RADIO
We've got five slates on FanDuel today. The early-only slate starts at 6:35pm eastern time and includes the Yankees-Tigers and Reds-Brewers matchups. The all-day contest starts also at 6:35pm, but includes all 12 games to be played throughout the evening. The main slate begins at 7:05pm and includes 10 games, while the 8:05pm and 10:07pm slates include two and four games, respectively. I will cover players across all slates.
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for FanDuel on 4/2/2019. The lineup picks will range from some of the elite players to mid-priced options and value plays.
You can also read more DFS lineup picks for DraftKings and other sports too. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to reach out to me on Twitter @cjoreillyCLE.
FanDuel DFS Pitchers
Jose Berrios - P, MIN vs. KC (FD - $9700)
Jose Berrios made light work of the Cleveland Indians on Opening Day, and he'll look to put on an encore performance against a Royals lineup that isn't any better than the Tribe's. Kansas City may have scored 16 runs in three games to start the season against the White Sox, but they haven't faced a pitcher of Berrios's caliber yet. The Royals have five players with 12 or more plate appearances thus far, and three of them have posted strikeout rates of 23 percent or higher. This figures to play well in Berrios's favor after fanning 10 Indians hitters to start the season.
Masahiro Tanaka - P, NYY vs. DET (FD - $9900)
I'm all on board with paying up for pitchers on April 2, as a handful of the more reasonably-priced options are going against formidable lineups (or I simply don't trust them yet). After facing the lowly Baltimore Orioles to start 2019, Tanaka will get a similarly favorable matchup in the form of the equally hapless Detroit Tigers. Detroit's offense has gotten off to a rough start, as all nine of their players with 16-plus PAs boast a strikeout rate of at least 23 percent. They also collectively have one home run, which doesn't bode well if they plan to elevate against the ground-ball-happy Tanaka.
FanDuel DFS Infielders
Justin Smoak - 1B, TOR vs. BAL (FD - $3600)
Justin Smoak is what he is: a strikeout candidate who will occasionally blast a ball over the fence. If any pitcher is more likely to induce the latter result than the former, it's Orioles starter Andrew Cashner. Cashner opened the 2019 season getting knocked around by the Yankees, and although the Blue Jays aren't nearly as imposing a lineup, it's been quite awhile since we've seen Cashner deal effectively with any lineup on a routine basis. Look for the switch-hitting Smoak to provide low-cost value at first base so you can pay up at other positions.
Mike Moustakas - 2B, MIL vs. CIN (FD - $3900)
Until the Brewers' bats cool off, we might as well ride the flames of a lineup with the fifth-highest OPS in baseball to start 2019. Mike Moustakas is a strong candidate to keep the Milwaukee magic going against Anthony DeSclafani and the Reds. All five of Moustakas' hits thus far have come against righties, and four of them have been for extra bases (two home runs, two doubles). DeSclafani is making his first start of 2019, but he allowed lefties to knock him around to the tune of a .917 OPS last year.
Anthony Rendon - 3B, WAS vs. PHI (FD - $4000)
Anthony Rendon's inclusion here is more for intangible reasons than numerical ones. What better possible outcome is there for Nationals fans in Bryce Harper's return than for the remaining face of the franchise to go off against the Phillies' fourth starter, Zach Eflin? In what is sure to be an emotionally-charged atmosphere, I'm looking for Rendon to rise to the occasion. In the interest of providing numbers, he's got four hits in his last seven at-bats and is facing a pitcher coming off a 4.36 ERA in 2018. He's looking at a handful of RBI opportunities behind Juan Soto and Trea Turner, and it would be poetic to see his first home run of the season tonight.
Andrelton Simmons - SS, LAA vs. SEA (FD - $2600)
Andrelton Simmons has hit 21 of his 60 career home runs against lefties despite less than a quarter of his career plate appearances coming against southpaws. He'll face lefty Marco Gonzales in Tuesday's matchup with the Mariners. Gonzales has a .722 slugging percentage against when facing right-handed hitters to start 2019, having given up six doubles and two home runs. That number isn't exactly likely to come down against an Angels team with the best right-handed hitter in the game (Mike Trout), and Simmons is a sneaky value play with an opportunity to exploit it himself.
FanDuel DFS Outfielders
Michael Brantley - OF, HOU vs. TEX (FD - $3700)
Tuesday could be open season on Rangers starter Shelby Miller as he takes on a loaded Astros lineup, but give me one of the most consistent left-handed bats in the league as a safe DFS option. Michael Brantley is off to a fast start in his new uniform, posting an OPS of .916 to start the season, and hitting in the middle of Houston's lineup offers him an abundance of RBI opportunities. He won't break the bank in a pricey pool of outfielders, but he has the ability to significantly outperform his cost.
Mike Trout - OF, LAA vs. SEA (FD - $4900)
I alluded to the value of right-handed bats against Marco Gonzales earlier, so I'd be insane not to include the best hitter alive in this DFS discussion. Mike Trout has gone hitless in two consecutive games; it'd be foolish to bank on that streak getting to three. He also has yet to hit a home run in 2019, and the law of averages says that misfortune is going to come to an end in the near future as well. I'm all in on Trout having a big game against the Mariners tonight.
Joey Gallo - OF, TEX vs. HOU (FD - $3800)
You're not going to find me pushing for high-strikeout-rate guys going up against high-strikeout pitchers very often, but Joey Gallo presents a decent contrarian option as he faces Justin Verlander in his hitter-friendly home park tonight. It's been a small sample size, but Gallo brings some reason for optimism into this contest based on a few of his numbers at the plate: he's chasing 23.3 percent of pitches, down nearly 10 points from last season; his swinging strike rate is 12.3 percent, also down considerably; and his contact rate of 73.5 percent is significantly higher than it has been throughout his career. If anyone can cut those numbers back down to size, it's Verlander. But if anyone can provide the power for Gallo's 70-percent hard-hit rate, it's also Verlander. Gallo is a sneaky bet to run into one tonight, and considering the matchup, probably won't be highly used in DFS formats.
