MLB DFS: Best DraftKings, FanDuel daily Fantasy baseball picks, strategy for April 17, 2021

The 2021 MLB season continues on Saturday and oddsmakers are expecting it to be a low-scoring day, which narrows the options for MLB daily Fantasy. The highest total of the night at William Hill Sportsbook is just nine runs, which will make finding MLB DFS stacks a challenge and puts an emphasis on individual matchups. Clayton Kershaw is always a difficult matchup, but there are some Padres hitters who have had some success against the three-time NL Cy Young winner.

Manny Machado is 6-for-21 lifetime off Kershaw with three home runs, while Eric Hosmer has gone 10-for-30 with two home runs despite it being a lefty-lefty matchup. So does the mean that you should be leaning on past experience like that as you set your MLB DFS lineups, or are there better options in the MLB DFS player pool for Saturday? Before making any MLB DFS picks for Saturday’s action, be sure to check out the MLB DFS advice, strategy and projections from SportsLine daily Fantasy expert Mike McClure.

McClure is a daily Fantasy pro who has won almost $2 million in his career. And when it comes to daily Fantasy baseball, McClure is at his best. Recognized in the book “Fantasy Football (and Baseball) for Smart People: How to Turn Your Hobby into a Fortune” as a top MLB DFS player, McClure’s proprietary projection model simulates each game 10,000 times, taking factors such as matchups and recent results into account. This allows him to find the best values on every site.

On Friday, McClure had Nationals starting pitcher Max Scherzer as his top pitching options on both sites. The result: Scherzer threw seven scoreless innings where he only allowed two hits and struck out 10. Anybody who had him in their lineup was well on the way to a profitable day.

Now, with the 2021 MLB season rolling on Saturday, McClure has locked in his top MLB daily Fantasy picks. Head to SportsLine now to see them. 

McClure’s top MLB DFS picks for April 17, 2021 

One of McClure’s top MLB DFS picks for Saturday is Twins designated hitter Nelson Cruz at $5,800 on DraftKings and $3,800 on FanDuel. The 40-year-old slugger continues to be one of the best hitters in the game as he comes off a 2020 season where he posted a .992 OPS and hit 16 home runs with with 33 RBIs in 53 games.

After sitting out against a National League team during the opening series of the season, Cruz has an 1.157 OPS with four home runs and 10 RBIs in 13 games so far in 2021 and he’ll have a lefty-right matchup on Saturday against a pitcher he’s familiar with. Cruz is 7-for-23 lifetime off Jose Quintana with a home run.

Part of McClure’s optimal MLB DFS strategy also includes stacking Cruz with third baseman Josh Donaldson at $4,400 on DraftKings and $3,000 on FanDuel. After straining his hamstring while trying to get to second on a double in his first at-bat of the season, Donaldson returned to the Twins lineup April 14 and he’s gone 3-for-6 in his two starts since.

Donaldson posted a .842 OPS over 28 games with the Twins in 2020 and he doesn’t appear to be dealing with any rust coming off the injured list. Now he’ll take on Quintana, who Donaldson is 6-for-15 off of lifetime with a home run. Quintana has already given up nine earned runs over five innings in two starts this year.

How to set your MLB DFS lineups for April 17, 2021 

McClure is also targeting an undervalued player who is set to explode for huge numbers on Saturday. The stars are aligning for him to return tournament-winning value and he comes at a price that won’t break the bank. You can only see who it is here.

So what are the top MLB DFS picks for Saturday? Visit SportsLine now to see DFS millionaire Mike McClure’s complete player pools and picks for FanDuel and DraftKings, and cash in big on MLB DFS.