This article is part of our DraftKings MLB series.
There are only four MLB games included for DFS purposes Thursday. The other two games are a doubleheader between the Mets and Tigers, both makeup games from rainouts. It's April baseball! Hopefully everything goes smoothly in terms of these four games, which start at 4:05 p.m. ET. Onto the DFS recommendations!
Pitching
Tanner Bibee, CLE at MIN ($9,200): Bibee's first start was tough, but he's not going to walk over 11 batters per nine innings all season. As a rookie, he walked only 2.85 batters per nine over 25 starts while posting a 2.98 ERA. Cleveland's offense struggled last year, but Minnesota's is off to the slower start in 2024. The Twins needed seven runs Wednesday to get up to 18 runs through five games, with two homers total from the team. One of those belongs to Royce Lewis, who is already out long term.
Top Target
Though he's a switch hitter, Bryan Reynolds ($5,600) has been slightly better against righties (.816 OPS) and on the road (.857 OPS) since 2022. Last season he hit over 30 doubles and 20 home runs for the second time in his career, but added his first double-digit stolen base campaign as well. Josiah Gray did improve his ERA from 5.02 in 2022 to 3.91 in 2023, but that 3.91 ERA was paired with a 4.93 FIP. He opened this year allowing seven runs, and two homers, in four innings against the Reds.
Bargain Bat
A batting title is not likely on the horizon, even with a .294 batting average to start 2024, for MJ Melendez ($3,500). Last season, though, he did manage 16 homers, six stolen bases, and five triples. The southpaw had a .751 OPS versus righties, and also a .756 OPS at home. Sadly, it does not seem like Michael Soroka is ever going to get back on track after lengthy injury issues. Last year, his first MLB action since 2020, saw him post a 6.40 ERA, and after one start in 2024 he has a 7.20 ERA.
Stack to Consider
Cardinals vs. Marlins (Ryan Weathers): Paul Goldschmidt ($5,0000, Willson Contreras ($4,000), Masyn Winn ($2,900)
Let's see. Weathers has a career 5.91 ERA. His K/BB rate is 1.89, and his HR/9 rate is 1.80. Righties have batted .325 against the southpaw since 2022 for good measure. The Cardinals are lefty heavy, and banged up, but I still found a stack I like.
I am a little concerned about Goldschmidt's power at this point, but last year he had an .810 OPS, even if he failed to hit 30 homers in a full season for the first time since 2016. Also, in 2022 he had an 1.327 OPS against southpaws, and that's recent enough to be encouraging. Since the Cards struggled by their standards in 2023, you may not have noticed that Contreras had a .358 OBP and hit 20 homers in 125 games replacing Yadier Molina. The catcher did a lot of his damage against southpaws, who he posted a .906 OPS against. Wynn was maybe rushed a bit last year. At 21, he was the youngest regular in Triple-A, and he posted an .833 OPS at that level. The shortstop struggled in 37 MLB games, but that experience could still prove valuable this year. Wynn still has a promising future, and he also has the role as the starting shortstop for the Cardinals. Also, he's a righty.
