Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks: Starting pitcher rankings, strategy for April 29

Brad Pinkerton

Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks: Starting pitcher rankings, strategy for April 29 image

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

With just one afternoon game, fantasy owners will have 14 night games Friday. Unfortunately, we're also losing Jon Lester against the Braves in that day game, but there are still plenty of aces to go around tonight. 

MORE: Waiver wire pickupsProspect rankings | DFS Playbook PRO

Most interesting is the fact we get to see a lot of intriguing rookies on the hill Friday, starting with the Braves' Aaron Blair against the Cubs. At night, we have the Tigers' Michael Fulmer, the A's Sean Manaea and the Red Sox's Henry Owens. These guys could be sneaky (read: risky) GPP plays Friday, but it's at least worth watching them to see if they'll be trustworthy in future starts. 

Let's take a look at Friday'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: Corey Kluber/Stephen Strasburg. Love both aces Friday in their respective matchups and I'll try to have at least one lineup with each. Kluber ($11,000 on FD; $12,500 on DK) is a little cheaper on FanDuel, but Stras ($11,500 on FD; $11,400 on DK) comes at a significant savings on DK. 

Sell: Drew Smyly, Rays at Blue Jays. I'm still not trusting a lefty against the Blue Jays, even after Jose Quintana's stellar performance at Toronto. Smyly ($8,700 on FD; $10,400 on DK) is too expensive for the risk, especially on DK.

MORE: Hitter picks | DFS Playbook | Optimal lineupDFS Playbook PRO

Save: Juan Nicasio, Pirates vs. Reds. I'd much rather gamble on Nicasio ($6,800 on FD; $5,800 on DK) at home against the Reds than his scheduled/canceled Coors Field start Thursday. His prices seem to factor in that Colorado start that never happened, so take advantage of the discount. 

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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RankPitcherTeamOpp
1Corey KluberCLEat PHI
2Jon LesterCHCvs. ATL
3Stephen StrasburgWASat STL
4Felix HernandezSEAvs. KC
5Masahiro TanakaNYYat BOS
6Steven MatzNYMvs. SF
7Juan NicasioPITvs. CIN
8Alex WoodLADvs. SD
9Aaron SanchezTORat TB
10Hector SantiagoLAAat TEX
11Mike FiersHOUat OAK
12Drew SmylyTBvs. TOR
13Kris MedlenKCat SEA
14Robbie RayARIvs. COL
15Carlos RodonCHWat BAL
16Michael FulmerDETat MIN
17Sean ManaeaOAKvs. HOU
18Henry OwensBOSvs. NYY
19Dan StrailyCINat PIT
20Aaron BlairATLat CHC
21Jake PeavySFat NYM
22Mike LeakeSTLvs. WAS
23Phil HughesMINvs. DET
24Colby LewisTEXvs. LAA
25Adam ConleyMIAat MIL
26Tyler ChatwoodCOLat ARI
27Zach DaviesMILvs. MIA
28Mike WrightBALvs. CHW
29Cesar VargasSDat LAD
30Adam MorganPHIvs. CLE

Brad Pinkerton