Penned By: @Ryan_Humphries on Twitter/X and LineStar Chat.

• Rate LineStarApp on the App store and get a shoutout on Twitter from @LineStarApp official account!

• Have questions? Check out the LineStar Tutorial Wiki.

• LineStar’s 2025 MLB DFS Primer & Strategy Guide ⚾

Top DFS Offers 4/8/25 💸

Our editors found the top deals in sports-books so you don’t have to! Tapping below links will help support LineStar through an affiliate referral.

• Sleeper DFS - Deposit Match up to $100 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

• Underdog DFS - 50% Deposit Match up to $250 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

• Chalkboard DFS - Deposit Match up to $100 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Must be 18+ (some states may require 21+) and be present in an eligible state; if you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER.

OnDeck MLB DFS & Prop Bet Podcasts 🎙️

Like, Subscribe, and Comment @ LineStar YouTube channel! You never know when we’ll shout you out or give you something cool. New episodes drop Mon-Fri feat. hosts Shannon Sommerville & Tyler Wiemann! Every episode is quick, informative, & easy to watch.

Main Slate Rundown 🏟

All 30 MLB teams are on the diamond today, and we’ll have a nine-game main slate lined up for this evening! You may notice that this was originally scheduled to be a 10-game slate, but due to weather, the first pitch for the Marlins/Mets game was moved up by three hours (4:10 ET). Players from that game will not accrue fantasy points on the main slate so make sure you don’t accidentally end up with any of them in your lineups! There will be several aces on the mound today, some intriguing value pitching, and plenty of enticing hitters/stacks. Coors Field is also in play. Weather looks to be very cooperative overall, especially with the MIA/NYM game nixed from the docket. Let’s get into it! Best of luck!

Main slate match-ups with implied run totals and moneyline odds:

💣4/8 Dinger Report💣

Today’s Top Dinger Odds (sorted by LineStar projected odds)

Main Slate Weather Outlook 💨🌦️☁️

Check LineStar's MLB Daily Dashboard to see an overview of the most up-to-date game forecasts.

• LAA at TB (7:05 ET, 8.5 O/U): 70 degrees and 10 mph winds OUT to right. Nice hitting conditions for this time of year.

• PHI at ATL (7:15 ET, 7.0 O/U): Mid-50s temps with 10 mph winds OUT to left. Fairly cold by Atlanta standards, and this is a potential pitcher’s duel between Wheeler and Sale, so the low seven-run total makes sense.

• TEX at CHC (7:40 ET, 8.0 O/U): By far the coldest game of the day with temps in the 30s throughout and winds near 10 mph, mostly blowing right-to-left, a bit IN from right. Still, better conditions than these teams played in last night.

• BAL at ARI (9:40 ET, 9.5 O/U): The roof will be OPEN at Chase Field this evening. Bump to bats.

• CIN at SF (9:45 ET, 7.5 O/U): Temps in the 50s and winds around 10 mph blowing OUT to center. However, as a reminder, Oracle Park’s design mitigates wind impact so unless the forecast shows upwards of 20 mph winds in San Fran, we can usually ignore the wind factor in this ballpark.

Pitchers to Consider ⚾

Chris Sale (LHP), ATL | DK: $9.3k, FD: $9.9k | vs. PHI

This may be one of the better pitching duels we’ll see this season and it’s coming in the second week of the season! Reigning NL Cy Young winner Chris Sale takes on the runner-up in NL Cy Young voting, Zach Wheeler. You can build a strong case for either pitcher in this one, and the most logical argument would probably be for Wheeler, who has looked dominant in his two starts this season and should be able to take care of a sputtering Braves offense.

But we’ll give the spotlight to Sale for a few reasons. First, he’s cheaper and checks in under $10k on both sites. Second, while he hasn’t had the same success as Wheeler through his first two starts of the new season, Sale’s rough 5.40 ERA is backed up by a much better 2.29 xERA and 3.35 xFIP. He has also generated a 27.9% kRate against just a 2.3% BB% and he’ll be on his home mound for the first time this season.

In 125 PA vs. LHPs so far this year, the Phillies have been right around league average with a .700 OPS and 103 wRC+. However, their 28.0% kRate vs. LHPs has been the 6th-highest mark in MLB. Also, if you’re a BvP believer, you won’t find many pitcher/hitter matchups that are as one-sided in favor of the pitcher as Sale’s versus the Phillies. In 86 PA versus the current Phillies’ roster, Sale has racked up a monster 40.7% kRate while allowing a .218 AVG, .275 wOBA, and 3.5% BB%. Both Sale and Wheeler should be on the DFS radar today but the case for Sale [over Wheeler] is closer than some may realize. It’s also somewhat unseasonably cool in Atlanta this evening, which is another favorable indication of an impending pitcher’s duel.

Cole Ragans (LHP), KC | DK: $8.1k, FD: $9.3k | vs. MIN

Ragans turned in an outstanding 2024 season (186.1 IP, 3.14 ERA, 3.46 xFIP, 1.14 WHIP, 29.3% kRate) but was a little rusty out of the gates on Opening Day (vs. CLE: 5.0 IP, 5 H, 2 BB, 3 ER, 3 K, 83 pitches). However, he bounced back in his second start against the Brewers last Wednesday, pitching through five one-run innings and snagging 10 Ks on 97 pitches, which was a much more 2024 Ragans-esque pitching line.

The major draw for Ragans today will be his matchup with the Twins, who have struggled mightily early on against lefty pitchers. It’s only a 76 PA sample size vs. LHPs but, in that time, the Twins have accounted for an abysmal .071 AVG, .273 OPS, .134 wOBA, -14 wRC+, and 32.9% kRate. Minnesota has five times as many strikeouts (25) as hits (5) versus LHPs so far in 2025. They’re not going to be this awful against southpaws all season, but it’s a matchup worth exploiting for the time being.

Landen Roupp (RHP), SF | DK: $7.3k, FD: $7.3k | vs. CIN

Interesting spot here for Roupp, who checks in at an affordable $7,300 on both sites. Roupp made his MLB debut last season where he covered 50.1 IP, mostly out of the bullpen before switching over to a starting role late in the season. He put up solid overall numbers (3.58 ERA, 4.17 xFIP, .226 opp AVG, 21.7% kRate) though he did struggle with walks (12.0% BB%). Roupp made his season debut last Wednesday versus the Astros and, though he only covered four innings on 83 pitches while allowing three runs on four hits and four walks, he garnered eight strikeouts in that time, resulting in a 40.0% kRate. Roupp put up an excellent 30.4% kRate across 12.0 IP in Spring Training while issuing just a single walk in that time.

The Reds’ offense has generally been M.I.A. lately. In six of their last seven games, they have either scored two runs or have been shut out entirely. Against RHPs in that seven-game span (166 PA), they’re hitting just .187 with a .535 OPS, .238 wOBA, 45 wRC+, and 25.9% kRate. This will be Roupp’s first home start of the season at the hitter-friendly Oracle Park and if he can ramp up to around 90 pitches and avoid those pesky walks, his newfound strikeout upside may end him making him the best SP value on the slate.

Other Pitchers to Consider

Zack Wheeler (RHP), PHI | DK: $10.5k, FD: $10.8k | at ATL

Dylan Cease (RHP), SD | DK: $10.3k, FD: $10k | at ATH

Shane Baz (RHP), TB | DK: $8.6k, FD: $9.6k | vs. LAA

Freddy Peralta (RHP), MIL | DK: $7.8k, FD: $9k | at COL

Jameson Taillon (RHP), CHC | DK: $6.2k, FD: $8.3k | vs. TEX

Team Stacks to Target 🎯

Disclaimer: Stacking in MLB DFS is not a requirement but it is a very common strategy used to take down GPPs. This strategy is covered in more detail in the MLB DFS strategy guide linked in the header at the top of this newsletter. Check out the MLB StackFinder on LineStar.

Obligatory Coors Field Stacks

Milwaukee Brewers vs. Kyle Freeland (LHP), COL

Colorado Rockies vs. Freddy Peralta (RHP), MIL

Non-Coors Stacks

Baltimore Orioles vs. Merrill Kelly (RHP), ARI

Kelly got shelled (or torpedo-batted to death?) in New York last week, giving up 9 ER on nine hits (three HR) and three walks. However, he held a potent Cubs lineup in check in his season debut, pitching 5.1 one-run innings. So time will tell as to which version of Merrill Kelly shows up tonight. He won’t have an enviable task trying to keep the Orioles’ hitters at bay. The Orioles have ranked top-10 in AVG, OPS, wOBA, ISO, wRC+, and HardContact% against RHPs this season and they recently got 2024 All-Star SS Gunnar Henderson back in the mix after he began the season on the IL. The D-Backs do possess an excellent bullpen that currently leads the MLB with a 2.59 xFIP, so most of the damage may need to be done against Kelly while he’s out there. But there’s no question that the O’s bring ample stack upside to the table. The roof at Chase Field (#5 hitter’s park so far in 2025) will be open once again tonight, which is a bonus for the bats.

Favorite BAL Bats: Gunnar Henderson, Tyler O’Neill, Cedric Mullins

Bargain Bat: Ryan O’Hearn

Tampa Bay Rays vs. Kyle Hendricks (RHP), LAA

Kyle Hendricks is just sort of “a guy” at this point in his career. He’ll get rocked about as often as he pitches five or six decent innings. I’m thinking the latter will be the outcome today. Hendricks isn’t a high strikeout guy and teams are going to make plenty of contact on his pitches. The Rays have posted some quality numbers against RHPs thus far, ranking 4th in AVG (.283), 11th in OPS (.751), 9th in wRC+ (118), and they’ve had the 3rd lowest kRate (17.5%). The Angels have also deployed a bottom-five bullpen (5.58 ERA, 4.84 xFIP, 1.73 WHIP) and the hitting conditions at George M. Steinbrenner Field are about as good as you’ll see on this slate with temps in the 70s and 10 mph winds blowing out to right. The bats are pretty cheap top-to-bottom in this Rays order so stacking them up will be a good way to get one (or two, on DraftKings) high-end pitchers into lineups.

Favorite TB Bats: Brandon Lowe, Jonathan Aranda, Junior Caminero

Bargain Bat: Jake Mangum

Low-Owned Stack That Just Might Work Out 🤔

Chicago Cubs vs. Patrick Corbin (LHP), TEX

Anyone who has played MLB DFS for a decent amount of time knows that Patrick Corbin is often going to be someone we’ll look to stack against -- he has had no lower than a 5.20 ERA in each of the last four seasons. However, the cold conditions in Chicago seem to be swaying folks away from Cubs’ bats as 8-of-9 hitters in the projected lineup have a ≤ 5% pOwn%. Temps and conditions were even worse in Chicago yesterday than they’ll be tonight and the Rangers were rolling out a better pitcher [than Corbin] in Nathan Eovaldi, and the Cubs still managed to put a seven-spot on the board with 10 hits. The Cubs currently rank 7th in MLB in OPS (.817), wOBA (.359), and wRC+ (133) and they’ve averaged 6.00 runs/gm at home thus far. This will be Corbin’s season debut, so he may have more rust to shake off than usual, and he’ll be backed up by a Rangers’ bullpen that hasn’t been awful, but checks in at the middle of the pack in most meaningful pitching metrics.

Favorite CHC Bats: Kyle Tucker, Seiya Suzuki, Nico Hoerner

Bargain Bat: Matt Shaw/Carson Kelly

Home Run Calls of the Day 💣

Make sure you’re following @LineStarApp on Twitter/X. Retweet the Home Run Calls of the Day tweet for your chance to win prizes!

Ryan’s PrizePicks Power Play of the Day

Here is a two-pick “Power Play” I’m liking for today's MLB action over on PrizePicks! Nothing is ever a guarantee to hit but I put my own money on these picks so I don't just lightly throw them out there without believing they'll cash!

No picks from me today but Tyler & Shannon have some great recommendations in the props video posted at the top of this newsletter!

🔥 Props AI 🔥

In LineStar’s ongoing mission to improve, innovate, and help you reel in some cash, we are introducing Props AI for MLB! This tool can help you find value and mispriced odds on player props from sportsbooks and, more specifically, for PrizePicks and UnderDog Fantasy!

Speaking of props, put the Props AI tool to use by signing-up for UnderDog Fantasy for a month of LineStar Premium (Promo code: LINESTAR). Plus deposit match for new customers.

Best of luck out there today, everyone!