We’ve got ourselves a full day of baseball on Thursday and it all wraps up with a six-game featured slate on DraftKings at 6:50 p.m. ET.
Who should you be putting into your lineups? I’ve got you covered. Let’s dive in and find some targets and values.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $80K Rally Cap [$20K to 1st]
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PITCHER
Stud
Yusei Kikuchi, Houston Astros vs. Los Angeles Angels, $9,900 – I’m not sure I can wrap my head around the concept of Kikuchi as chalk on a slate, let alone chalk that will cost you almost $10K. Still, the left-hander has been amazing since being traded to the Astros, pitching to a 3.19 ERA and a 2.79 xFIP with a 30.9% strikeout rate in the eight starts he’s made with the club. Houston is also 8-0 in those contests. Tonight, Kikuchi will get the pleasure of facing an Angels lineup that would make far more sense in Triple-A than the big leagues. In September, Los Angeles is hitting an MLB-low .204. The Angels also sport an 80 wRC+ and a 26.0% strikeout rate in the month. Woof.
Value
Javier Assad, Chicago Cubs vs. Washington Nationals, $6,300 – Nothing about Assad’s profile is going to blow you away, but the right-hander has managed to pitch to a 3.27 ERA across 27 starts in 2024. Combine that with his microscopic price tag on Thursday and suddenly you have a path to viability for an arm that isn’t exactly a strikeout artist. His matchup obviously doesn’t hurt, either. While there are certainly some promising young bats on the Nationals’ roster, Washington possesses a 76 wRC+ in September — the third-lowest mark in MLB.
INFIELD
Stud
Pete Alonso, New York Mets vs. Philadelphia Phillies, $4,900 – Much like the Mets in general, Alonso has been red-hot since the All-Star break, posting a .250 ISO and a 140 wRC+ in his last 57 games. Few players in the world possess the kind of slate-changing power that the 29-year-old has in his bat. This is all bad news for Taijuan Walker ($6,800). The veteran RHP has struggled all season long, yet it’s been RHBs that have given him the most issue in 2024. Righties are averaging 2.63 home runs per nine off Walker with a staggering .599 slugging percentage.
Stud
Jose Altuve, Houston Astros vs. Los Angeles Angels, $4,900 – Every season we get to a point where Jose Suarez ($6,000) is making emergency starts for the Angels. It’s a real constant in life. Anyway, it’s not been a great season for the veteran, who sports a 6.20 ERA over his 42.1 innings of work. He’ll likely have a difficult time getting Altuve out, as the All-Star has been absolutely crushing LHPs in 2024. In 161 plate appearances within the split, Altuve is slashing .372/.435/.538 with a 180 wRC+.
Value
Masyn Winn, St. Louis Cardinals vs. Pittsburgh Pirates, $3,600 – This salary seems super low for Winn, who has consistently carried a price tag above $4K for the better part of the season. As he should. Winn has posted a 104 wRC+ in his rookie campaign, with 14 home runs and 11 stolen bases. He’s also locked into the leadoff spot for the Cardinals. On Thursday, Winn and St. Louis will square-off with Luis Ortiz ($7,700). Things have not gone well for Ortiz since the beginning of August. In that span, Ortiz possesses a 6.33 FIP and he’s surrendered 2.25 opponent home per nine.
OUTFIELD
Stud
Corbin Carroll, Arizona Diamondbacks at Milwaukee Brewers, $5,300 – Carroll completely turned his season around at the All-Star break. The reigning NL Rookie of the Year was tragically awful to start 2024, but in his last 236 plate appearances, Carroll is slashing .274/.362/.617 with a .343 ISO and a 162 wRC+. Just for good measure, he’s also racked up 11 stolen bases in that same span of time. He’s a DFS threat in both the batter’s box and the base paths. Tobias Myers ($8,900) has been amazing for the Brewers, yet I’ll take my chances with Carroll in this opposite-hand matchup.
Stud
Bryan Reynolds, Pittsburgh Pirates at St. Louis Cardinals, $5,100 – If you’re going to put the switch-hitting Reynolds into a lineup, you’ll want him to be in a matchup with a right-handed pitcher. All of Reynolds’ power in 2024 has come as a lefty, with him sporting a .191 ISO and a 129 wRC+ in his 460 plate appearances within the split. The RHP he’ll face on Thursday? Erick Fedde ($7,600), whose season has fallen apart in the second-half. To wit, Fedde owns a 5.10 FIP dating back to July 22. That’s not ideal.
Value
Alec Burleson, St. Louis Cardinals vs. Pittsburgh Pirates, $3,800 – Burleson is a man with strong splits. Allow me to explain. Burleson has mustered a 130 wRC+ this season against RHPs. That figure drops to just a 42 wRC+ versus LHPs. Burleson is also hitting .302 with a .798 OPS at home in 2024. That figure drops to a mundane .690 OPS when on the road. Well, he’s in St. Louis this evening. He’s facing the right-handed Ortiz. In his 222 prior plate appearances at Busch Stadium in a matchup with a righty, Burleson is slashing .333/.389/.500 with a 149 wRC+.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $80K Rally Cap [$20K 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.
