The Monday, April 1 DraftKings fantasy baseball slate features seven games. Get a head start on the competition by checking out the best MLB DFS stud and value picks for each position.
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PITCHER
Stud
Sean Manea, New York Mets vs. Detroit Tigers ($7,800) — Studs are typically more expensive. This is a rare occasion. The 2024 MLB season has just begun. Nearly every team is on the back end of their rotation. Saving at stud seems like a suspicious strategy, but it’s acceptable at the start of the season.
Veterans do not always have great springs. They have nothing to prove. Manea might have something to prove. He had a terrific spring for his new team. He struck out 21 in 16.2 innings and posted a 3.24 ERA. He gave up a little bit too much contact but he did a decent job of keeping the ball on the ground (0.89 G0/AO). His 4.44 ERA and 4.01 xFIP in 2023 weren’t great, but his 9.8 K/9 is appealing on this slate. The Tigers had a good opening weekend but they played the White Sox. Detroit projects to be a .500 team. This is not a tough early-season matchup for the veteran southpaw.
Value
Ronel Blanco, Houston Astros vs. Toronto Blue Jays ($6,500) — An Astro pitcher isn’t supposed to be this cheap. Astros aren’t supposed to be career minor leaguers. Justin Verlander is on the IL and Blanco seized the opportunity to snag a rotation role this spring. The 30-year-old was one of the best pitchers in the MLB this spring. He didn’t allow a single run in his five outings (15.2 innings) and struck out 18 while maintaining a 0.64 WHIP and .118 avg. against. Spring Training stats are risky, but the consequences aren’t as severe on Monday. The once-a-year circumstance of opening the season creates a soft starting pitcher slate. Blanco’s value opens up more bats on a slate filled with the four and five rotation guys pitching. Blanco is one of those 4-5 guys, but he posted a 9.95 K/9 in 2022 and 9.0 K/9 in 2023. He may surrender some runs to the Jays, but the Ks are appealing in MLB DFS,
INFIELD
Stud
Mookie Betts, Los Angeles Dodgers vs. San Francisco Giants ($6,500) — Can you get there? Is the salary available? That’s the only question. Betts entered the 2024 season as an NL MVP favorite. After a week, he is the favorite. Through six games, Betts is rocking a .691 wOBA, .636 ISO and 311 wRC+. Here’s the early season reminder. A .320 wOBA (Weighted On-Base Average) is good and .400 is elite. A .140 ISO (Isolated Power) is average and .250 is elite. A 100 wRC+ (Weighted Runs Created Plus) is average and 160 is elite. Do the math.
Max Muncy, Los Angeles Dodgers vs. San Francisco Giants, ($4,500) — Stacking the Dodgers will be popular with the Giants starting a rookie. Stacking L.A. isn’t easy. Muncy makes it work. P Keaton Winn ($7,300) may develop into a solid pitcher but all rookies struggle. All pitchers struggle against the Dodgers. When the Giants’ free agent singings enter the rotation, Winn will go to the pen or the minors. Muncy is off to a good start (.385 wOBA), and he hit right-handed pitching to the tune of a .371 wOBA, .281 ISO and 136 wRC+ in 2023.
Value
Brendan Donovan, St. Louis Cardinals at San Diego Padres ($3,500) — First of all, batting first is first for our DFS finds. Donovan is safe for five at-bats and possibly six as a road team hitter. The left-handed batter had a .365 wOBA, .165 ISO and 129 wRC+ vs. right-handed pitching in 2023. His spring wasn’t great, but the mercurial DFS mind trusts Spring Training until it doesn’t. P Matt Waldron ($7,600) surrenders home runs (1.96 HR/9 in 41.1 innings in 2023). That happens with the pitch-to-contact approach (6.75 K/9). The Cards are not great, but they’re cheap and face the back end of a rotation.
OUTFIELD
Stud
Lourdes Gurriel, Arizona Diamondbacks vs. New York Yankees ($5,900) — All eyes are on the Dodgers. The rest of the DFS focus will gaze at the familiar stars. Guirriel could go overlooked. He doesn’t have the famous name but he has the stats. In the first four games of the season, he’s scored 32, 16, 23 and 19 DKFP. Here are the counting stats: three homers, two doubles, nine RBI, six runs and a stolen base.
Teoscar Hernandez, Los Angeles Dodgers vs. San Francisco Giants ($4,400) — This is another stud for the Dodgers that is on the borderline of being classified as a value pick. As a Dodger, this is a value pick. Muncy and Hernandez are key to the L.A. stack on Monday. Hernandez scored 32 DKFP on Friday and 23 DKFP on Sunday. Monday’s salaries were released before the Dodgers’ Sunday night win. This will be the last day that Teoscar is a steal.
Value
Will Brennan, Cleveland Guardians at Seattle Mariners ($2,700) — Punting with a value pick in the outfield is acceptable. It is appropriate on this slate with expensive studs in stackable situations with inferior arms on the mound across the league. The left-handed hitter is batting in the middle of the order and has the splits on his side. His numbers aren’t amazing, but they work at this price. He’s hit in two of three, walked, stole a base and drove in one run.
Ceddanne Rafaela, Boston Red Sox at Oakland Athletics ($4,000) — It’s an age-old story. A young hitter changes his approach and suddenly he’s a star. Rafaela had big-time power in the minors, but he needs to be more selective to make it in the majors. That was the story coming out of Spring Training. Boston’s No. 2 prospect has not walked once and struck out five times in 12 at-bats. It’s a work in progress. Rafaela has plus power and plus speed. In the minors in 2023, his ISO was .307 at Triple-A and he stole 36 bases in his time between AA and AAA ball.
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