Thursday's major league schedule features 11 games, including a split doubleheader between the Blue Jays and Cardinals. For daily fantasy baseball purposes, it's a true split slate, with six games starting before 6:10 pm ET and five games starting after (though only four games are listed on most site's main slates). Fortunately for DFS players, there are legit aces available both early and late, so finding worthwhile lineup picks shouldn't be a problem.
In the early games, Noah Syndergaard (Update: For the second straight day, the Mets have scratched Noah Syndergaard. Matt Harvey will be starting instead.) and Justin Verlander are both great ways to start any lineup, and while they won't come cheap, they're clearly the best options. Carlos Martinez is always a boom-or-bust candidate, and you can live with either Edinson Volquez and Jeremy Hellickson. The most interesting matchup is in San Francisco, where Julio Urias is set to make his season debut against Matt Moore and the Giants. Urias had a 1.93 ERA in three starts at Triple-A, but he was walking almost 5.8 batters per nine innings. Chances are he won't last much longer than the sixth inning today, but the Giants' struggles vs. lefties still make him a good option. Moore is also in play because of the Dodgers' struggles vs. lefties. Both could walk the ballpark, though, so be careful in cash games.
In the evening slate, Chris Sale and Corey Kluber are clearly the top options, but Masahiro Tanaka isn't a bad choice if you're willing to go head-to-head against Sale. On paper, the sleeper choices are pretty underwhelming, but Kendall Graveman, who's posted a noticeable uptick in velocity through his first three starts this year, is a decent flier.Taijuan Walker is another boom-or-bust option who's pitched better than his 4.57 ERA.
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Daily Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Pitchers
| Rank | Pitcher | Team | Opp. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chris Sale, LHP | BOS | vs. NYY |
| 2 | Justin Verlander, RHP | DET | vs. SEA |
| 3 | Corey Kluber, RHP | CLE | vs. HOU |
| 4 | Julio Urias, LHP | LAD | at SF |
| 5 | Matt Harvey, RHP | NYM | vs. ATL |
| 6 | Masahiro Tanaka, RHP | NYY | at BOS |
| 7 | Matt Moore, LHP | SF | vs. LAD |
| 8 | Carlos Martinez, RHP (G1) | STL | vs. TOR |
| 9 | Edinson Volquez, RHP | MIA | at PHI |
| 10 | Jeremy Hellickson, RHP | PHI | vs. MIA |
| 11 | Taijuan Walker, RHP | ARI | vs. SD |
| 12 | Hisashi Iwakuma, RHP | SEA | at DET |
| 13 | Adam Wainwright, RHP (G2) | STL | vs. TOR |
| 14 | R.A. Dickey, RHP | ATL | at NYM |
| 15 | Kendall Graveman, RHP | OAK | at LAA |
| 16 | Mike Fiers, RHP | HOU | at CLE |
| 17 | Ricky Nolasco, RHP | LAA | vs. OAK |
| 18 | Gio Gonzalez, LHP | WAS | at COL |
| 19 | Jered Weaver, RHP | SD | at ARI |
| 20 | Mat Latos, RHP (G1) | TOR | at STL |
| 21 | Casey Lawrence, RHP (G2) | TOR | at STL |
| 22 | Antonio Senzatela, RHP | COL | vs. WAS |
Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks: Thursday, April 27
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After the way the weather has wreaked havoc on the DFS slates this week, I probably don’t have to tell you to keep an eye on Fantasy Alarm’s Weather Center, though at this point it looks like we may actually get all of the games in. There are 11 games on the day, but only four games in the main slate. I will be keeping a particularly close eye on which Cardinals play which games of the doubleheader, as they have very nice matchups in both games. -- Steve Pimental
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