Full disclosure: I’ve stayed up past my bedtime two straight nights to watch my favorite team blow late-inning leads against one of the worst teams in baseball, so I might be a little cranky.
But I’ll try and not let that affect my judgement of this four-game featured slate on DraftKings. Deal? Deal. Let’s dive in and find the best MLB DFS picks we can for Thursday night.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $125K Relay Throw [$25K to 1st]
PITCHER
Value
Spencer Schwellenbach, Atlanta Braves vs. Cincinnati Reds, $7,700 – After an amazing three-start run to begin 2025, Schwellenbach’s been pretty underwhelming, allowing 17 earned runs over his past 21.1 innings of work. Still, the right-hander was priced at $9,700 his last time out. He was $10,000 the outing before that. Clearly there’s now a buying window. Schwellenbach’s underlying metrics still look fine. The sophomore comes into Thursday’s tilt with the Reds in possession of a 3.37 SIERA and a 13.9% swinging strike rate. Schwellenbach has obvious upside and he makes for a great second arm to pair with either Yoshinobu Yamamoto ($10,000) or Jesus Luzardo ($9,000).
INFIELD
Stud
Trea Turner, Philadelphia Phillies at Tampa Bay Rays, $5,200 – Turner comes into this matchup with Ryan Pepiot ($6,300) red-hot. In fact, across his past 10 games, Turner is slashing .432/.457/.545 with three extra-base hits and a pair of steals. Turner is also right-handed, which should mean good things against Pepiot. The RHP has struggled in general so far in 2025 — let’s just say he’s not enjoyed pitching at George M. Steinbrenner Field — but RHBs have had the most success off Pepiot to this point in the season. To wit, righties are batting .321 with a .408 wOBA off Tampa’s probable starter on Thursday.
Value
Yoan Moncada, Los Angeles Angels vs. Toronto Blue Jays, $3,900 – Moncada was activated from the 10-day IL on Tuesday. In the two starts he’s made since that moment, Moncada has a pair of home runs and he’s averaging 18.5 FPTS. Not too shabby. Both long balls have come against right-handed pitching, which makes sense, as Moncada has always possessed more power as an LHB. For his career, his .181 ISO versus RHPs is 40 points higher than his mark in the opposite split. Chris Bassitt ($8,500) is right-handed. Bassitt has also surrendered two opponent homers in each of his last two outings.
OUTFIELD
Stud
Marcell Ozuna, Atlanta Braves vs. Cincinnati Reds, $4,300 – Ozuna’s surface numbers don’t exactly jump off the page so far this season, but the 34-year-old is swinging it just as well as he always has. In his 33 games, Ozuna has managed a 93rd percentile expected wOBA (.405) to go along with an 85th percentile average exit velocity (92.2). If he keeps that up, at some point, the home runs are going to come. Nick Lodolo ($6,700) has been solid in 2025, yet his contact rate (90.9%) is by far a career-high, while a 17.8% strikeout rate is a career-low. He’s just not missing bats. That’s a red flag.
Value
Anthony Santander, Toronto Blue Jays at Los Angeles Angels, $3,800 – Santander’s always been a slow-starter and it seems like he might be beginning to turn the corner for the Jays. In his last seven games, the veteran outfielder has seven hits, including a pair of home runs, which has translated into a 127 wRC+. Despite that, this is the cheapest price tag that Santander’s had all season. Remember, this is a man who smashed 44 long balls as recently as last year. You’re not going to find that type of upside very often below $4,000.
