It’s finally here. Opening Day. For a baseball nerd like me, this is Christmas, Halloween and my birthday all rolled into one. It certainly helps when there’s a massive contest and prize pool on DraftKings, too.
For the purposes of this article, we’ll be focusing on Thursday’s nine-game featured slate, which gets going at 4:05 p.m. ET. Let’s break down everything you’ll need to know for the start of the MLB campaign.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $500K Opening Day Special [$100K to 1st]
PITCHER
Stud
Paul Skenes, Pittsburgh Pirates at Miami Marlins, $10,000 – He’ll certainly be the chalk, but it’s difficult to ignore arguably the game’s top pitcher in a matchup with maybe the league’s worst lineup. Skenes was a dominant force in 2024, posting a 1.96 ERA and a 2.44 FIP across the 23 starts he made at the MLB level. If that wasn’t enough, the RHP complimented his amazing ratios with a gargantuan 33.1% strikeout rate. As for the Marlins? Well, things are bleak. PECOTA projects Miami to score the fewest runs of any team in 2025 and it’ll begin the campaign with Connor Norby (oblique) and Jesus Sanchez (oblique) — two of the Marlins’ higher-upside bats — on the IL. Woof.
Value
Editor’s Note: Guardians SP Tanner Bibee (illness) has been scratched from today’s game vs. the Royals.
Tanner Bibee, Cleveland Guardians at Kansas City Royals, $7,000 – Bibee is on the heels of signing a $48 million extension with the Guardians. You have to be pretty good to get that kind of cash. He’s also the perfect pivot off of Yusei Kikuchi ($6,900), who will likely be very popular in his matchup with the lowly White Sox. Bibee wasn’t quite as good in his sophomore season as a his rookie campaign, yet he still managed a 3.47 ERA and a 3.56 FIP over 173.2 innings. The right-hander also struck out over a batter per frame, finishing 2024 with a respectable 26.3% strikeout rate. The Royals might not be the White Sox, but this is a lineup that struggled immensely down the stretch of last season. If Vinnie Pasquantino ($4,600; hamstring) can’t play or is limited, Kansas City certainly isn’t an offense to fear.
INFIELD
Stud
Trea Turner, Philadelphia Phillies at Washington Nationals, $5,300 – Turner has always hit left-handed pitching well. To wit, he owns a career 130 wRC+ within the split. Last season, the shortstop slashed .303/.363/.526 with a .381 wOBA versus southpaws. He won’t have to wait long to face one in 2025. The Nationals will turn to MacKenzie Gore ($6,600) on Thursday. Gore was decent in 2024, yet still posted an underwhelming 4.20 xERA. It might also be worth noting that Turner has had success against Gore in the past, owning a .979 OPS off the southpaw in 17 at-bats.
Stud
Rafael Devers, Boston Red Sox at Texas Rangers, $4,900 – I’m not really sure how much juice Nathan Eovaldi ($7,200) has left. He was fine in 2024, pitching to a 3.91 xERA, but he’s now 35-years-old and didn’t look good throughout Spring Training. Meanwhile, despite some positional drama, Devers still enters 2025 as one of the better left-handed bats in baseball. Last season, Devers slashed .293/.385/.601 with a 162 wRC+ against RHPs. For sake of comparison, the All-Star managed only an 88 wRC+ versus southpaws.
Value
Triston Casas, Boston Red Sox at Texas Rangers, $3,900 – Let’s roll with a mini-Boston stack. Casas is another strong left-handed bat in Red Sox’s lineup with quite a bit of upside. For his career, Casas owns a .231 ISO and a 129 wRC+ against right-handed pitching. If Casas hits like he can to start the season, he won’t be priced under $4,000 for long. Trust me.
OUTFIELD
Stud
Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels at Chicago White Sox, $5,100 – Might as well use Trout while he’s still healthy, right? The 33-year-old managed a .405 expected wOBA in his 126 plate appearances last season, then posted a 171 wRC+ this spring. He remains one of the best players in the game when available and there’s a case to be made that he’s a little too cheap on the slate. Trout will also get the benefit of facing Sean Burke ($6,300), who struggled to keep opposing hitters in the yard in Triple-A in 2024. In Spring Training? Burke surrendered three home runs in just 12.0 innings.
Stud
Luis Robert, Chicago White Sox vs. Los Angeles Angels, $4,100 – Speaking of players who are currently healthy and maybe at a slight discount, let’s dissect Robert’s value on Opening Day. The former top prospect looked good in Spring Training after a horrendous 2024, slashing .300/.386/.580 over 57 plate appearances. For his career, Robert is also hitting .302 with a .211 ISO and a 142 wRC+ against LHPs. Kikuchi has always been susceptible to the long ball and Robert should come with extremely low-ownership — the direct result of Kikuchi’s expected popularity.
Value
TJ Friedl, Cincinnati Reds vs. San Francisco Giants, $3,700 – Friedl is far from the perfect DFS asset, but the 29-year-old is expected to hit leadoff on Thursday against Logan Webb ($7,500) and the Giants. It’ll be an opposite-hand matchup for the left-handed Friedl, who does possess some power and stolen base potential. Crucially, this contest is taking place in Cincinnati — home to one of the league’s most hitter-friendly parks. Webb’s numbers were not nearly as good on the road in 2024, where he pitched to a 4.11 ERA. I’ll take a chance on a cheap Reds bat in an ideal lineup spot.
