It's the penultimate day of April, and Wednesday's schedule is bifurcated. After a busy afternoon of action there are eight games starting at 6:35 p.m. EDT or late. Here are my MLB DFS lineup recommendations for your second-to-last chance for DFS success in April. Bring on those May flowers!
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Pitching
Cristopher Sanchez, PHI vs. SFG ($9,900): Yes, Sanchez's last start went terribly, but other than that he has been a rare bright spot for the Phillies this season. The lefty has a 2.94 ERA, and a 2.60 FIP. Yes, the Phillies are in the bottom three in runs scored, but guess what? So are the Giants.
Cade Cavalli, WAS at NYM ($7,800): Only twice in six starts has Cavalli qualified for a win, but he has a 4.01 ERA paired with a 2.80 FIP. Additionally, his K/9 rate is up to 10.22. As for the Mets, well, they are a mess. They have the worst offense in MLB, and right now it isn't really a competitive race on that front.
Top Targets
I love the dedication to racking up triples that Corbin Carroll ($4,000) has. He has four this year already, not to mention three homers and four swiped bags. Brandon Sproat has a 6.45 ERA, and lefties have hit .316 against him. Maybe Carroll can even add another triple to the mix!
After a slow start on the power front, Bobby Witt ($3,300) recently hit his first homer alongside his first triple. That's encouraging, especially given that he's hit .283 with nine doubles and 10 stolen bases. Facing Luis Severino in Sacramento should help. Last year Severino had a 6.01 ERA at home, and this year that is up to 7.15.
Bargain Bats
The elite power for a second baseman has been on display by Brandon Lowe ($3,300) once again. He's hit seven home runs and slugged .515 in his first season with the Pirates, and he had two 30-homer seasons with the Rays. Andre Pallante is a righty, and he also has a 5.17 ERA over the last two seasons as a full-time starter.
It's time for Eduardo Rodriguez to get a bit of a reality check, and Gary Sanchez ($3,200) could play a role in that. As a righty, he's likely to get playing time, especially given that he's hit five homers this season. Obviously, Sanchez has left behind being a regular in MLB, but since 2024 he's slugged .465 against lefties. The reality check is likely for Rodriguez because has a 4.98 FIP compared to a 2.89 ERA after having an ERA over 5.00 in each of the last two seasons. Plus, his K/BB ratio this year is all the way down to 1.50.
Stacks to Consider
Detroit at Atlanta (JR Ritchie): Kevin McGonigle ($3,400), Riley Greene ($3,300), Kerry Carpenter ($2,900)
The 22-year-old Ritchie has made one MLB start. Pitching at the Nationals in seven innings he had seven strikeouts, but also five hits and two walks. He only allowed two runs, but they were both on solo homers. Now, imagine if anybody had been on the base paths. To that end, he has a 2.57 ERA, but a 5.69 FIP. Ritchie pitched well in Triple-A, but this is not Triple-A any longer. Lefties got all five hits against him in his MLB debut, and the Tigers have a trio of lefties well worth a stack.
Thus far, McGonigle has lived up to the hype. He's slashed .327/.417/.518 with 11 doubles, two triples, two homers, and two stolen bases. Turns out he was an elite prospect for a reason! Greene started a bit slow, but that's now behind him. He seems a bit more patient, so his power is a bit down, but he has eight doubles and three homers paired with a .395 OBP. Carpenter has six home runs, all against righties, of course. Since 2024 he's slugged .559 against right-handed pitchers.
Reds vs. Rockies (Tomoyuki Sugano): Elly De La Cruz ($4,300), Sal Stewart ($4,000), TJ Friedl ($2,600)
Aside from his 3.42 ERA, Sugano looks much the same in his second MLB season. He has a 6.49 K/9 rate, a 1.71 HR/9 rate, and a 4.83 FIP. Yes, he's with Colorado now, but do recall he played for Baltimore last season. Lefties and righties have hit Sugano evenly well (.270 average versus .272 average), making for a lot of stack options. I did want at least one lefty against a right-handed pitcher, though.
The speed remains for De La Cruz, but his power has ticked up. He's swiped eight bags, but he also has 10 homers. The switch-hitting shortstop has also been much better against lefties, but he's slugged .501 against righties since 2024 and that has driven his offense. Yeah, it seems like Stewart's bat is going to play at the MLB level. Count me as being all in on a rookie who has slashed .290/.381/.598 with nine homers and even seven stolen bases. Friedl is off to a slow start, but he still has four doubles and four stolen bases. Last year he had double-digit homers and stolen bases, and he also had a .364 OBP.
