Adam Zibuda What is up everyone, happy Wednesday. Check out the FanDuel MLB 4/21 breakdown below.
As usual, I will be going over 3 pitchers and 3 teams that we should be looking to stack in our FanDuel lineups. The main slate is only 6 games and locks a bit earlier than usual at 6:10 since there are quite a few games scattered throughout the day today.
The Aces
A. I am not going to lie, this main slate is horrible for pitching options. Thankfully on FanDuel, we only need to roster one of these guys as none of them are anything close to elite. Our highest upside option here is Tyler Mahle ($8,800), who will be pitching against Arizona. Mahle owns a 32% strikeout rate, which is miles ahead of every other option on this slate outside of the one arm that I will mention next. That K rate alone is enough for me to have interest, but he also sports the second lowest ERA, making him my number one choice.
B. As I alluded to above, the only other arm with substantial strikeout upside on this main slate is Ian Anderson ($7,800). Anderson is pitching against the Yankees, who are never strangers to striking out. Anderson actually has elite numbers across the board as he creates plenty of swings and misses, keeps batted balls on the ground, and limits hard contact. The Yankees can always take a pitcher deep multiple times in just one inning, but I like Anderson’s strikeout upside to offset any potential mistakes.
C. Michael Wacha ($7,000) is the final pitcher I will look to mix in to GPP lineups if I am MMEing tonight. Wacha has an average 26% strikeout rate, and has maintained solid control as he limits free passes to just a 6.5% rate. The line has not yet been released for this game, but I would also expect Wacha and the Rays to be slight favorites in this spot against the Royals. The ERA of 5.88 is not pretty, but the SIERA of 3.75 shows that he has been unlucky and should be due for some positive regression.
The Bases
A. I am hoping that one of my favorite stacks of the night will be lower owned because this team has been nothing short of brutal to start the year. The Cleveland Indians have not been a team that I have targeted much at all in 2021, but they get a juicy matchup against Jonathan Stiever who is the biggest gas can on the entire day, let alone just the main slate. When your ERA is nearly double digits, you know you should not be pitching in the major leagues. Load up on Cleveland tonight and hope that others are scared off due to their poor performance so far this season.
B. The Atlanta Braves are certainly not a team that is likely to fall under the radar due to their offensive output this early in the season, but potentially the name value of the starter that they are facing will suppress their ownership a bit. Corey Kluber is a pitcher that used to be elite, but his number have really tanked over the last few seasons. A 4.75 SIERA driven by a mediocre strikeout rate and a high walk rate of 14% will not get it done against this strong braves offense, especially if Acuna is back in the lineup.
C. My final targets of the night will be coming from the Chicago Cubs as they take swings against David Peterson and the New York Mets bullpen. Peterson does not allow much hard contact, so I will be looking to the Cubs hitters that produce the most hard contact in order to offset his largest strength somewhat. Javier Baez is just striking out nearly every at bat he has and the Cubs have been a major disappointment, but this is a get-right spot at what should be low ownership.
That is it for me today! Please also check out our projection model by clicking here. If you have any questions, I will be in our expert chat in Discord leading up to lock so feel free to shoot me a DM!
