This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
If you're celebrating Easter on Sunday, hopefully it's a happy one. But I'm here to talk about a busy day of baseball. Even on a holiday, MLB brings us a bounty of afternoon matchups for our enjoyment, and for DFS contests. The main slate features 11 games, the first beginning at 1:05 p.m. EDT. Unlike Easter eggs, I won't be hiding my lineups recommendations from you.
Pitching
Zack Wheeler, PHI at MIA ($10,200): Wheeler has been stellar since joining the Phillies posting a 2.80 ERA and averaging more than one strikeout per inning over 44 starts. The Marlins ranked 29th in runs scored last season and didn't have the kind of offseason where I expect major strides to be made offensively this year.
Alek Manoah, TOR vs.OAK ($10,000): Manoah was an under-the-radar rookie in 2021 and produced a 3.22 ERA over 20 starts. Many are expecting big things from him, and he opened 2022 with six innings of shutout ball against the Yankees. Now he's making his first home start of the season, where he managed a 2.32 ERA last year. Oakland's pared down lineup should offer little resistance.
Alex Wood, SF at CLE ($9,800): Pitching in his first full campaign since 2018, Wood managed a 3.47 FIP last season while getting back to not allowing too many home runs. Of course, the Guardians' lineup doesn't threaten many long balls anyway as they ranked 18th in runs scored last year and - in typical Cleveland fashion - didn't add talent during the offseason.
Top Targets
The power in the bat of Pete Alonso ($4,100) is undeniable. He's slugged .543 over his career and has crushed 108 home runs in 379 career games. Humberto Castellanos is making the move to the rotation from the bullpen, but he's struggled wherever he's been deployed over his career with a 5.31 ERA while allowing righties to hit .303 against.
Elieser Hernandez allowed two homers across 4.2 innings in his first start this season. That tracks as he's given up 2.00 per nine innings during his career. Hernandez has also allowed lefties to hit .271 against since 2020. Seeing that, I can't help but think of a certain lefty for the Phillies. That would be Bryce Harper ($3,900), who's off to a slow start to follow up his MVP campaign, but he's managed an 1.060 OPS versus righties since 2020.
Bargain Bats
If you overlook his struggles in 2020, Bryan Reynolds ($2,900) has enjoyed a fine start to his career having hit over .300 and slugged over .500 in 2019 and 2021 and equally producing well against lefties and righties as a switch hitter. I assume he'll be standing on the right side of the plate against Patrick Corbin, who's proven to be a disastrous signing for the Nationals with a 5.64 ERA while having righties hit a batting-title-challenging .312 against since 2020.
Enrique Hernandez ($3,400) took to his new ballpark in 2020 by posting an .845 OPS at Fenway Park. He also logged the second 20-homer season of his career. Bailey Ober had a decidedly-mediocre rookie campaign last year and produced a 4.55 FIP in 20 starts.
Stacks to Consider
Blue Jays vs. Adam Oller ($6,400): Bo Bichette ($3,900), George Springer ($4,000), Lourdes Gurriel ($3,200)
When you tear your rotation down to the studs and leave Frankie Montas to fend for himself until he is also presumably traded, you tend to run out of worthy options. Oller is at the back of Oakland's rotation for now, and the 27-year-old has debuted in the majors by giving up five runs over 1.1 innings. He pitched well in Triple-A last season, but this is a different story especially on the road against the Blue Jays.
Bichette showed himself to be an elite power-and-speed player in 2021 by notching 29 home runs and 25 stolen bases. Since joining the Jays, Springer has slashed .269/.353/.558 while managing to hit 22 homers in only 78 games last year. Gurriel is not a fan of a walk, but he's a career .282 hitter with two 20-homer seasons to his name.
Yankees vs. Bruce Zimmermann: Giancarlo Stanton ($3,800), DJ LeMahieu ($3,500), Josh Donaldson ($3,100)
Zimmermann threw four innings of shutout baseball in his first start this season, a feat impressive enough to lower his career ERA all the way down to 5.02 to go with a career 5.25 FIP. He's hardly been a daunting opponent for opposing batters, but I decided to go with three righty bats since he's a lefty.
After a couple lost seasons (where he still managed an .890 OPS in limited playing time), Stanton clubbed 35 home runs and slugged .516 last season. He also prefers to be away from Yankee Stadium in recent years having posted a .949 OPS in away games since 2020. LeMahieu's batting average and power dipped significantly in 2021, but he's started this campaign on solid footing slashing .280/.379/.480. Donaldson could stand to get things on track this season, but I'm not worried as he produced an .827 OPS with 26 homers in 135 games last year.
Angels vs. Martin Perez: Mike Trout ($4,100), Anthony Rendon ($3,000), Jo Adell ($2,500)
Perez hasn't recorded a FIP lower than 4.45 since 2015. His return to Texas saw him allow seven hits and three runs in four innings against the Rockies, not the most-formidable lineup out there. Facing the Angels should be a bit tougher. Since Perez is a lefty, I opted for three righties.
Trout boasts a career 1.002 OPS and a 1.090 last season that was marred by injury. I don't have to sell you too hard on the greatest player of his generation. Last year was also a lost one for Rendon, who struggled in 58 games. During his last full campaign, he posted a 1.010 OPS and slashed .286/.418/.497 in the shortened 2020 campaign. I agonized between Adell and Matt Duffy for the last bat in my stack, though Adell brings the upside of a former vaunted prospect and has already popped a couple long balls this year.
