FanDuel Picks and lineup for Sunday, April 1st

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The first Sunday slate of the season is here and we’re breaking in the new month right with an analysis of the slats FanDuel has going for Easter Sunday.

Welcome into the first Sunday slate of the MLB season. FanDuel split today’s slate much more sensibly than it did yesterday, having just a “main” slate with the 1 p.m. games and then an all day slate with every game available (minus the second part of the Pirates/Tigers double header). Both slates are still a little smaller than most normal Sunday slates because MLB has cooked a few more off days into the schedule. There’s a reason we started in March this year!

Yesterday was a mixed bag of results. The early slate should have done well but that depended on how much exposure you had to the Detroit/Pittsburgh game that got postponed about 90 seconds before lock. I’m always updating on Twitter but it will serve you well to have an alert system in place. Pick a service like the MLB app, DraftKings or FanDuel and get notifications on your phone. It’s vital to last-minute adjustments. It was one of the main reasons we put up a score of 159.9.

The all day and main slate didn’t fare nearly as well as they were weighed down by Yu Darvish (seriously, what happened??) and big spend Jake Lamb. Main was our lowest score so far with a 70.9. All Day was saved slightly by the massive game from Carlos Correa and put up 118.3. As the saying goes, you can’t win them all. All day at least had a fighting chance while the main crashed and burned.

WEST PALM BEACH, FL – MARCH 07: Gerrit Cole #45 of the Houston Astros in action against the Miami Marlins during a spring training game at Fitteam Ballpark of the Palm Beaches on March 7, 2018 in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /

Starting Pitcher, High-End Spend

Main Slate

Jose Quintana, $8,800

.147(5 for 34), 17.9 strikeout rate

Sunday brings us a surprising lack of options for the high-end pitching spends, which truthfully isn’t always the funnest thing to deal with. If pitchers aren’t that expensive, there has to be a reason for it. Either their strikeout prospects aren’t great or they’re in some type of bad matchup. Quintana may not have a superlative upside for strikeouts but he draws one of the easiest matchups on the board. Given there are no true aces toeing the rubber today, this is likeliest the best option available. It is worth noting that the Marlins have been a bit feistier than most thought during the spring.

All Day

Rich Hill, $8,600

.273(21 for 77) 22.9 strikeout rate

You could side with Hill on Sunday Night Baseball if Quintana isn’t your cup of tea. On a per inning basis, Hill has typically been dominant. Still, given all of his health concerns, he’s no sure thing to hit the six innings needed for a quality start. That also makes getting a win much more questionable.

Mid-Range

Main Slate

Jose Berrios, $7,700

.263(5 for 19), 28.6 strikeout rate

This is the mid-range play for me because the Orioles can strikeout a lot but they can also hit the ball out of the yard. Berrios has the ability to dazzle for seven strong innings or get blown up and be gone before three frames. It’s important to understand the variety of outcomes associated with him today. Baltimore did hammer four seamers as a team last year but they got beat up by the curve and sinker. If Berrios mixes up his pitches enough, he can stay out of trouble. The Orioles also tend to be a feast or famine team.

All Day

Gerrit Cole, $7,700

.000(0 for 6), 25.0 strikeout rate

If you believe Houston can pull some of the best work out of talented pitchers(you should), Cole has to jump off the page. Realistically, Cole should have been better last season. One of the biggest issues he had was his home run to fly ball ratio spiked to 15.9 percent. His career number is 10 percent, which was obviously even lower before the 2017 campaign. If the Astros have figured out how to get his strikeout rate a touch higher and his HR/FB rate comes back down, COle is in for a great season. Even against a tough Rangers team in a bad ballpark, Cole is a definitive GPP option.

Value

Main Slate

Kevin Gausman, $7,300

.225(16 for 71), 29.7 strikeout rate

This play should be pretty low-owned but Gausman has excellent stats in his matchups against the Twins. Minnesota isn’t the greatest offensive club and this comes with some risk. Camden Yards isn’t the best park in the league. The Twins did smash four-seam fastballs in 2017 and that’s a big concern. However, they were near league average against the slider and the x-factor in this matchup, the split-finger fastball. It’s far and away his most effective pitch but he also doesn’t throw it with a ton of frequency. If it’s on, his ceiling is high. If it’s not, he’s got every chance to get lit up.

All Day

Shohei Ohtani, $6,700

First career start

I was ready to steer clear of Ohtani given this is his first ever MLB start. However, the price is super tantalizing. Is there possibility for upside? Sure. There’s also potential for disaster. I’m not here to talk you out of it, per se. Just understand he’s strictly a GPP options as the range of outcomes is bigger than almost any pitcher on the slate. You just have no idea what you’re gonna get. It may be best to take a wait and see approach. He almost certainly won’t be highly owned.