Covering The Bases: MLB DFS Picks Today for Thursday 4/30

by Justin Van Zuiden (stlcardinals84) Last Updated 2026-04-30 12:58:07 Premium Content Part of the product MLB DFS

Long-time grinder Justin Van Zuiden (aka stlcardinals84) is here to cover the bases for the upcoming MLB DFS slate on DraftKings and FanDuel. Whether you are looking for the top pitchers or the best stacks, Justin has you covered with an extensive deep dive into his favorite MLB DFS picks today on April 30, 2026.

Rise and grind, DFS baseball aficionados! I have vowed to make that the word of the day, and I shall attempt to use it at least two more times within this article.

I am giving Cheese a much needed breather today so he can celebrate his birthday without worrying about an article. Baseball is a grind, and he certainly deserves a day off! Today brings us a day that has almost exclusively early games, with 8 games starting in the early afternoon hours. DraftKings is not including KC/ATH on their slate, making it a 7-game docket over there compared to the full 8 games on FanDuel.

This looks to be a slate that will be heavily skewed toward pitching, but let’s dig in and see what the early start has to offer for MLB DFS picks!

Thursday Pitching: MLB DFS Picks on DraftKings and FanDuel

TOP TIER PITCHERS

• Paul Skenes vs. Cardinals
• Freddy Peralta vs. Nationals
• Logan Webb at Phillies
• Cristopher Sanchez vs. Giants

We have 4 headliners pitching, highlighted by Logan Webb and Cristopher Sanchez going head-to-head in Game 1 of a doubleheader in Philadelphia. It is worth noting that we have a pair of doubleheader openers on this slate thanks to games that were postponed yesterday (HOU/BAL and SF/PHI), so we will need to verify these starters on our MLB starting lineups page. This Webb vs. Sanchez matchup does appear to be locked in based on what I read as of late last night. Paul Skenes and Freddy Peralta are also on this slate. Here’s a peek at the 2026 statistics through 6 starts for each of these pitchers:

Skenes – 2.48 ERA, 3.23 SIERA, 27.3% K, 6.4% BB
Peralta – 3.90 ERA, 3.74 SIERA, 25.9% K, 9.4% BB
Webb – 4.86 ERA, 3.76 SIERA, 19.9% K, 8.1% BB
Sanchez – 2.94 ERA, 2.86 SIERA, 28.1% K, 6.5% BB

I feel like I would be doing a disservice if I didn’t discuss Paul Skenes first, simply because he seems to have the reputation as the 2nd-best pitcher in baseball behind Tarik Skubal. I think that’s a bit too much praise, but that is not to say that Skenes isn’t an elite major league pitcher. Since his Opening Day debacle where he didn’t get out of the 1st inning against the Mets, he has posted a 0.95 ERA in his last 5 starts. His 27.3% strikeout rate is very good but not quite top-shelf level, but it’s still as good as anything you will find on this slate. The Pirates could also use some innings out of Skenes, as their bullpen has been taxed quite a bit due to them losing the first 3 games of this series against the Cardinals. Since I am a Cardinals aficionado, that makes me smile a little bit.

In 6 career starts against the Cardinals, Skenes has 0 wins and 4 losses. However, that is primarily the result of a lack of run support, as he has a 2.39 ERA and 0.90 WHIP in those starts. How often do you see a pitcher with an 0-4 record with those peripherals? I am sure Skenes is motivated to pitch well against a team that has beaten him 4 times, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see the Cardinals rest some regular starters given that they have won the first 3 games of this series and are in the middle of 17 games in a row without a day off. I believe that Skenes is the safest pitcher available today, and he would be a fairly easy click as an SP1 choice in cash games. However, we need to dig further to make sure nobody else looks better.

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