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We’ve got a six-game slate for Thursday afternoon with the schedule split up a bit. The Seattle Mariners and Baltimore Orioles are playing a day-night doubleheader after Wednesday night was rained out. We’re still looking at a bit of weather that could impact a few games, so be sure to monitor that. Here we’re going to go over some top options on DraftKings and give out a few value picks to help you build your lineup.
Top Pitchers
Jacob deGrom, NYM vs. PHI ($11,300)— deGrom is in a great spot against the Phillies at home, the issue is weather. In the tri-state area, there’s expected to be rain. So this afternoon could be wet. There’s a chance this game gets called, so be cautious when employing deGrom. If the game ends up playing, you could get leverage on the top pitching option on the slate. In the Mets’ opener vs. the Phils, deGrom struck out 7 over 6 scoreless innings.
Lance Lynn, CWS vs. CLE ($9,400) — The Chicago White Sox are coming off an 8-0 win over the Cleveland Indians on Wednesday night. Carlos Rodon came two outs away from tossing a perfect game agains the Tribe. Instead, he settled for a no-hitter. Lynn is facing a lineup that ranks 29th in batting at .195 as a team this season. The Indians don’t strike out much, but just don’t make a ton of strong contact, which is perfect for Lynn.
Top Hitters
Starling Marte, MIA vs. ATL ($5,200) — We’ve got a very exciting pitching matchup in Atlanta Braves vs. Miami Marlins. We’ll get to that a bit later. The Braves side of it is rookie Ian Anderson. Last time out, Anderson allowed 4 ER on 5 hits (2 HRs) over 5.1 IP against the Phils. Marte is the Marlins top hitter in the 2-hole and is a pretty reasonable price for a player on a four-game hitting streak who has a .830 OPS this season.
Rafael Devers, BOS vs. MIN ($5,100) — All of the focus had been on Boston Red Sox OF JD Martinez. Now that JD has cooled off, it’s Devers’ time to shine. The Red Sox 3B is on a six-game hitting streak with four multi-hit games in that span. Michael Pineda is on the hill for the Minnesota Twins and is a power pitcher with strikeout upside. The issue is Pineda leaves balls out and is vulnerable to the long ball — he allowed 2 in his last start. Devers is a safe option in the middle of the Sox lineup.
Value Pitcher
Trevor Rogers, MIA vs. ATL ($6,600) — Rogers may be chalk for the Marlins but it should be good chalk. The Braves offense has a ton of big names and MVP candidates who are not exactly producing so far this season. Atlanta ranks 25th in batting at .219 and are tied for 13th in strikeouts as a team this season. Rogers has some electric stuff. The left-handed hurler struck out 10 over 6 scoreless innings in his previous start vs. the Mets.
Value Hitter
Jesus Aguilar, MIA vs. ATL ($3,100) — If we keep picking on Anderson and the Braves, this Marlins stack isn’t a bad way to go. Aguilar is a strong value play at around $3K who is batting in the middle of the lineup in the 3-hole. So if you stack up Marte with Aguilar and a few other Fins bats, you could be a good shape on the early slate. Aguilar is on a five-game hitting streak with back-to-back multi-hit games.