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Note: No DFS video today!

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Main Slate Rundown 🏟

We flip the calendar to April with a busy day of baseball on deck. While there will be a couple of evening games, most of the action will take place in the afternoon window (morning for West Coasters). Both DraftKings and FanDuel are rolling out 10-game main slates, though the game pools differ a bit. DraftKings gets underway at 12:15 ET and excludes the three late-afternoon games (DET/ARI, SF/SD, NYY/SEA). FanDuel starts at 1:05 ET, excludes the three earliest games (ATH/ATL, TEX/BAL, PIT/CIN), and includes those late-afternoon matchups. The general focus of this newsletter will be on the seven overlapping games between both DK and FD slates.

Many rotations are turning back over to the top today, so we’ll see plenty of aces on the mound. That could make offense a bit tougher to come by in several spots, and adds an interesting wrinkle to the slate — which ace(s) get blown up?! Let’s see what we can cook up. Best of luck!

As a quick note: this newsletter is being put together Tuesday night so I can schedule it to go out early Wednesday morning. Be sure to double-check the latest weather updates and confirmed lineups, as some information below could change before lock.

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

💣4/1 Dinger Report💣

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

Main Slate Weather Outlook 💨🌦️☁️

Check LineStar's MLB Daily Dashboard to see an overview of the most up-to-date game forecasts. Note: I’m not a meteorologist so don’t treat these forecast previews as gospel! It’s always best to run a pre-game weather check for any at-risk games.

Weather Key: 🟡 Chance for delay | 🟠 Elevated delay / PPD risk | 🔴 High PPD risk
🔵 Favorable for pitchers (cold/wind in) | 🟢 Favorable for hitters (warm/wind out)

• ATH at ATL (12:15 ET, 8.5 O/U): DK slate only. 75-80 degrees with 5-10 mph winds IN from right.

• TEX at BAL (12:35 ET, 8.5 O/U): DK slate only. Warm temps around 80 degrees and 10 mph winds OUT to right.

• PIT at CIN (12:40 ET, 7.5 O/U): DK slate only. Scattered storms in the area. The worst of it looks to hold north of the ballpark, but there could still be some significant weather here. A delay or postponement is in play here. Check radar closer to first pitch.

• WAS at PHI (1:05 ET, 8.5 O/U): Rain moves in late afternoon/early evening (likely around 5 pm) so they should be able to get this game in before any bad weather hits the ballpark. 80 degrees, 10 mph winds OUT to right.

• NYM at STL (1:15 ET, 8.0 O/U): More scattered storms expected here. A PPD seems unlikely, but a delay/late start isn’t out of the picture. Cooler temps in the 60s with light winds IN from center.

• LAA at CHC (2:20 ET, TBD O/U): The large line of storms affecting other games should hold south of Chicago. Cold temps around 40 degrees with 15 mph winds IN from left. There’s no over/under released for this game at the time of writing, but I’ll guess it to be 6.5 or 7.0 runs. Terrible conditions for bats, great for pitchers.

• DET at ARI (3:40 ET, 8.0 O/U): FD slate only. The Chase Field roof is scheduled to be open. Temps in Phoenix will be around 80 degrees. Slight bump for bats.

• SF at SD (4:10 ET, 7.5 O/U): FD slate only. 70 degrees, 10 mph winds OUT to right.

Pitchers to Consider ⚾

Cristopher Sánchez (LHP), PHI | DK: $9.2k, FD: $10.8k | vs. WAS

Sánchez got off to a superb start on Opening Day, tossing six shutout innings against the Rangers while allowing just three hits, no walks, and striking out ten on 87 pitches. He induced a 63.6% GB rate and showed solid command with a 29.9% CSW%. Sánchez will draw a second straight home start, which is where he’s typically at his best (+37.4% FPPG at home).

The Nationals have also gotten off to a hot start against lefties, but we’re still dealing with very small sample sizes early in the season. Across 65 plate appearances vs. LHPs, they’ve posted a 161 wRC+, though that’s been fueled by an unsustainably high .405 BABIP. The strikeout rate remains elevated at 27.7%, and three projected hitters (James Wood, Brady House, Joey Wiemer) carried kRates north of 31% against LHPs last season. Philadelphia (-271 ML) is one of the heaviest favorites on the slate, so Sánchez is well-positioned to deliver another strong outing while putting himself in line for the win.

Sandy Alcantara (RHP), MIA | DK: $8k, FD: $9k | vs. CWS

Alcantara put together some sharp outings over the final month and a half of last season and picked up right where he left off in his first start of the ’26 campaign. It certainly helped that he was facing the Rockies away from Coors, but he still took advantage of the matchup and delivered seven scoreless innings with five strikeouts. He generated an excellent 15.1% SwStr% and 30.1% CSW%, but perhaps most impressive was the efficiency. Alcantara needed just 73 pitches to get through seven innings and likely could have pushed for a complete game if not for it being his first start of the season. While he may not be fully back to “prime Alcantara,” he’s trending in that direction and likely won’t stay at these price points for long if the promising results continue. Across his last nine MLB starts, he owns a 2.37 ERA, 3.35 xFIP, .183 opponent AVG, 0.86 WHIP, 24.4% kRate, and a 5.1% BB% – all quality marks.

He’ll draw another favorable matchup with the White Sox in town. Chicago has been surprisingly productive to begin the season and, across 120 plate appearances against RHPs, they’re slugging .495 (2nd), posting an .806 OPS (6th), and a 129 wRC+ (7th). That said, the strikeout rate remains extremely high at 33.3% (2nd-highest), and unless this lineup surprises us all and proves to be a legitimate top-10 unit, those early offensive numbers should begin to regress.

Matthew Boyd (LHP), CHC | DK: $7.3k, FD: $7.4k | vs. LAA

Boyd was rolling early on his Opening Day start before a five-run fourth inning knocked him out after just 3.2 innings and 63 pitches. Prior to the early exit, he was generating a ton of whiffs, finishing with seven strikeouts and an eye-popping 28.6% SwStr%. If not for that one inning getting away from him, he was on pace for a dominant outing with legitimate double-digit strikeout potential. We’ll look for a bounce-back in start number two. The conditions couldn’t set up much better for pitching, with temps around 40 degrees at Wrigley and 15 mph winds blowing in from left. Boyd has also performed much better at home, averaging +46.9% more FPPG.

The Angels haven’t faced many lefties yet (just 21 plate appearances), so the sample is minuscule. Still, the early returns aren’t encouraging – a .167 AVG, .452 OPS, 50 wRC+, and a 38.1% kRate. There’s also reason to believe the swing-and-miss will stick. In 2025, the Angels led (not in a good way) MLB with a 27.0% kRate against LHPs, and five projected hitters in today’s lineup posted strikeout rates between 29.4% and 36.9%. There’s also some BvP history working in Boyd’s favor – across 78 PAs versus the current Angels roster, he has held them to a .197 AVG with a monster 37.2% kRate. If Boyd can clean up the Opening Day hiccup while maintaining that swing-and-miss ability, he stands out as a viable value option in the $7k range on both sites.

Other Pitchers to Consider

Garrett Crochet (LHP), BOS | DK: $9.7k, FD: $11.1k | at HOU

Kevin Gausman (RHP), TOR | DK: $9k, FD: $9.8k | vs. COL

Jacob Misiorowski (RHP), MIL | DK: $8.5k, FD: $9.2k | vs. TB

DraftKings Main Slate Only

Chris Sale (LHP), ATL | DK: $9.9k, FD: N/A | vs. ATH

Paul Skenes (RHP), PIT | DK: $9.5k, FD: N/A | at CIN (Monitor weather)

Trevor Rogers (LHP), BAL | DK: $8.2k, FD: N/A | vs. TEX

FanDuel Main Slate Only

Tarik Skubal (LHP), DET | DK: N/A, FD: $11.3k | at ARI

Cam Schlittler (RHP), NYY | DK: N/A, FD: $9.3k | at SEA

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.

Miami Marlins vs. Shane Smith (RHP), CWS

With so many high-priced aces on the mound today, it makes sense to look for savings on the offensive side. The Marlins may not have a lineup full of household names, but they’ve been productive early on and come at very affordable price points overall. They currently rank top-10 against RHPs in AVG (.263), OPS (.771), wOBA (.345), ISO (.175), and wRC+ (119). They’ve also been active on the bases, tied for third with six stolen bases.

Smith lasted just 1.2 innings (54 pitches) in his first start after getting tagged early by Milwaukee. It’s a limited sample, but he also struggled in the spring, posting a 10.13 ERA, 7.83 xFIP, and 1.88 WHIP across 10.2 innings. To his credit, he was serviceable in ’25 (3.81 ERA, 4.23 xFIP, 1.20 WHIP, 23.5% kRate over 146.1 IP), but on a slate loaded with high-end arms, he still grades out near the bottom of the pool. The White Sox bullpen hasn’t helped matters either, logging an MLB-worst 10.19 ERA and 2.38 WHIP across 17.2 innings, along with a 5.81 xFIP and .329 opponent AVG. Their 18.3% walk rate is nearly as high as their 19.4% strikeout rate, which is never a good sign. All things considered, Miami is a viable value stack in this spot.

Favorite MIA Bats: Liam Hicks, Xavier Edwards, Agustin Ramirez

Bargain Bats: Owen Caissie, Griffin Conine

Toronto Blue Jays vs. Kyle Freeland (LHP), COL

The Blue Jays have been a bit slow out of the gates in games, but once they settle in, the offense has shown plenty of upside. Through the first three innings (all games combined) this season, they’ve been closer to league average (98 wRC+), but from the fourth inning on, they’ve hit for a .305 AVG, .877 OPS, and a 154 wRC+. It’s a small sample, but it highlights how dangerous this lineup can be once it gets rolling. As a reminder, Toronto was one of the top offenses in baseball last season, especially at home where they averaged 5.33 runs per game – second only to the home Dodgers. They’ve also been extremely difficult for lefties to strike out, posting an MLB-low 6.3% kRate against LHPs so far.

Stacking against Freeland, especially outside of Coors, doesn’t always pay off. That said, to the same point made above about Shane Smith, on a slate loaded with high-end pitching, Freeland is going to grade out near the bottom of the SP group. He wasn’t particularly effective in his first start against Miami, generating just an 8.6% Whiff% while allowing contact on 81.6% of his pitches. The Rockies’ bullpen has been decent on the surface (3.94 ERA, 3.63 xFIP, 1.19 WHIP), but the underlying indicators suggest some regression, including four home runs allowed (2.25 HR/9) and a 44.4% HardHit% (7th-highest). They’ve also thrown 251 pitches over the last three days, so availability could be limited. Outside of Vlad Jr. and Springer, most of these Blue Jays bats remain reasonably priced, making this a stack that can still pair well with quality pitching.

Favorite TOR Bats: Vlad Guerrero Jr., Kazuma Okamoto, George Springer

Bargain Bats: Alejandro Kirk, Ernie Clement

Low-Owned Stack That Just Might Work Out 🤔

Houston Astros vs. Garrett Crochet (LHP), BOS

Projected ownership isn’t available at the time of writing, but it’s safe to assume most won’t be eager to stack against Crochet. That said, there’s a case to be made for Houston as a sneaky, low-owned option. They’ve been excellent against lefties so far. Nearly half of their plate appearances have come against LHPs and the Astros have posted a .342 AVG, .964 OPS, .420 wOBA, .211 ISO, and a 173 wRC+. There’s also some familiarity here, as the current Astros roster has posted a .370 AVG and .413 wOBA across 60 plate appearances against Crochet.

As always, the bullpen is worth noting since it’s likely to cover three or four innings. The sooner Houston can push Crochet out, the better, as Boston’s relief unit has struggled up to this point. They currently rank near the bottom of the league in xFIP (5.22) and xERA (7.45), while allowing a 2.30 HR/9 (2nd-highest) and an MLB-high 16.7% Barrel%. Like most stacks that get posted in this section, you don’t need to go all-in with four- or five-man builds, but two- or three-man Houston mini stacks could easily pay off and provide some serious leverage in tournaments.

Favorite HOU Bats: Jose Altuve, Isaac Paredes, Yordan Alvarez

Bargain Bat: Cam Smith

Note: Once we get a couple of weeks into the season, I’ll reintroduce the “one-off hitters” and “bargain bats” sections.

Home Run Calls of the Day 💣

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No HR Calls contest today!

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