Thursday's MLB DFS docket is of the afternoon variety. There are six games on the slate, with the first pitch at 1:10 p.m. ET. If you are able to get your lineups in by that time, here are my lineup recommendations. Good luck! By the time you are deciding on what to have for dinner, you might be paying for it with DFS winnings!
Pitching
Luis Castillo, SEA at KAN ($8,200): This is putting a lot of weight on two starts, but in each of Castillo's last two outings he's gone six innings and allowed a single run. That's enough for me Thursday, particularly in this matchup. The Royals rank 28th in runs scored, so Castillo should at least be able to manage a quality start against them.
Sandy Alcantara, MIA at COL ($6,000): This is a roll of the dice, but at this salary and with the options available Thursday I think it's worth it. While Alcantara has had a tough campaign, he has a 2.48 ERA over his last six starts. Also, while Coors Field is a tough place to pitch, the Rockies are in the bottom five in runs scored, team OPS and strikeouts. Alcantara has the second-lowest salary of any pitcher Thursday, which makes him a gamble with a lot of upside.
Top Target
Okay, call this a bit of bet hedging, but for the catcher position I'd consider Hunter Goodman ($5,000). He's the best hitter the Rockies have, and even if Alcantara has a good day on the mound, it's not like I am projecting a perfect game from him. Goodman is a catcher who has batted .279 and hit 30 homers, both impressive for his position. What's most impressive, and speaks to his skill and not just his home park, is that he's slugged over .500 against righties, lefties, at home and on the road.
Bargain Bat
The other day, seeing a series kicking off a Coors Field, I decided I wanted to try to stack Marlins. Swiftly I realized that the lineup is looking a little sketchy at present. That doesn't mean one can't find a good bargain bat, though. Connor Norby ($4,200) is a third baseman who has slugged .427 against righties and .428 on the road. Not great numbers but sufficient for a trip to Coors Field. Tanner Gordon, a righty, has a career 7.00 ERA, and his fellow righties have hit .357 against him.
Stacks to Consider
Rays vs. Blue Jays (Chris Bassitt): Brandon Lowe ($5,200), Chandler Simpson ($4,400), Josh Lowe ($4,300)
Bassitt has pitched well recently, but there are a couple reasons why I like this stack. One, Bassitt has a 5.42 ERA on the road. Two, lefties have consistently hit him well. Southpaws have batted .275 against the righty this season, and they hit .305 against him in 2024. Thus, I'm down to stack these three Tampa lefties.
In addition to the fact he's one homer shy of a 30-homer season as a second baseman, Brandon Lowe is likely to get more than 80 RBI and 80 runs scored. He's slugged .540 against righties on the campaign as well. Simpson is all about hitting for average and then swiping bags. He hits with Juan Pierre-level power, but Simpson has averaged .296 and picked up a whopping 42 stolen bases in only 102 games. It seems like Josh Lowe is going to manage double-digit homers and 20 stolen bases for the third season in a row, even though he's only played in 101 contests. He's really struggled against lefties, but he's slugged .431 against righties.
Red Sox vs. Athletics (J.T. Ginn): Jarren Duran ($5,000), Nathaniel Lowe ($4,000), Masataka Yoshida ($3,100)
We all blinked, and the Red Sox went from being rich in lefties to somewhat lacking on that front. Rafael Devers is a Giant, and Roman Anthony and Wilyer Abreu are injured. Fortunately, there are still three lefties for a stack. Ginn has a career 4.55 ERA, and lefties have hit .338 against him. Fenway also tends to be kind to lefties, even if Boston's supply of southpaw hitters has taken a hit.
Duran is no slouch as a hitter, of course, and he likes to change things up as well. He has 15 homers, 13 triples and 39 doubles. Plenty of extra-base hits have come in Boston, where he has an .891 OPS this season. Lowe was really struggling in Washington, but he's been a bit better with Boston. A bit, mind you, but that's something. He's at least managed a .746 OPS against righties in 2025, including his time as a Nat, and in admittedly a meager sample size he has a .993 OPS at home signing joining the Red Sox. Yoshida has seen limited action this year, having appeared in 45 games and served as a pinch hitter on occasions when a lefty has started. However, since joining MLB he's hit .291 against righties and .290 at home.
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