One of the best parts about playing fantasy baseball is that we aren’t limited to just season-long leagues anymore. Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) seemingly grows in popularity every year, and they’re a great way to enjoy the fun without committing to a six-month grind.
Below is are some of our staff’s favorite picks for the Thursday, April 22nd slate of RT Sports’ daily contests, which you can sign up for by clicking here. Additionally, the full rules and scoring system of the contests are further down in this article.
Pitchers
The advice in this article is for the 7:20 PM EST slate, which means there are only a few pitchers that I’m considering.
Trevor Bauer (@MIL, $11100)
The controversial right-hander is undoubtedly expensive tonight, but he’s simply must-start on a short slate without any other true aces. Bauer has been downright fantastic through five starts — 32 innings, 45:6 K:BB, 2.53 ERA, 0.66 WHIP. The Brewers are one of the best possible matchups for SPs these days.
Matthew Boyd (@CWS, $7500)
I actually don’t hate Kyle Gibson tonight, but I don’t want to use him against the Red Sox. Boyd’s matchup isn’t strong either, but the southpaw has been on a roll this month. He’s admittedly over performing his peripherals, but I like that he has gone at least 6 2/3 innings in each of his past four starts. Hopefully he can keep it rolling tonight.
Hitters
Since we’re paying up for SPs (as usual), we’ll be targeting some cheaper bats with good matchups tonight. The Braves and D’Backs are two teams I’m targeting.
Austin Riley (vs CHC, $3200)
Riley has completely resolved the strikeout issues that plagued him as a rookie in 2019. Additionally, he’s been on an absolute heater over the past two weeks, and his price tag hasn’t caught up just yet. The 24-year-old is coming off a four-hit performance on Wednesday evening.
Pavin Smith (vs COL, $2900)
The former first-round pick is finally receiving some regular playing time in the majors, and he had a three-hit performance earlier this week. Boosting his DFS value is the fact that he’s been Arizona’s primary leadoff hitter dating back to April 20th.
The Contest
RealTime Daily (“the Contest”) is a fantasy sports game by RealTime Fantasy Sports (“RTFS”). The Contest allows single day or several day (Thursday – Monday in the NFL) fantasy leagues. The Contest offers fantasy leagues with two styles of play (draft or salary cap), multiple price points, and varying league sizes. For all combinations of league sizes and price points the league prizes shall be clearly defined upfront prior to commencement of the league. The Contest is open to all players of all skill levels in the States where such contests are not prohibited. The rules for this Contest can be viewed in full by clicking here.
Major League Baseball (MLB) Rosters and Scoring
Standard Lineup Composition
- 1 Catcher
- 1 First Baseman
- 1 Second Baseman
- 1 Third Baseman
- 1 Shortstop
- 3 Outfielders
- 2 Pitchers
Pitcher Scoring
- 4 pts per Win
- -1 pt per Earned Run
- 1 pt per Strike Out
- 1 pt per Inning (0.33 pts per out for fractional innings)
Hitter Scoring
- 1 pt per Single
- 2 pts per Double
- 3 pts per Triple
- 4 pts per Home Run
- 1 pt per Run Batted In
- 1 pt per Run Scored
- 1 pt per Walk
- 1 pt per Hit By Pitch
- 2 pt per Stolen Base
- -1 pt per Caught Stealing
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