Jose Altuve’s bat is coming alive. (Getty)
With just 8 games on the evening MLB schedule, the pool of players to fill your DraftKings lineup for April 20 is obviously smaller.
No problem, there are plenty of batting-pitching matchups you can exploit.
I didn’t overpay for pitching, but feel comfortable with my 2 selections. Saving cap money there enabled me to load up on some big boppers in my hitting portion of the lineup.
**The below lineup is for a night game only contest on DraftKings.**
DraftKings uses the following parameters: You get a $50,000 cap to spend on 10 players – 2 pitchers, 1 catcher, 1 first baseman, 1 second baseman, 1 shortstop, 1 third baseman and 3 outfielders.
You can see the DraftKings scoring rules at the bottom of the post.
Here are the best lineup picks for April 20:
Pitchers
Trevor Bauer of the Indians. (Getty)
Trevor Bauer, Indians, $7,100, at White Sox
Bauer (2-0, 1.50 ERA) has been mowing down opponents – a whopping 19 strikeouts in 12 innings. The White Sox don’t strike out a lot, but they also score under 3.5 runs per game. Advantage: Bauer.
Edinson Volquez, Royals, $6,600, vs. Twins
Volquez (1-1, 2.30 ERA) took the loss his first matchup vs. Minnesota, but pitched well. The Twinkies are hitting just .223 as a team and Volquez has held the current members of the squad to a .171 BA. I like the price, too.
Catcher
Stephen Vogt, A’s, $3,600, at Angels
Vogt gets my vote as your best DK catcher for the day. First, he’s cheap. But mostly because he’s hitting .368 with 3 HRs. There are actually catchers who can hit. Amazing.
First Base
(Getty)
Miguel Cabrera, Tigers, $5,400, vs. Yankees
This guy just gets better and better. And he’ll pad his stats tonight vs. CC Sabathia. Miggy is 10 for 29 (.345) with 3 home runs and 12 RBIs against the Yankees beefy lefty.
Second Base
Jose Altuve, Astros, $4,100, at Mariners
This is pretty cheap for Altuve, which is great news, because he’s about to blow up. And I’m talking immediately. The reigning AL batting champ is 10 for 25 vs. Seattle starter Hisashi Iwakuma. Altuve tore up the Mariners to the tune of a .351 BA last season.
Shortstop
Starlin Castro, Cubs, $3,800, at Pirates
Castro has most certainly had A.J. Burnett’s number, batting .448 (13 for 29) vs. the aging righty. Castro made most of the Pirates pitchers walk the plank, slugging 4 of his 14 HRs in 2014 vs. the Bucs.
Third Base
(Getty)
Nolan Arenado, Rockies, $5,100, vs. Padres
I haven’t used Arenado in a lineup yet and I feel I was missing out. I had the cap space, so I splurged for this game at Coors, where the young 3B hit .303 with 16 homers a season ago.
Outfield
The Padres’ Matt Kemp can hit and play defense. (Getty)
Matt Kemp, Padres, $5,400, at Rockies
The Rockies’ Jorge De La Rosa is making his first start of the season and probably isn’t very excited to see Kemp penciled in the lineup for the opposition. Kemp has made a habit of putting De La Rosa in bad moods as the ex-Dodger is 15 for 39 (.385) with 3 homers and 12 RBIs.
Jacoby Ellsbury, Yankees, $4,900, at Tigers
Ellsbury doesn’t have a homer or an RBI yet and hasn’t stolen a base in 6 games. But he’s got 2 straight multiple-hit games and is 4 for 9 vs. Tigers starter Alfedo Simon. Ellsbury hit .444 with 2 bombs against Detroit in 2014.
Ryan Raburn, Indians, $3,100, at White Sox
This is risk as there is no guarantee Raburn will be in the lineup, but he better be. Raburn is 15 for 44 (.341) with 3 homers and 11 RBIs vs. White Sox starter John Danks. Raburn could be a steal today.
Total Lineup Salary: $50,000 of the allotted $50,000
Each day, we’ll give you the rundown of who to pick for a winning lineup, so stay with us the entire season.
DraftKings Scoring Key
Hitters Scoring:
Single = +3 points
Double = +5 points
Triple = +8 points
Home Run = +10 points
Run Batted In = +2 points
Run = +2 points
Base on Balls = +2 points
Hit By Pitch = +2 points
Stolen Base = +5 points
Caught Stealing = -2 points
Pitchers Scoring:
Inning Pitched = +2.25 points
Strike Out = +2 points
Win = +4 points
Earned Run Allowed = -2 points
Hit Against = -0.6 points
Base on Balls Against = -0.6 points
Hit Batsman = -0.6 points
Complete Game = +2.5 points
Complete Game Shut Out = +2.5 points
No Hitter = +5 points
*NOTE: Hitting statistics for Pitchers will not be counted, and Pitching statistics for Hitters will not be counted.
Interested in playing daily fantasy baseball?
Click here to sign up for DraftKings.
Click here to sign up for FanDuel.
