Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks: Starting pitcher rankings, strategy for April 21

Our daily fantasy baseball picks continue with starting pitcher rankings and advice for Thursday's MLB slate.

There are aces galore Thursday and all are in good to great matchups, which means none should be too heavily owned in daily fantasy baseball contests. Because of the abundance of awesome arms, I'd avoid paying top-top dollar on the mound. That said, you should still spend up to make sure you keep pace with ace stats.  

MORE: Hitter picks | MLB DFS Playbook | Optimal DFS lineup | DFS Playbook PRO

There are a few chances to save, but most of the value pitchers I normally like are in dangerous matchups, making it difficult to recommend them instead of the safety of those aces. So, let's take a look at Thursday's starting pitcher picks and rankings for daily fantasy baseball and seasonal formats. As usual, we'll also have the day's best daily fantasy hitter picks and Fantasy Alarm's MLB DFS Playbook to help you find the best values on FanDuel and DraftKings. Good luck!

Daily fantasy baseball picks

Splurge: David Price, Red Sox vs. Rays. Price ($10,900 on FD; $11,600 on DK) welcomes his original team to Boston in a matchup he should dominate (and win). He's expensive, but reasonably priced given the other expensive options today.  

Sell: Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers at Braves. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I don't see an edge in paying up for Kershaw ($13,000 on FD; $13,600 on DK), even against the Braves, because there are so many other aces going today at much cheaper prices. Sorry, Clayton. 

MORE: Sporting News DFS

Save: Brandon Finnegan, Reds vs. Cubs. If you're feeling frisky and want to be frugal on the mound, Finnegan ($6,200 on FD; $6,400 on DK) is intriguing with his low prices and high upside despite the tough matchup in Great American Ball Park. Just know that a victory will be tough against Arrieta. That's why this is more of a contrarian, tournament play. 

Editor's note: Play one-day fantasy baseball leagues for real money at FanDuel! Claim your free entry and deposit bonus here.

Daily fantasy baseball rankings

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