This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
It's the halfway point of the MLB season Thursday (literally, in terms of total games across all 30 teams). There are only five games starting at 7:07 p.m. EDT or later, though.
Pitching
Max Scherzer, NYM vs. MIL ($9,700): Scherzer is the must-have pitcher Thursday, even if his 3.95 ERA is much higher than his career 3.13 number (and his 2.29 ERA last season). That ERA from last year is part of my enthusiasm, as is his 2.95 ERA at home this year. However, it's also the Brewers as a matchup, as they are 26th in runs scored, the only team in the bottom 10 on this slate.
J.P. France, HOU at STL ($8,700): Not particularly enthused about a second pitcher Thursday, I am going with France due to his striking home/road splits. The rookie has a 5.01 ERA at home, but a 2.40 ERA on the road, where he has only allowed 0.9 home runs per nine innings. St. Louis is just outside the top 10 in runs scored, but it has gotten there by being in the top eight in home runs, which may be tricky against France away from Houston.
Top Target
Unsurprisingly, Ryan McMahon ($3,500) has an .835 OPS at home since 2021, but he also has an .824 OPS against righties in that time. Emmet Sheehan is a top pitching prospect, and he's made two MLB starts, though his numbers are a little hard to parse given the sample size. He has an 1.50 ERA, but a 5.25 FIP, over 12.0 innings. Mostly, he's a righty, he's never made a start on the road before, and now he's at Coors Field.
Bargain Bat
You want a lefty from the Astros on Thursday, but with Yordan Alvarez injured, there is literally only one option, and that's Kyle Tucker ($3,400). Not that Tucker is some slouch, as he has 10 home runs and 14 stolen bases after having 30 of the former and 25 of the latter in 2022. Why am I so determined to have a lefty from Houston? Because Adam Wainwright, in addition to his 6.56 ERA and 10.9 strikeout percentage, has allowed lefties to hit .398 against him.
Stacks to Consider
Dodgers at Rockies (Chase Anderson): Mookie Betts ($4,400), J.D. Martinez ($3,900), James Outman ($2,900)
I just mentioned Coors, so why not stack a few Dodgers as well? Anderson is an enticing pitcher on this front. Over the previous five seasons, his lowest FIP he's posted is 4.82, and this is his first season with the Rockies. Lefties have hit .297 against Anderson this year, but since 2021 righties have hit .299 against him, so I have gone with two right handers in this stack.
Betts is a leadoff hitter with power, and this year he has a .355 OBP and .513 slugging percentage with 20 home runs. While he's better at home, the effect of Coors Field on offense makes up for that, as does Anderson having allowed 1.47 home runs per nine innings in his career. Last year was an anomaly from a power perspective for Martinez, who has a career .523 slugging percentage. This year, though, he has slugged over .600 against both righties and on the road. Outman has faded since a hot start, but he still has nine homers and eight stolen bases. He can hit his fellow lefties recently well, but he has a .792 OPS against righties and an .858 OPS on the road in his career.
Cubs vs. Phillies (Taijuan Walker): Christopher Morel ($3,600), Nico Hoerner ($3,300), Ian Happ ($3,200)
Walker has pitched well recently, but he has a 4.49 FIP on the season. Plus, most of his strong performances have been at home. In fact, in his first season with the Phillies, Walker has a 2.13 ERA at home and a 5.76 ERA on the road. That's got me willing to stack three Cubs. I went with guys who can hit right handed, as Walker does tend to keep lefties in check, but righties have hit .256 against him this year.
Since getting called up from Triple-A, Morel has taken off (aside from being allergic to walks). He's hit .268 and slugged .594 with 13 homers. In his career he has an .851 OPS at Wrigley Field as well. Hoerner stole 20 bases last year, and he's already stolen 17 this year. He doesn't have a ton of power, but he does have an .801 OPS at home over the last three seasons. Happ's keen batting eye has helped him post a .384 OBP. While he's a switch hitter, he has an .865 OPS against righties in 2023, including hitting all seven of his home runs in those matchups.
