season, Peralta took a major leap forward due to the addition of a new slider that generated a 43% whiff rate. He was barely using it at all in his first two stars, but in that last start we saw him throw it more than any pitch other than his fastball. This pitch is 100% key to his success, and it appears he’s going to be throwing it again now. Maybe it was the rushed spring training, maybe it wasn’t, who knows? But, if he is using the slider early and often he is much better than a $7,700 pitcher especially against the Pirates. This lineup is striking out 24% of the time since the start of last season, and there is certainly upside here. I like Peralta in all formats today.
Outside of these two, we still have quality options including Justin Verlander against the Rangers. I have absolutely no issues with Verlander against this team, I just happen to have two guys priced below him higher on my board today — which usually doesn’t happen. Verly would rank third on my top pitchers list today, followed by Trevor Rogers who is still way too cheap on DK. This guy was a legitimate Cy Young candidate pre-season, and two bad starts have bumped him all the way down to $6,100? Take advantage of that price tag, because it won’t be that low for long. Those are really the only four SP’s I’m considering for main teams today.
Building Blocks
Aaron Judge
I write up Judge often, and he’s finally starting to heat up. Rule number one when it comes to the Yankees is to play them when they’re seeing the ball well, because most of these guys are the same types of hitters. Bruce Zimmermann has been solid this season due to some pitch mix changes, but it could benefit the Yankees having already seen him once in Baltimore. We also get a nice weather boost with big winds blowing out in Yankee Stadium. Judge hits the ball hard, especially against lefties and I think he and the Yankees righties are the top stack on today’s slate.
Joey Votto
I don’t think I’ve written up a Reds player yet this season, they’ve been dreadful and look to be the worst team in baseball. That’s the great thing about DFS, we get to play these terrible teams when they’re in good spots! Nick Martinez has been legitimately bad for the Padres this season, he owns an ERA over 4.00 runs, and is still due for regression with his expected ERA at just over 7.00. His biggest issue has been his fastball, that he allows a wOBA over .700 against. That would be fine if he stopped throwing it, but it continues to be one of his most-used pitches. Votto is a dominant fastball hitter — with a .426 wOBA and .397 ISO vs the pitch. I also like Jake Fraley leading off — and think a mini Reds stack is in order on Thursday.
Bold Call
The Reds combine for four homeruns!
Written by Ben Hossler (Follow @BenHossler on Twitter)
