You would be hard-pressed to find a bigger baseball fan than me. However, I’ll even acknowledge that this is not the MLB’s night. Not only does Thursday feature the NFL Draft, not only does it feature NBA and NHL playoff games, but there’s just straight up not a ton going on on the diamond.
That’s how you get an odd MLB DFS slate like this: A three-game DraftKings adventure that locks at 9:29 p.m. ET.
Still, there’s some sickos out there. These picks are for you.
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA $100K Relay Throw [$25K to 1st] (Night)
SP Carmen Mlodzinski, Pittsburgh Pirates at Los Angeles Angels, $5,000
Why not? Seriously. Why not?
Mlodzinski is $2,200 cheaper than any other pitcher on this slate and while a cursory glance at his 7.41 ERA would seem to validate that price tag, I’m here to tell you it’s a buying window. The right-hander hasn’t been amazing, but he’s also been incredibly unlucky in his first four starts of the season, shouldering an insane .424 opponent BABIP. It’s not like Mlodzinski’s been hit all that hard, either. In fact, his 3.3% opponent barrel rate ranks in the 88th percentile of the league. Is the 26-year-old a future Cy Young winner? Probably not. However, I think his 3.56 FIP is a better approximation of his talent level.
This is also the Angels we’re talking about. Los Angeles was shutout on Wednesday, a performance which dropped the team to 27th in batting average (.216) and 26th in wRC+ (89). The Angels possess the league’s highest strikeout rate across the past two weeks, as well. That’s a fun little statistical nugget for prospective DFS owners.
1B Jonathan Aranda, Tampa Bay Rays at Arizona Diamondbacks, $4,700
Aranda’s price point has risen throughout 2025, yet the lefty platoon bat still feels like a pretty good value. At least, that’s how I would classify someone with a salary below $5,000 who also happens to possess a 99th percentile expected slugging rate (.711) and a 99th percentile expected wOBA (.479).
The right-hander pitcher that Aranda and the rest of the Rays will matchup with on Thursday is Corbin Burnes ($8,800), though that name doesn’t exactly strike the same level of fear that it used to. The 30-year-old owns a 4.64 ERA and a 5.42 FIP across his first four outings with the Diamondbacks, surrendering an eyebrow-raising 1.69 opponent home runs per nine. Burnes is also sporting a career-low 18.5% strikeout rate, which would make this the fifth season in a row that the All-Star’s strikeout rate has fallen. That’s generally a pretty bad sign.
3B/OF Josh Smith, Texas Rangers at Athletics, $3,500
The last time the Rangers faced a right-handed opponent, this past Tuesday, Smith was moved up into the leadoff spot. If you’re wondering why, look no further than the utility man’s impressive statistics so far in 2025. In 45 plate appearances against RHPs, Smith is slashing .436/.511/.692 with a 249 wRC+. It’s obviously a small sample, but after breaking out with a 111 wRC+ in 2024, Smith’s proven himself to be a reliable platoon bat. He’s also so cheap that you don’t need too much convincing to put him in a lineup or two.
On Thursday, Smith and the Rangers will draw J.T. Ginn ($7,200). Ginn’s looked solid across his pair of starts with the Athletics this season, though he’s had some issues with LHBs through his career. To wit, Ginn’s allowed opposing lefties to combine for a .307 average and a .371 wOBA.
