Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks: Starting pitcher rankings, strategy for April 28

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

There are some awful, awful pitchers going Thursday. That means there are going to be a lot of runs scored (and high DFS scoring) despite the light, eight-game slate, so I'd spend up on a safe pitcher and look for hitter values against the flonkies. 

MORE: Prospect rankings | DFS Playbook PRO

To make mound matters even worse, the slate is split evenly between afternoon and evening games, making it even harder to find decent arms to trust and be different. 

With that in mind, let's take a look at Thursday's starting pitcher rankings and picks. As usual, we'll also have daily fantasy baseball hitter picks and the DFS Playbook from Fantasy Alarm to help you find the best values on FanDuel and DraftKings. Good luck!

Daily fantasy baseball picks

Splurge: Jake Arrieta, Cubs vs. Brewers. Arrieta ($12,900 on FD; $13,600 on DK) is virtually a must-have in the afternoon slate despite his sky-high prices. I'd prefer him in all-day contests to Jose Fernandez, who has to duel with Dodgers rookie Kenta Maeda in the late game; Arrieta has the best chance to win in that trio.  

Sell: Juan Nicasio, Pirates at Rockies. Not interested in Nicasio's return to Coors Field at any discount. Like I said earlier, I'll be looking for value hitters, not pitchers, particularly in this game.  

MORE: Hitter picks | DFS Playbook | Sporting News DFS | DFS Playbook PRO

Save: Tanner Roark, Nationals vs. Phillies. I'm not expecting 15 Ks again (or maybe not even five), but Roark ($8,200 on FD; $7,800 on DK) is about the only "safe" value pitcher you'll find on today's light, split-slate. 

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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