DFS MLB Baseball Picks for April 15, 2021

 It’s a full day of baseball with four games starting at 12:00 p.m. ET. As a result, there are two slates tomorrow and I will be writing about the afternoon slate, which has five games and starts at 7:05 p.m. ET. Julio Urias is the pitcher that stands out above the rest but there are some good options below him. On a five-game slate, the pool is small but there are two pitchers I want to pick on. 

As for weather, everything looks lovely.

Here’s our 50-50 MLB DFS lineup for 4/15/21 (using DraftKings Values)

Salary Remaining          $000

Julio Urias ($10,100)

In two starts, Urias has allowed 12 hits, four earned runs, one home run, walked only one, and struck out nine in 12.2 innings. The K/9 is only 6.39 but the swinging strike rate is 12.1 percent. The control has been impeccable and he has a 2.99 FIP. I sound like a broken record but the Rockies are inept away from Coors Field. Against left-handed pitching, they are sixth in strikeouts.

Sean Murphy ($3,700)

We are picking on Tarik Skubal today. In the brief time I’ve been writing here, this will be my riskiest selection because Skubal has the ability to miss bats. In 32 innings last season, he posted a K/9 of 10.41 with a 12.9 percent swinging strike rate. With that said, he did allow 2.52 HR/9 and the Athletics are 28^th in strikeouts and 4^th in ISO against left-handed pitching. If the Athletics can knock out Skubal early, then they could feast on a porous bullpen as well. 

Josh Bell ($3,600)

Bell was the last piece to fit in. So far in two starts, Merrill Kelly has not been good. He’s allowed 14 hits, nine earned runs, two home runs, given up three walks, and struck out five. The swinging strike is 8.2 percent and the FIP is 5.64. Bell has only accrued nine plate appearances this season due to COVID-protocols. He could get the party started off right tonight.

Joey Wendle ($4,700)

The Rays stack didn’t work yesterday but I’m going right back to the well today. As the kids say, YOLO. Jordan Lyles is not a particularly good pitcher. The FIP is 6.14 and, while he’s struck out nine in 10 innings so far, he’s allowed 11 hits, five earned runs, and three home runs. As with Detroit, the Rangers have one of the worst bullpens. As for Wendle, he bats third in the lineup and has a .207 ISO with a .310/.333/.517 slash in 30 plate appearances so far this season.

Mark Canha ($4,100)

We are attacking Skubal with all the righties in the Athletics lineup. So far in his young career, in 31.2 innings against righties, he’s allowed 12 home runs, walked 14, and pitched to a .264/.343/.616 slash. Canha bats leadoff and has two home runs on the season. The strikeout rate is 19.6 percent, the walk rate is 12.5 percent, and the ISO is .213. 

Here’s our full 50-50 MLB DFS lineup for 4/12/21 (using DraftKings Values)

Salary Remaining          $000

Sean Manaea ($7,400)

Manaea has gotten off to a rough start. In 10 innings, he’s allowed 12 hits, six earned runs, and two home runs. The swinging strike is only 8.1 percent. I guess I’m feeling frisky today. It’s a five-game slate so….Manaea gets to pitch in the friendly confines of Oakland Colosseum and the Tigers are eighth in strikeouts against left-handed pitching.

Jed Lowrie ($4,700)

Lowrie bats third for the Athletics and has gotten off to a scorching start. He’s hit two home runs and driven in 11. The walk rate is 12.5 percent, the strikeout rate is 16.7 percent, the ISO is .214, and the slash is .333/.417/.548. The BABIP is elevated so the batting average will come down but he’s hot for now and is in the middle of the stack. 

Matt Chapman ($4,300)

Chapman has a lot of swing-and-miss to his game. The strikeout rate is 36 percent. But, but, but….he possesses immense power. If he gets a hold of one, it’s sayonnara. He has two home runs on the season but the slash is only .182/.260/.364. In his most recent game, he went 3-for-5 with a home run so maybe he’s heating up.

Ramon Laureano ($3,800)

The final piece of the Athletics stack. The slash is .306/.375/.500 with a .194 ISO. The batting average is fueled by a .370 BABIP so that will come down. He’s hot for now though. He’s hit one home run but he has eight stolen bases. I love players who can score fantasy goodies in multiple ways. 

Austin Meadows ($4,700)

Meadows will likely bat leadoff against Lyles. He only has a .237 batting average but the ISO is .316 and he’s clubbed three home runs so far on the season. He also has some stolen base equity and the 16.7 percent walk rate means that, like Laureano, Meadows can provide the fantasy goodies in multiple ways. 

Alternative Moves…

Kyle Schwarber – OF ($4,600 DK) If you are sick of the Rays, and I wouldn’t blame you after yesterday, then Schwarber is a good pivot off Meadows. He bats fourth and is facing Merrill Kelly. Schwarber strikes out a lot, 29.5 percent last season, but he has a ton of pop. Steamer has him projected for 28 home runs with a .257 ISO. 

Rich Hill– P ($9,000 DK)

Hill has given up eight earned runs in 10 innings in two starts. Yuck. With that said, the FIP is 4.14 compared to the 7.20 ERA and the K/9 is 9.9. The swinging strike rate is only 7.8 percent though. That low number and the elevated price kept me away from him but there’s some upside here because the Rangers are 4^th in strikeouts and 27^th in ISO against left-handed pitching.

Go win your lineup and tell us how you did. Twitter (@FantasyDFSX) is a good place for that.