It’s been a rainy week. Like, a really rainy week. Like, the kind of week where you start wondering if you’ll ever see the sun again. As such, you’ll obviously have to keep an eye on some weather concerns as we near lock for tonight’s five-game featured MLB slate — specifically in New York.
For everything on-field, let’s dive in and find some studs and values.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $150K Relay Throw [$50K to 1st]
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PITCHER
Stud
Bryan Woo, Seattle Mariners vs. Detroit Tigers, $9,000 – Woo is going to be incredibly chalky on this slate, but I’d rather try and differentiate with my second pitcher. The 24-year-old has just been really, really good and the Tigers haven’t been able to hit for weeks. Injuries have limited Woo to only 12 starts in 2024, yet he’s made the most of them, maintaining a 2.08 ERA and a 2.40 xERA. He’s also on the heels of maybe his most impressive outing of the season, tossing seven scoreless innings against the Phillies. Meanwhile, Detroit’s hitting .189 as a team with a league-worst .093 ISO across the last 14 days. The Tigers desperately miss Riley Greene (hamstring).
Value
Shane Baz, Tampa Bay Rays at St. Louis Cardinals, $7,600 – Baz’s transition back to MLB starter hasn’t been perfect — one look at his 5.69 xERA would tell you as much — but the 25-year-old is throwing as hard as ever and is still in possession of a 3.60 ERA. Strikeouts have always been Baz’s calling card and though he’s managed just 24 in his 25.0 innings in 2024, an 11.7% swinging strike rate is a positive indication that the RHP’s stuff still plays. Simply put, Baz has more DFS upside than any other pitcher priced below $8K on this tiny slate.
INFIELD
Stud
Ketel Marte, Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Philadelphia Phillies, $6,000 – Few players on the planet are as hot as Marte at the moment. In his 78 plate appearances since the All-Star break, the switch-hitter is batting .328 with 10 home runs. Yes. You read that correctly. 10 of Marte’s 22 hits within that span have left the ball park. On Thursday, Marte will get the pleasure of facing Kolby Allard ($6,000). Allard is left-handed. That is unfortunate news for anyone with plans to fade Marte, as the infielder owns a 207 wRC+ off southpaws in 2024.
Stud
Cal Raleigh, Seattle Mariners vs. Detroit Tigers, $4,700 – Raleigh’s overall offensive numbers won’t ever blow you away, but the backstop does possession one elite skill in the batter’s box: Power. Since the beginning of 2023, Raleigh has 54 home runs to his name. That’s good for the 15th-most in baseball and it’s far and away the most by any catcher — Sal Perez is second with 43. This is the profile you want to be hunting for a matchup with Kenta Maeda ($6,200). The veteran RHP is surrendering an eye-popping 2.03 opponent home runs per nine this season.
Value
Zach Neto, Los Angeles Angels at New York Yankees, $4,000 – Neto’s price point has been steadily rising in recent weeks and it isn’t hard to see why. The sophomore has been on fire since the All-Star break, coming into Thursday’s action slashing .316/.435/.595 with a 188 wRC+ in his 71 plate appearances. However, he’s still cheap enough to be an elite value on this slate. Neto has specifically crushed LHPs in 2024 to the tune of a .422 batting average and a .456 wOBA. He’s in a nice spot against Nestor Cortes ($7,900).
OUTFIELD
Stud
Randy Arozarena, Seattle Mariners vs. Detroit Tigers, $4,900 – Speaking of players who are in the zone since the All-Star break, let’s talk a little about Arozarena. The outfielder’s 2024 campaign started slow, but things have gotten progressively better all season long. Now, in his last 75 plate appearances, Arozarena is slashing .311/.427/.623 with a .311 ISO and a 195 wRC+. It’s not very expensive to stack the top of the Mariners lineup this evening against the aforementioned Maeda. Do it.
Stud
Colton Cowser, Baltimore Orioles at Toronto Blue Jays, $4,400 – I swear I usually use a more diverse set of splits when writing an article, but, well, Cowser has also been tearing the cover off the baseball since the All-Star break. So much so that he’s now the Orioles’ leadoff man against RHPs. In his last 81 plate appearances, Cowser is slashing .352/.420/.563 with a 178 wRC+. He had a 17-game hit streak. He’s now the odds-on favorite to win AL Rookie of the Year. The man is pretty good. Then there’s the Kevin Gausman ($9,500) factor. Gausman has struggled all season long pitching in Canada. He owns a ghastly 6.39 ERA at Rogers Centre.
Value
Randal Grichuk, Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Philadelphia Phillies, $3,400 – Grichuk is no longer an everyday piece, but the veteran has been a fantastic platoon bat for the Diamondbacks in 2024. In 129 plate appearances against LHPs, Grichuk is hitting .292 with a 120 wRC+. For the purposes of his viability on tonight’s slate, it’s also worth considering where Grichuk might wind up in the batting order. With Christian Walker (oblique) and Gabriel Moreno (adductor) on the IL, I think there’s a chance the 32-year-old is Arizona’s clean-up man. That’s value.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $150K Relay Throw [$50K to 1st]
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All views expressed are my own. I am an employee of DraftKings and am ineligible to play in public DFS or DKSB contests.
