As per usual, we’ve got a small MLB featured slate on Thursday night, with just 10 teams in action.
Which pitcher should you build your lineups around? Which hitters might provide some value? Let’s dive into tonight’s action on the diamond and break it all down.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $150K Bat Flip [$50K to 1st]
MLB DFS Picks 4/17/25
PITCHER
Value
Reese Olson, Detroit Tigers vs. Kansas City Royals, $7,300 – Control issues have been Olson’s downfall through his first three starts of 2025, as the RHP’s 11.9% walk rate is easily a career-high. Still, I don’t believe Olson’s 6.00 ERA is a true indication of how he’s pitched. Olson’s throwing harder than he ever has before and he’s limiting quality opponent contact — evidenced by a microscopic 2.2% opponent barrel rate. Good results are on the horizon and Olson is far closer to the starter that his 3.94 FIP suggests he is. Expect the normalization to begin on Thursday night thanks to a prime matchup against the Royals. Kansas City enters this slate ranking dead-last in the American League in both ISO (.101) and wRC+ (66). It’s hard to ask for a more cupcake opponent.
INFIELD
Stud
Jose Ramirez, Cleveland Guardians at Baltimore Orioles, $5,600 – Ramirez has multi-hit performances in each of the first two games in this series and I don’t anticipate he’ll slow down on Thursday. Especially not with Tomoyuki Sugano ($6,000) on the mound for Baltimore. The rookie has survived his first 14.0 innings in MLB, but Sugano’s 8.1% strikeout rate and 6.8% swinging strike rate are no way to live. You simply have to have the ability to miss bats at this level. Sugano’s 5.83 xERA is nearly two full runs higher than his actual ERA and that regression will hit hard when it happens. I’m looking for big things from Ramirez and the Guardians.
Stud
Corey Seager, Texas Rangers vs. Los Angeles Angels, $4,800 – Seager’s raw power numbers haven’t been amazing to start the season, but the veteran is still slashing .288/.344/.458 with a .383 expected wOBA and a 135 wRC+. He’s clearly the best left-handed bat that the Rangers roster and that’s important in a meeting with Jack Kochanowicz ($6,300). The RHP is one of baseball’s most contact-oriented pitchers and that’s led to some issues in opposite-hand matchups so far in 2025. The 35 LHBs that Kochanowicz has faced have combined to average 3.24 home runs per nine.
Value
Willson Contreras, St. Louis Cardinals at New York Mets, $3,600 – This is by far the cheapest Contreras has been in 2025. Heck, it might be the cheapest he’s been in years. It has not been a pretty start to the season for the converted backstop, with Contreras batting .145 with a 23 wRC+ across 74 plate appearances. At the same time, this is an asset that managed a 140 wRC+ in 2024. I don’t think Contreras magically forgot how to hit over the winter. I’m willing to chalk it up to small sample size noise and take advantage of Contreras’ new value status. That’s particularly easy with Griffin Canning ($7,400) on the mound for the Mets. Only one pitcher surrendered more home runs than Canning did last year. This is not a matchup to fear, by any means.
OUTFIELD
Stud
Lars Nootbaar, St. Louis Cardinals at New York Mets, $4,600 – The Cardinals’ leadoff man is healthy and producing so far in 2025, with a majority of his damage coming against right-handed pitching. To wit, in 55 plate appearances within the split, Nootbar is slashing .295/.436/.477 with a .403 wOBA and a 161 wRC+. For the season as a whole, Nootbar also enters play on Thursday with a 91st percentile expected batting average (.306) and an 89th percentile expected wOBA (.403). He’s always been good when available throughout his career, but this is probably the best we’ve ever seen from the outfielder.
Value
Kameron Misner, Tampa Bay Rays vs. New York Yankees, $3,900 – Won’t this be trippy? For the first time, the Yankees will play as the visitor at George M. Steinbrenner Field, as the team visits the Rays on Thursday evening. Honestly, Misner might never want to go back to the Trop. In 33 plate appearances in a hitter-friendly environment, Misner is slashing .394/.436/.788 with a .394 ISO. It’s a small sample to be sure, but there’s no denying how good the 27-year-old has been to begin 2025. Misner will get a chance to add to those stats against Will Warren ($7,700), who has conceded a .400 wOBA to opposing LHBs throughout his time at the MLB level.
