After a full week of jam-packed slates, the MLB schedule is a little lighter Thursday. But even if there are only six teams in action while the rest of the league is traveling, there is no better time to dive right into the action. Pitchers are already ranked by price, with the ones who are projected to perform better eating up more of your budget, but I am here to add my two cents. I’ll be sharing my own rankings for the top six starting pitchers for DFS in the three-game Thursday afternoon contest.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $150K Walk-Off Home Run ($50K to 1st)
1. LHP Robbie Ray, SFG (vs. NYM)
Salary: $8,200
2025 Stats: 32 G, 32 GS, 182.1 IP, 11-8, 3.65 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 186 K, 73 BB, 2.2 WAR
2026 Stats: 1 G, 1 GS, 5.1 IP, 0-1, 3.38 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, 4 K, 0 BB, 0.0 WAR
2026 FanGraphs Projections: 30 G, 30 GS, 173.0 IP, 10-11, 4.14 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 182 K, 66 BB, 1.7 WAR (Steamer)
2. LHP Cole Ragans, KC (vs. MIN)
Salary: $9,200
2025 Stats: 13 G, 13 GS, 61.2 IP, 3-3, 4.67 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 98 K, 20 BB, 2.1 WAR
2026 Stats: 1 G, 1 GS, 4.0 IP, 0-1, 9.00 ERA, 2.50 WHIP, 5 K, 4 BB, -0.3 WAR
2026 FanGraphs Projections: 28 G, 28 GS, 165.0 IP, 11-8, 3.32 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 205 K, 63 BB, 3.8 WAR (Steamer)
3. LHP David Peterson, NYM (@ SFG)
Salary: $7,500
2025 Stats: 30 G, 30 GS, 168.2 IP, 9-6, 4.22 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, 150 K, 65 BB, 3.1 WAR
2026 Stats: 1 G, 1 GS, 5.1 IP, 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 3 K, 2 BB, 0.1 WAR
2026 FanGraphs Projections: 28 G, 28 GS, 163.0 IP, 11-9, 3.61 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 146 K, 64 BB, 2.2 WAR (Steamer)
4. RHP Taj Bradley, MIN (@ KC)
Salary: $7,700
2025 Stats: 27 G, 27 GS, 142.2 IP, 6-8, 5.05 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 127 K, 56 BB, 1.8 WAR
2026 Stats: 1 G, 1 GS, 4.1 IP, 0-0, 2.08 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 9 K, 3 BB, 0.2 WAR
2026 FanGraphs Projections: 33 G, 24 GS, 138.0 IP, 8-9, 4.12 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 141 K, 51 BB, 1.9 WAR (Steamer)
5. RHP Reynaldo Lopez, ATL (@ ARI)
Salary: $7,000
2025 Stats: 1 G, 1 GS, 5.0 IP, 0-0, 5.40 ERA, 2.20 WHIP, 1 K, 2 BB, -0.1 WAR
2026 Stats: 1 G, 1 GS, 6.0 IP, 0-0, 1.50 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, 3 K, 2 BB, 0.0 WAR
2026 FanGraphs Projections: 33 G, 23 GS, 145.0 IP, 9-8, 4.09 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 146 K, 52 BB, 1.7 WAR (Steamer)
6. RHP Ryne Nelson, ARI (vs. ATL)
Salary: $6,000
2025 Stats: 33 G, 23 GS, 154.0 IP, 0-0, 3.39 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 132 K, 41 BB, 2.0 WAR
2026 Stats: 1 G, 1 GS, 4.2 IP, 0-0, 7.71 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 4 K, 3 BB, -0.2 WAR
2026 FanGraphs Projections: 36 G, 27 GS, 157.0 IP, 9-10, 4.30 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 134 K, 47 BB, 1.5 WAR (Steamer)
