Friday’s MLB DFS main slate at DraftKings and FanDuel features 10 games, starting at 7:05 p.m. ET. The Underdog pick ’em choices are also from those 10 games.
Friday’s Top MLB DFS Picks & Player Props
Friday’s Starting Pitcher Rankings (4/17)
Cam Schlittler (SP – NYY) vs. Kansas City Royals
Cam Schlittler is underpriced on DraftKings and appropriately priced on FanDuel. The 25-year-old righty is cooking with gas this season. According to FanGraphs, Schlittler has tallied the following eye-popping numbers in four starts spanning 21.2 innings this year.
- 2 wins
- 1 quality start
- 2.49 ERA
- 1.79 xERA
- 1.36 xFIP
- 1.64 SIERA
- 0.74 WHIP
- 1.2 BB%
- 37.0 K%
- 17.3 SwStr%
- 30.8 CSW%
- 113 stuff+
- 118 location+
- 125 pitching+
Schlittler is posting elite closer-caliber numbers with scintillating stuff over a starter’s workload.
Shlittler has favorable betting info against the Royals today. The Yankees are -170 favorites, and the game’s total is 8.5 runs. He’s not a no-brainer pick in cash games at FanDuel, as the next pitcher’s discounted salary makes him a compelling pivot. However, Schlittler is an excellent GPP pick at both providers, and a locked-in pitcher for cash games at DraftKings.
Joe Ryan (SP – MIN) vs. Cincinnati Reds
Joe Ryan is pitching fairly well this year, and he’s done well at home. In 90.1 innings at home since last year, Ryan has spun a 3.49 ERA, 3.53 xFIP, 1.07 WHIP, 6.6 BB% and 30.1 K%.
The 29-year-old righty has an unimposing matchup against the Reds tonight. Five of Cincinnati’s projected starters have had a 98 wRC+ or worse against righties since 2024, and only Sal Stewart‘s 170 wRC+ in 134 plate appearances against righties since reaching the Majors last year bests a 120 wRC+. Thus, the Twins are -170 favorites, and the game’s total is a pitcher-friendly 7.5 runs.
Michael Soroka (SP – ARI) vs. Toronto Blue Jays
Michael Soroka‘s salary is a bit high at FanDuel. Nonetheless, he’s a defensible GPP pick for gamers jamming many entries in at FanDuel. Soroka’s salary is far more enticing as an SP2 option in GPPs at DraftKings.
The 28-year-old righty’s 5.80 xERA in three starts this year, totaling 15.2 innings, is alarmingly high, but it’s an outlier compared to his 2.87 ERA, 3.10 xFIP and 2.77 SIERA. Soroka is also sporting a 1.21 WHIP, 9.0 BB%, 34.3 K%, 11.4 SwStr% and 32.2 CSW%.
Soroka can stay hot against Toronto’s injury-ravaged lineup. Their projected lineup features only two players with a wRC+ above 110 against righties since 2024. The Diamondbacks are -135 favorites, but the game’s total isn’t as ideal for Soroka’s DFS outlook, sitting at 9.0 runs. Still, Soroka has enough positives to warrant GPP usage.
Suggested Lineup Stacks
Tomoyuki Sugano‘s 2.16 ERA in three starts this season is a complete fluke, as evidenced by his 4.98 xERA, 4.09 xFIP and 3.96 SIERA. Even while enjoying good luck, Sugano has coughed up 2.16 HR/9 after ceding 1.89 HR/9 in 30 starts for the Orioles last year. Since last season, Sugano has allowed a .338 wOBA to lefties and a .333 wOBA to righties. The Dodgers should start Sugano’s regression to his ERA estimators tonight. LA is expensive to stack fully, but it’s possible, and mini-stacking them is also highly advisable.
Peter Lambert is expected to start for the Astros tonight. He made 21 starts in NPB last year, recording an unimpressive 4.26 ERA, 3.19 xFIP, 1.50 WHIP, 10.2 BB% and 20.5 K%. In 243.2 innings for the Rockies from 2021 through 2024, Lambert was lambasted for a 6.28 ERA, 5.40 xERA, 5.01 xFIP, 4.68 SIERA and 1.61 WHIP.
Additionally, Houston’s relievers have the third-highest ERA (5.92) and the third-highest xFIP (4.99) this season. The Red Birds don’t have a high-octane lineup, but Lambert and Houston’s putrid bullpen should allow the Cardinals to shine on offense tonight.
Core Studs
- I initially laughed at Shohei Ohtani‘s salary on DraftKings when I began tinkering with roster construction for this piece. As it turns out, Ohtani’s salary can be squeezed into balanced and high-upside rosters. In 1,020 plate appearances against righties since 2024, Ohtani has crushed 85 homers with a .413 OBP, .379 ISO, .446 wOBA and 190 wRC+, making him worthy of the significant cap commitment to use him tonight.
- Jordan Walker is breaking out this year. In 75 plate appearances, he’s hammered eight homers with 15 runs, 15 RBI, two stolen bases, a .373 OBP, .391 ISO, .466 wOBA, .451 xwOBA and 198 wRC+.
- Teoscar Hernandez‘s .399 wOBA overstates how well he’s hit in 63 plate appearances this year, but his .348 xwOBA is still superb. Hernandez has muscled up for four homers and a .259 ISO in 2026.
Value Plays/Punts
- Sam Antonacci has the minimum salary at DraftKings and FanDuel, which is absurd. He wasn’t an elite prospect, but he was a productive hitter in the minors. In 284 career plate appearances in the upper minors since last season, Antonacci has hit only three homers but stolen 26 bases with a .450 OBP, 15.1 BB%, 14.1 K%, .414 wOBA and 156 wRC+.
- Ivan Herrera has hit 13 homers with a .362 OBP, .130 ISO, .341 wOBA and 121 wRC+ in 557 plate appearances against righties since 2024.
- Spencer Torkelson is reasonably priced at FanDuel and a screaming value at DraftKings. He’s hit 14 dingers with a .351 OBP, .253 ISO, .359 wOBA and 133 wRC+ in 288 plate appearances against lefties since 2024.
Friday’s Top 3 Underdog Player Props
Check out our best picks on the MLB Underdog Cheat Sheet 
Shohei Ohtani (SP, DH – LAD): 2.5 Hits + Runs + RBI — Higher (0.87x Payout)
Ohtani has 16 hits (five homers), 10 runs, 10 RBI, a .254 batting average, .253 xBA, .402 OBP, .254 ISO, .387 wOBA, .414 xwOBA and 145 wRC+ in 18 games and 82 plate appearances this season. The Dodgers should hang a crooked number on the scoreboard tonight, and Ohtani will likely have a big hand in doing so from the leadoff spot.
Davis Martin (SP – CWS): 4.5 Strikeouts — Lower (0.86x Payout)
Davis Martin has a 2.50 ERA, 5.07 xERA, 3.95 xFIP, 3.95 SIERA, 1.11 WHIP, 5.7 BB% and 21.4 K% in three starts spanning 18 innings. He’s struck out 15 batters, but his 8.9 SwStr% is a career low, and his pitch modeling, which includes 90 stuff+, 101 location+ and 92 pitching+, is below-average. Martin struck out a season-low three batters in his last start, and he’ll likely struggle to pitch deep enough to strike out more than 4.5 batters at hitter-friendly Sutter Health Park tonight.
Teoscar Hernandez (OF – LAD): 6.5 Fantasy Points — Higher
Hernandez is a lefty-killer. Still, he’s no slouch in same-handed matchups. Hernandez has mashed 45 taters with a .311 OBP, .213 ISO, .337 wOBA and 116 wRC+ in 946 plate appearances against righties since 2024.
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Josh Shepardson is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Josh, check out his archive and follow him @BChad50.
