This article is part of our DraftKings MLB series.
There are only a handful of MLB teams in action Thursday evening. To get to seven games from the DFS slate, the first pitch is at 6:05 p.m. ET. That isn't terribly early, though, so hopefully you have no problem getting your lineups in. Hopefully, these recommendations help.
Pitching
Max Fried, ATL at ARI ($8,800): Arizona's offense has not been bad, but neither has Fried. His last start was poor, but he has a 3.18 ERA through 17 starts. He has a career 3.05 ERA. Not only that, but the lefty has a 2.45 ERA on the road since 2022. The Diamondbacks' ballpark is pitcher-friendly, and the fact Fried is a lefty will help him out as well, so I am not afraid of the Diamondbacks on offense.
Nestor Cortes, NYY at TB ($8,300): Cortes has consistently been better at home, but all in all he has a 3.41 ERA and 5.30 K/BB rate this season. The southpaw has also held lefties to a .156 average since 2022, so the Rays might as well glue their lefty hitters to the bench. Tampa has also fallen into the bottom five in runs scored, so this is a road trip I don't fear for Cortes.
Top Targets
Back in the lineup, Kyle Schwarber ($5,600) just knocked his 18th homer in 81 games. He's also slugged .503 against righties since 2022. Rookie righty Landon Knack has a 2.86 ERA, but a 4.95 FIP. His big issue is he's allowed 1.82 homers per nine innings. Schwarber knows how to knock the ball out of the park.
This season will not be what anybody wanted from Julio Rodriguez ($5,100), but he still has nine home runs and 18 stolen bases. Maybe this matchup will help Rodriguez look more like the guy who put up a 30/30 season in 2023. Jack Kochanowicz will be making his MLB debut. He has a 4.55 ERA this season…at Double-A. Yes, he's skipping Triple-A to make his MLB debut. Rodriguez, even in a down campaign, is a major step up from Double-A hitters.
Bargain Bats
Due to injuries for Atlanta, the team can't afford to sit Jarred Kelenic ($4,100) against lefties, but even with consistent playing time, he hasn't let the team down. He has a .837 OPS over the last three weeks. He's slugged .473 against righties this season. Brandon Pfaadt has improved in his sophomore year, except in one way. Southpaws have hit .308 against him in 2024.
Welp, Kyle Tucker has been on the injured list (IL) for a while and Yordan Alvarez's hip is bugging him, but I very much wanted a lefty from the Astros, so enter Jon Singleton ($3,200). He's getting regular playing time and has a .871 OPS over the last three weeks. Why did I want a southpaw so bad? Because Roddery Munoz has a 7.45 FIP and has let lefties hit .309 against him.
Stack to Consider
Red Sox vs. Athletics (Luis Medina): Jarren Duran ($5,900), Wilyer Abreu ($4,300), Ceddanne Rafaela ($4,200)
Medina hasn't allowed many home runs, but that's about the extent of positives for him in his sophomore campaign. The righty has a 4.37 ERA and a 1.39 K/BB rate. I didn't go with sluggers from the Red Sox, given the circumstances, but I still liked this stack. Also, I included one righty. Right-handers have hit .313 against Medina this season.
Duran has a .889 OPS against righties and a .882 OPS at Fenway Park. While he has 10 homers, the speedy outfielder also has 10 triples and 22 stolen bases. Abreu, who has seven homers and seven stolen bases in 67 games, has been cold recently. This matchup should help, though. In his career, he has a .863 OPS versus righties and a .848 OPS at home. The righty Rafaela doesn't get on base with gusto, but he's still managed 11 homers, four triples and 11 swiped bags. He also has a .967 OPS over the last two weeks for good measure.
