DraftKings MLB DFS Picks – April 22, 2022

It’s Friday and we have a hefty 13-game MLB main slate on tap!

Let’s dive into tonight’s DraftKings MLB DFS Picks and see if we can pad those bankrolls entering the weekend!

DraftKings MLB DFS Picks – April 22, 2022

P – Kyle Wright (ATL) – $9,300 vs. MIA

Leading us off tonight is Braves right-hander Kyle Wright who has enjoyed a fine start to his 2022 season through his first two outings.

The 26-year-old former first-round pick has struggled mightily for much of his big-league career so far. Wright carries a 5.89 ERA/5.79 FIP into tonight’s action across 16 starts, 23 appearances and 81 MLB innings for his career. However, could he be putting it all together after hurling a 3.02 ERA/3.33 FIP across 24 starts at Triple-A last season>

Through two starts and 11 innings this season, Wright owns a sterling 1.64 ERA, but also a 0.88 FIP and 1.74 SIERA that both back up his excellent work with authority. Wright has punched out a hefty 17 hitters compared to just a single free pass on the season, most recently punchout out nine San Diego Padres without issuing a walk across five innings his last time out.

As for the matchup, it’s a real solid one. That Marlins’ offense has performed admirably this season with a team 105 wRC+ on the year, but we’re also talking about one of the very worst offenses in baseball in each of the last several seasons. Sure, with Jazz Chisholm atop the lineup full-time and the additions of outfielders Jorge Soler and Avisail Garcia in the mix from free agency this could very well be an improved offense.

I’m willing to take my chances. The Marlins’ 3.8 projected runs on the night is one of the lowest totals on the board with the Braves as solid -145 moneyline favorites in this one. Let’s see if Wright can keep up his excellent start to the season in this one tonight.

P – Tarik Skubal (DET) – $8,600 vs. COL

I used Skubal his last start in Kansas City and he rewarded me with a real nice effort, but one that could have been far better.

The sophomore southpaw came out firing, striking out four of the first six batters he faced. Skubal wound up with seven strikeouts in his 5.2 innings of one-run ball (zero earned) without walking a hitter. Skubal was pulled one out shy of completing six innings, and had he gotten through six he would have earned the win as the Tigers rallied to win that one 2-1.

Skubal also had plenty of two-strike counts that he couldn’t finish off, but that’s not a trend for the youngster. He punched out a healthy 9.88 batters per nine innings last season and 10.41 across 32 frames in his MLB debut in 2020, but his minor league strikeout numbers are staggering.

Skubal struck out a whopping 17.43 batters per nine across 42.1 Double-A innings in 2019, leading the club to promote him in 2020 rather than waste a year of his development. Through two starts this season, Skubal owns a 3.72 ERA, but also a 1.30 FIP, 2.58 SIERA and a very strong 10.00 K/BB ratio.

The Rockies have hit well this season with a .356 wOBA and 117 wRC+ while posting only a 20.4% K-rate. However, they were the worst road offense in baseball last season while benefiting from a .352 BABIP on the road in 85 plate appearances this season, third-highest in baseball at the moment.

Given his hot start and strikeout tendencies, look for Skubal to enjoy another fine outing in a solid home matchup in the pitcher-friendly Comerica Park tonight.

C – Joey Bart (SF) – $2,800 vs. WSH

We have a very expensive stack going in this lineup tonight, so we’ll look to complement that stack with some value and we have that with the Giants as they take on Nationals left-hander Patrick Corbin in this one tonight.

Needless to say, Corbin’s 2021 season was one to forget. He posted a 5.82 ERA/5.41 FIP along with a 1.94 HR/9 clip. He’s not exactly off to a great start to his 2022 campaign with a 7.50 ERA through three starts, and while his 3.47 FIP and .425 BABIP point towards some bad early-season luck, he’s also logged just 12 innings in those three starts, walking eight in that time while allowing 17 hits. In other words, there’s been plenty of traffic on the bases against Corbin again so far this season.

So, we’ll see if the Giants and their solid 4.6 projected runs can get to him and the Nats bullpen tonight. For his part, Bart is off to a nice start to his season from a power perspective with two homers and a double across nine games. Not all is rosy as he’s also struck out in an eye-popping 52.9% of his plate appearances and is hitting just .207, but his .348 wOBA, .335 xwOBA and 128 wRC+ are all very attractive numbers.

Admittedly, Bart’s minor league splits greatly favored right-handed pitching, which is unusual for a right-handed hitter. That said, the lefty Corbin has yielded all four of his doubles to right-handed hitters this season and was much, much worse against right-handed bats last season in allowing a .302 average, .921 OPS, .387 wOBA, 2.40 HR/9 and 6.22 FIP.

If Bart can’t go tonight due to a blister that’s kept him out of the lineup, Curt Casali is a fine pivot at a near-identical cost of just $2,700.

1B – Darin Ruf (SF) – $2,400 vs. WSH

We get a couple of lefty-mashers atop the Giants lineup in this one against Corbin so hopefully they can get to him early and often and provide some early value for our lineup.

Projected to hit second in the order, the righty-swinging Ruf is precisely what we need. He’s a low-cost, lefty-masher hitting near the top of the lineup against a southpaw that has struggled mightily versus right-handed hitters of late.

Sure, he’s off to a horrid start this season with a .152 average, zero homers and just two doubles for his only extra-base knocks across 55 trips to the plate. That said, here’s a guy that’s posted a .203 ISO over his MLB career including a .248 mark last season and a .241 mark in 2020 after a three-season stint in Korea that has seemingly re-booted his career.

That said, the work is elite off lefties from a power standpoint. Last season, he clobbered lefties to the tune of a .310 ISO, 1.007 OPS, .419 wOBA and 166 wRC+. In the shortened 2020 campaign, Ruf punished southpaws for a .293 ISO, .890 OPS, .374 wOBA and 137 wRC+.

The good news is that he’s also fared quite well against righties over the last two seasons, giving him a full-time role in the Giants’ outfield rather than a platoon player who is lifted from the game against same-handed pitching. He’s logged at least four plate appearances in every start he’s had this season.

Plenty of value upside here.

2B – Jack Mayfield (LAA) – $2,600 vs. BAL

The Angels are indeed the expensive stack we’re using along with the Giants, although clearly he’s on the cheap end of the spectrum despite a nice start to his season.

The Angels take on Orioles left-hander Bruce Zimmermann who has yet to allow an earned run in his two starts and nine innings on the season. He also owns a 2.17 FIP and 3.50 SIERA, so there’s no doubt he’s been real good.

He’s just 27 with only 80.1 MLB frames under his belt, so perhaps he’s found something. However, I’m willing to test that theory as he posted a 5.04 ERA/5.38 FIP with a 1.96 HR/9 a season ago. He also never had elite minor-league success with FIPs over 4.00 fairly consistently throughout several stops beginning in 2017.

He actually fared better against righties like Mayfield last season, but he makes plenty of sense in this stack given how he’s swinging his bat right now.

Mayfield enters this one hitting .360 with a homer, a double and triple across 28 trips to the plate. His .421 BABIP is unsustainable to be sure, as is his .452 wOBA, but he still owns a strong .383 wOBA and 208 wRC+ on the season. Mayfield also sits in the league’s 87th percentile in xBA and 69th in xSLG.

He’s 4 for 10 with a triple off lefties this season and owns a real nice .190 ISO off them for his career, so we’ll look for him to deliver some value as well.

3B – Anthony Rendon (LAA) – $4,500 vs. BAL

Next man up in this four-man Angels stack is Rendon who is surely looking forward to a bounce-back season after struggling with both injuries and production in his second season in California a season ago.

Rendon hit just .240 last season in 58 games and posted a measly (by his standards) .143 ISO and 95 wRC+. He’s not off to a strong start this time around with a .200 average and just one homer and a .290 WOBA across 43 trips to the plate. That said, his .343 xwOBA is far more encouraging and sits in the league’s 56h percentile and well above his .290 actual mark.

Rendon has stolen a couple bases which is a good sign he’s healthy. He didn’t steal a single base in 2020 or 2021, so it’s worth noting to be sure despite Zimmermann allowing just three steals in his 80.1 MLB frames.

He’s faring better against lefties in the early going with a .267 average and a homer and has career splits that lean towards left-handed pitching. That said, he’s largely been an elite bat against both lefties and righties in his career and I don’t typically tend to look too much into Rendon’s splits.

At this price he needs to be in an Angels stack.

SS – Brandon Crawford (SF) – $5,100 vs. WSH

Crawford should come in at low ownership tonight given the lefty-on-lefty matchup with Corbin, and he’s certainly been a far inferior hitter in his career against lefties.

Even in a career year last season, Crawford hit just .244 with a .308 wOBA and 95 wRC+. That said, he also posted a solid enough .178 ISO off of them, so he did show some pop off lefties a season ago. He owns just a career .126 ISO off southpaws, so I’m not sure how much power we should expect from him overall this season.

That said, he makes sense. He’ll be a low owned player here given the high cost and seemingly unfavorable matchup. He’s also hitting just .205 with one homer, a .091 ISO and .253 wOBA, although his .320 xwOBA is more appealing. Still, his 64 wRC+ is 36% below league average at the plate.

Still, he’s seen plenty of Corbin in his time and fared fairly well against him. In 45 trips to the plate against his former division rival, Crawford has hit .256 with two homers, two doubles, a triple and two walks. He gives him a strong .777 OPS off of him. That said, the good news is that his .488 SLG off of Corbin accounts for much more of that OPS and tells us he is capable of hitting him for power.

I wouldn’t shy away here if you’re using a Giants stack this evening, especially considering Corbin is averaging just four innings per start this season in front of a Nationals bullpen that ranks 27th with a 4.88 ERA on the young season.

OF – Austin Slater (SF) – $2,400 vs. WSH

Completing this four-man Giants stack tonight is Slater who is very much like Ruf from plenty of standpoints in this matchup tonight.

Of course, the price is identical. That said, he’s also the projected leadoff hitter tonight — one spot ahead of Ruf — and has a history of mashing left-handed pitching.

He’s also off to a tough start at the plate. Slater is hitting a lowly .105 on the season with zero homers and just one double across 22 trips to the plate. His .313 xwOBA isn’t great, but it is a mile above his .195 current mark as he’s been dealt some poor luck with a tiny .182 BABIP so far.

If that weren’t bad enough, he’s also 0 for 13 with a walk so far off lefties. That said, he also mashed them for a .237 ISO, .894 OPS, .379 wOBA and 141 wRC+ against left-handed pitching last season. Furthermore, he hit .316 with a monster .342 ISO, 1.127 OPS, .470 wOBA and 201 wRC+ across 49 trips to the plate in 2020.

For his career across 472 trips to the plate off lefties, Slater owns a .184 ISO, .829 OPS, .356 wOBA and 125 wRC+, but obviously the work has been far superior of late.

Slater has also enjoyed success off Corbin in his career, going 4 for 8 with a double and just one strikeouts in eight trips to the plate. I’m not worried about his slow start in this matchup.

OF – Shohei Ohtani (LAA) – $6,300 vs. BAL

We’ll see how many are willing to go with a full four-man Angels stack given the cost of our final two hitters tonight, but I’m willing to do so for sure.

It was a slow start to the 2022 campaign for the 2021 AL MVP, but Ohtani has found it of late. He’s up to three homers and two stolen bases on the season, hitting .236 but also with a .218 ISO, .324 wOBA and a 116 wRC+ on the season. Certainly not in tip-top form of yet, but much better after a 1 for 13 start to his season.

Ohtani has collected all three of his homers along with a double and stolen base over his last six games. He went 2 for 4 with a double, a run and two RBI in Wednesday’s contest in Houston, so perhaps there’s some momentum to be had here.

Prior to last season, he was a decent fade against left-handed pitching. That said, the lefty-swinging Ohtani mashed southpaws for a .374 ISO, .980 OPS, .397 wOBA and 154 wRC+ last season, numbers that actually edged his work against righties. He’s hitting just .208 off lefties this season, but also with a .208 ISO thanks to two doubles and a homer against southpaws across 24 at-bats.

Out of the leadoff spot he should be able to stay hot in this matchup tonight, especially against a lefty that’s been worse against left-handed bats.

OF – Mike Trout (LAA) – $5,900 vs. BAL

Trout has missed the last couple of games due to a hand injury after being hit by a pitch, but said he expects to play in this one tonight, as did Angels manager Joe Maddon.

He too is looking to stay healthy and productive this season after getting into just 36 games last season. Trout performed as per usual in those games, and is largely doing so again this season. He’s hitting just .267, but with two homers, three doubles, a .972 OPS, .428 wOBA and 190 wRC+. If that weren’t enough, his .460 xwOBA sits in the league’s 98th percentile.

Trout’s 16.2% walk rate matches his K-rate and his .300 ISO on the season isn’t even much higher than his .278 career mark. In fact, he’s posted an ISO of at least .291 in each of his last five seasons.

Trout has career splits that lean towards same-handed pitching, but the righty-swinging outfielder has still mashed lefties for a .233 ISO, .935 OPS, .398 wOBA and 157 wRC+ for his career.

Out of the two-hole behind Ohtani, Trout should get right back to raking in his return to the lineup tonight.