Fantasy Baseball 2018: DraftKings Turbo Lineup for April 8

The DraftKings turbo slate of games features just five games so making the right choice is more important than usual.

DFS is a quick way to try to win some money while enjoying fantasy baseball. With free games available, it’s also a good way to introduce someone into fantasy baseball without the commitment of playing until October. Because of their lineup settings, I will be using DraftKings for this slate of games.

The five games you get to pick players from are Tigers/White Sox, Padres/Astros, Cubs/Brewers, Mariners/Twins and Diamondbacks/Cardinals. The games start at 2 PM, so you have to enter your lineup early. There are great hitters you can stack or a pitcher you can find for cheap that can give you a solid outing.

As usual, DraftKings uses two SPs, one of each infielder and three outfielders with a budget of $50,000. If you spread the money evenly, that’s $5,000 per spot but starting pitchers usually cost a lot more than that, forcing you to find a bargain at one or two positions.

P: Chase Anderson ($8,500)

P: Reynaldo Lopez ($7,400)

The 10 starting pitchers in these games aren’t the aces you want to pick from. You have guys like Jose Quintana and Taijuan Walker but they haven’t looked impressive so far this season. If you want to splurge, Charlie Morton has a good matchup at home against the Padres but will cost $11,500.

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Anderson and the Brewers welcome the Cubs. At $8,500, he had one good and one bad start this season. The Cubs are a power team with Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo in the middle of the lineup but if he can limit the damage from them, he can post a good score.

Lopez had a good first start against the Blue Jays, lasting six innings with one home run. He faces the struggling Tigers. With the White Sox lineup providing some power, Lopez should be able to get the win, adding another four points to his score.

It is important to read the starting lineups. No one wants to have a lineup with two players you are not playing for their respective teams. Lineups will be available an hour and a half before game time so you have plenty of time to make adjustments.

C: Welington Castillo ($3,600)

1B: Jose Martinez ($3,400)

2B: Brian Dozier ($4,800)

3B: Travis Shaw ($3,600)

SS: Paul DeJong ($4,000)

I picked Castillo the last time I made a DraftKings lineup and he went off. At the price he’s at and hitting against Mike Fiers, that is a great value for him again. I stacked two Cardinals hitters in my lineup with Martinez and DeJong. Maybe that’s not a stack but I do want to take advantage of the Walker matchup. Both hitters looked impressive to start the season and hitting at home will continue the momentum.

Dozier had a start, four home runs in a three-game stretch. Hitting against Marco Gonzalez will start a new streak for Dozier and some other Twins. Shaw has just one home run but is hitting .286 with six RBIs. Quintana can give up a few runs in this outing.

Honorable Mention: Jose Altuve ($5,500), Kris Bryant ($5,100), Jean Segura ($3,500)

OF: Dee Gordon ($3,800)

OF: George Springer ($5,200)

OF: Ian Happ ($4,600)

The Mariners are hitting against Lance Lynn, so you could stack your Seattle batters in your lineup. Gordon is known to run a bit so watch out for those extra points. He will rack up those hits as he’s hitting .367 so far.

Springer and the Astros face Tyson Ross. That’s another matchup worth exposing. He’s my most expensive hitter because he can hit for contact and power. Springer is hitting just .194 but he’ll turn it around in this game.

Happ does qualify at second base and outfield. With Dozier already at second, I picked Happ for my third outfielder. While I do have Anderson in my lineup, having just one Cubs hitter won’t hurt unless Happ crushes three home runs. If he can drive in one or two while racking up a few hits won’t drop Anderson’s score that much.

Honorable Mention: Mitch Haniger ($3,400), Tommy Pham ($3,600)

Next: Yankees place 2 more on the DL

With this lineup, I have $1,100 left over. I could spend that extra money on my infielders or spend for Morton instead of keeping it. It all depends on how you feel about the players you pick. If you spend all $50,000, that’s cool. If not, that works too. DFS is about finding value at the right price and I think these 10 players provide the best value.

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