MLB Thursday Draftstars DFS Preview for April 11, 2024
Last updated: Apr 10, 2024, 10:25PM | Published: Apr 10, 2024, 8:25AM
Draftstars Australia's MLB Thursday DFS contest begins at 9:05am AEST on April 11, 2024, and Fantasy Insider has crunched the numbers for every player on the slate to help you create winning line-ups.
For those who play MLB fantasy, it's crucial to have a handy Draftstars cheat sheet to help you navigate the exciting realm of fantasy sports. Thursday's daily fantasy sports preview will help you put together your fantasy teams for Draftstars' MLB contests or your own season-long fantasy lineup for April 11 and beyond.
Featured MLB Games
Draftstars' MLB Thursday slate includes the following match-ups:
- Texas Rangers vs Oakland Athletics
- Boston Red Sox vs Baltimore Orioles
- New York Yankees vs Miami Marlins
- Kansas City Royals vs Houston Astros
Fantasy Insider has been providing first-rate DFS tools and projections since 2015. Its advanced player projections are based on the same machine learning models that Stats Insider uses, making them some of the strongest DFS projections in the world.
With the best MLB fantasy insights and MLB DFS strategies from Fantasy Insider, you can win more MLB fantasy contests.
Cheat Sheet
We have run the rule over every player from every team to help you pick out the best picks on the slate!
| Selection | Player | Salary | Proj. Pts | Pts/$1K |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stud | Kutter Crawford (BOS, P) | $18,490 | 14.8 | 0.8 |
| Value | Spencer Arrighetti (HOU, P) | $5,000 | 12.8 | 2.6 |
| Fade | Abraham Toro (OAK, 3B/2B) | $8,150 | 2 | 0.2 |
| Cheapie | Jacob Burger (MIA, 3B) | $7,020 | 7.4 | 1.1 |
According to Fantasy Insider's DFS model, our stud is the player who is expected to get the highest score across the whole slate.
The best value is the player who gives us the most bang for their buck, taking into account both their salary and how well we think they will perform.
Value is a very important concept in fantasy sports. A player’s value can be determined by comparing their salary with how many points they are expected to score. Players with a high expected score relative to their salary are called value plays and can play a crucial role in selecting the optimal line-up.
In this preview you can see a player's value under Pts/$1K, where we show a player's predicted points per $1,000 of salary, with a higher number representing better value and vice versa.
Our fade, on the other hand, is the player whose salary and expected score make our model think they have the lowest value for money.
Need some budget options to fill out your line-up? See our cheapie options. These are our model's best-value cheapies that haven't already been mentioned for the upcoming slate.
Positional Breakdown
C (Catcher)
| Selection | Player | Salary | Proj. Pts | Pts/$1K |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stud | Salvador Perez (KC) | $7,980 | 6.9 | 0.9 |
| Value | Salvador Perez (KC) | $7,980 | 6.9 | 0.9 |
| Fade | Shea Langeliers (OAK) | $11,150 | 4.2 | 0.4 |
| Cheapie | Jonah Heim (TEX) | $7,640 | 5.2 | 0.7 |
SS (Shortstop)
| Selection | Player | Salary | Proj. Pts | Pts/$1K |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stud | Robert Witt (KC) | $11,080 | 10.5 | 0.9 |
| Value | Robert Witt (KC) | $11,080 | 10.5 | 0.9 |
| Fade | Anthony Volpe (NYY) | $12,420 | 6.6 | 0.5 |
| Cheapie | Timothy Anderson (MIA) | $6,750 | 5.8 | 0.9 |
OF (Outfield)
| Selection | Player | Salary | Proj. Pts | Pts/$1K |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stud | Kyle Tucker (HOU) | $10,310 | 9.2 | 0.9 |
| Value | Anthony Santander (BAL) | $7,560 | 7.7 | 1 |
| Fade | Nelson Velázquez (KC) | $9,320 | 4.1 | 0.4 |
| Cheapie | Jeffrey Bleday (OAK) | $5,000 | 5.1 | 1 |
3B (Third Baseman)
| Selection | Player | Salary | Proj. Pts | Pts/$1K |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stud | Rafael Devers (BOS) | $8,380 | 8.8 | 1.1 |
| Value | Jacob Burger (MIA) | $7,020 | 7.4 | 1.1 |
| Fade | Abraham Toro (OAK) | $8,150 | 2 | 0.2 |
| Cheapie | Alexander Bregman (HOU) | $7,920 | 7.3 | 0.9 |
2B (Second Baseman)
| Selection | Player | Salary | Proj. Pts | Pts/$1K |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stud | Jose Altuve (HOU) | $10,050 | 8.4 | 0.8 |
| Value | Gleyber Torres (NYY) | $8,190 | 7.9 | 1 |
| Fade | Abraham Toro (OAK) | $8,150 | 2 | 0.2 |
| Cheapie | Jordan Westburg (BAL) | $7,380 | 4.2 | 0.6 |
1B (First Baseman)
| Selection | Player | Salary | Proj. Pts | Pts/$1K |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stud | Joshua Bell (MIA) | $6,840 | 7 | 1 |
| Value | Joshua Bell (MIA) | $6,840 | 7 | 1 |
| Fade | Ryan O'Hearn (BAL) | $9,070 | 4.6 | 0.5 |
| Cheapie | Vincent Pasquantino (KC) | $7,290 | 6.9 | 1 |
P (Pitcher)
| Selection | Player | Salary | Proj. Pts | Pts/$1K |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stud | Kutter Crawford (BOS) | $18,490 | 14.8 | 0.8 |
| Value | Spencer Arrighetti (HOU) | $5,000 | 12.8 | 2.6 |
Conclusion
When building your MLB Thursday team(s), you may want to consider starting with a value player such as Spencer Arrighetti. To secure one of the highest projected scorers on the slate, Kutter Crawford is an option, and if you need some budget options to help free up salary cap and work in more studs, you might want to check out our cheapie options, including Jacob Burger.
Conversely, Abraham Toro is one of the worst value options on the slate according to our model, taking into account his salary and projected score, which may mean you want to limit your exposure to him if entering multiple line-ups.
As with all MLB DFS contests, there is a variety of ways that you can tackle this slate. Whether you are looking to start with our studs, or build around our value picks, consider using Fantasy Insider's data-driven MLB fantasy news and MLB fantasy strategies, combined with some of your own research, to increase your chances of winning the MLB Thursday contest. The unique insights in this information can give you an edge when you make your MLB DFS lineups and play in MLB DFS contests.
For the latest projections and optimised MLB Thursday line-ups, check out the Fantasy Insider Cruncher on Draftstars! It's free to use when you're logged in.
Ready to go? Draftstars' MLB Thursday slate will close at 9:05am AEST on Thursday. ENTER NOW!
Please note, if you choose to use our DFS tips for betting purposes, it's important that you gamble responsibly and keep track of your money. For free and confidential support, call 1800 858 858 or visit gamblinghelponline.org.au.
