It’s a super light day on the diamond with just five games scheduled. Three of those appear on DraftKings’ featured MLB slate, which locks at 1:05 p.m. ET with first pitches in Baltimore and Philadelphia.
Let’s dive in and find some studs and values for your lineups.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $125K Bat Flip [$25K to 1st]
PITCHER
Value
Tanner Houck, Boston Red Sox at Baltimore Orioles, $7,200 – The pitching options below $9,000 on this slate are pretty bleak, but of the bunch, Houck is the one I have the most confidence in. The RHP was hit hard in his first start of 2025, yet Houck was very solid for the duration of 2024, registering a 3.12 ERA and a 3.32 FIP across 178.2 innings of work. This also seems like it might be a great time for Houck to be drawing the Orioles. LHBs have been an issue for the right-hander throughout his career, yet he’s held opposing RHBs to a .268 wOBA. Colton Cowser (thumb) is on the IL. As of writing, so is Gunnar Henderson ($5,500; intercostal), though we’ll see if the young phenom is activated prior to the game. Keep an eye.
INFIELD
Stud
Bryce Harper, Philadelphia Phillies vs. Colorado Rockies, $5,500 – The surface numbers don’t look amazing for Harper through five games, yet the veteran owns a .352 expected wOBA and an 11.1% barrel rate in his 23 plate appearances. He’ll be fine. Squaring off with Antonio Senzatela ($6,000) on Thursday afternoon should help. Senzatela somehow didn’t allow a run in his first outing of 2025, despite conceding nine hits in only 4.1 innings and not striking out a single opponent. That’s how you end up with a laughable 23.17 xERA. Enjoy BvP? It might be worth noting that Harper already has a pair of long balls of Senzatela in his career.
Value
Ezequiel Tovar, Colorado Rockies at Philadelphia Phillies, $3,800 – As with every member of the Rockies, Tovar is off to a slow start in 2025, as the team has yet to play a game in the hitter’s haven that is Coors Field. However, if there was every going to be a pitching matchup that brought this lineup to life — it’s Taijuan Walker ($7,000). The veteran RHP simply looked cooked in 2024. Walker’s average fastball velocity (91.7) dipped significantly and, as a result, the 32-year-old pitched to a 7.09 xERA and allowed 2.58 opponent home runs per nine. Specific to RHBs, Walker surrendered a .337 average and a .445 wOBA. Yikes.
OUTFIELD
Stud
Kyle Schwarber, Philadelphia Phillies vs. Colorado Rockies, $6,000 – I mentioned above that Senzatela didn’t strikeout one of the 21 batters he faced against the Rays this past weekend. That’s a dangerous way to live against Schwarber, who has shown time and time again that he’ll punish you if he’s able to make contact. To wit, in 2024, Schwarber ranked in the 98th percentile of hard hit rate (55.5%), the 97th percentile of average exit velocity (93.6) and the 96th percentile of barrel rate (15.6%). This season, Schwarber owns a .476 ISO and he possesses an insane .624 expected wOBA on batted ball events. Two words: Perfect matchup.
Value
Kristian Campbell, Boston Red Sox at Baltimore Orioles, $3,500 – Campbell inked a $60 million extension on Wednesday and for good reason. After hitting .330 and posting a 20/20 campaign across three minor league levels in 2024, Campbell is slashing .400/.500/.750 in his first 24 plate appearances in MLB. He’s a top 10 prospect on most sites and he’s looked the part so far. On Thursday, he’ll face-off with a pitcher nearly twice his age: Charlie Morton ($7,200). Morton’s isn’t washed, yet he has lost a tick of his fastball and, following a 4.49 xERA last season, the RHP was hit around in his first outing of 2025 in Toronto. Morton simply isn’t a matchup to fear anymore and Campbell remains far too cheap on DraftKings.
