We’ve got a very small four-game featured MLB slate on DraftKings this evening that locks at 7:05 p.m. ET.
Not only is it tiny, but it’s also stacked with some pretty impressive pitching talent, so knowing which lineups to stack is going to be that much more important and difficult. Here are my top three options for Thursday’s action under the lights.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $125K Relay Throw [$25K to 1st]
1. Philadelphia Phillies
OF Kyle Schwarber ($5,600)
1B Bryce Harper ($5,500)
SS Trea Turner ($5,200)
2B Bryson Stott ($4,800)
OF Nick Castellanos ($4,400)
We all knew that the Rays moving from the Trop to George M. Steinbrenner Field was going to be a big storyline in 2025. Not only is Tampa’s new home a minor league ball park, but it’s a minor league ball park with the exact dimensions of Yankee Stadium — one of the best places to hit a home run in MLB. Needless to say, it was going to be an adjustment for some of the Rays’ pitchers. Ryan Pepiot ($6,300) has yet to make said adjustment.
Pepiot comes into Thursday’s tilt in possession of a 4.66 xERA and a 5.15 FIP across his seven starts this season. The biggest red flag has been the right-hander’s inability to keep the ball in park, as Pepiot’s surrendered 1.88 opponent home runs per nine. In a not so shocking twist, all eight long balls that the RHP has given up so far in 2025 have come at home. At Steinbrenner Field. That equates out to 2.57 home runs per nine with a 5.77 FIP. The Phillies have the bats that can take advantage of this flaw. RHBs own a .593 slugging percentage off Pepiot across his 38.1 innings, so Trea Turner may be the No. 1 option in this spot.
2. Atlanta Braves
3B Austin Riley ($5,000)
1B Matt Olson ($4,600)
2B Ozzie Albies ($4,600)
C Sean Murphy ($4,400)
OF Marcell Ozuna ($4,300)
I’m banking on some Nick Lodolo ($6,700) regression on Thursday night in Atlanta. On the surface, the former seventh-overall pick is on pace for the best season of his career, sporting a tidy 3.27 ERA over 41.1 innings of work. However, there are some warning signs that go along with this amazing start. Not only is Lodolo’s .248 opponent BABIP too low to sustain, but the left-hander simply isn’t getting any whiffs anymore. Lodolo’s 91.9% zone contact rate is the sixth-highest qualified mark in baseball. His strikeout rate, once sitting at 29.7% in his rookie campaign, is down to paltry 17.8%.
Contact is the enemy of pitchers and Lodolo is trending in a poor direction. At some point, he’s going to get burned. Granted, the Braves have only hit left-handed pitching to the tune of a 71 wRC+ in 2025, but the top half of this lineup is stacked with names that have a long history of success against LHPs: Austin Riley, Marcell Ozuna, Sean Murphy and Ozzie Albies. In particular, Riley owns a career .904 OPS and a 140 wRC+ within the split.
3. Los Angeles Angels
SS Zach Neto ($4,200)
C Logan O’Hoppe ($4,000)
3B Yoan Moncada ($3,900)
OF Jorge Soler ($3,500)
OF Taylor Ward ($3,200)
The Angels have been one of baseball’s worst offenses over the past month, yet the team is riding high after back-to-back late-inning comebacks against the Blue Jays. Also, despite a low batting average (.218) and a high strikeout rate (26.9%), Los Angeles has at least always been able to hit for power. The Angels come into tonight’s series finale ranking fifth in baseball in ISO (.171) and home runs (49). Considering no one in this lineup is all that expensive, that’s some nice upside to dream on.
Home runs have also been a bit of an issue for Chris Bassitt ($8,500) as of late. The veteran RHP looked untouchable to begin 2025, yet he’s come back down to Earth in his last two starts, surrendering a pair of opponent long balls in each. Lefties have also tended to be a problem for the 36-year-old. After hitting .305 with a .381 wOBA off Bassitt in 2024, LHBs are responsible for 75% of the home runs that the right-hander has given up this season. That makes Moncada, who has homered in both his games since coming off the IL, very interesting with a price tag below $4,000.
