We’ve got a seven-game slate for Thursday’s MLB action, starting at 12:35 p.m. ET. Hip hip hooray for afternoon baseball!
Let’s find some studs and values for your MLB DFS lineups on DraftKings. This article was written before lineups were announced.
Make your DraftKings MLB DFS picks here: MLB $100K Relay Throw [$25K to 1st]
PITCHER
Stud
Nolan McLean, New York Mets vs. Detroit Tigers ($9,300) — Through 45.1 innings, McLean has been a total chef’s kiss. The right-hander’s 2.39 FIP is lower than his 2.78 ERA. The strikeout rate is a robust 32.6%, while his K-BB% is 25.7%. McLean has only yielded three home runs, while allowing an average exit velocity of 85.9 mph, a launch angle of 8.8 degrees, and a barrel rate of 5.8%. McLean has produced double-digit FPTS in all eight starts this season, five outings over 20 FPTS.
Value
Carmen Mlodzinski, Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Colorado Rockies ($6,300) — Mlodzinski has a 4.50 ERA through 40 innings, but he’s been very unlucky. His BABIP is .361, and his FIP is much lower at 2.84. Mlodzinski’s strikeout rate is 23.2%, while the K-BB% is 15.8%. He is getting hit hard, though, allowing an average exit velocity of 92.2 mph. Still, the Rockies have been brutal away from Coors Field — first in strikeouts, 20th in ISO, 18th in wOBA, and 17th in wRC+. Mlodzinski has produced double-digit FPTS in five of eight starts this season, with two over 20 FPTS.
INFIELD
Stud
Elly De La Cruz, Cincinnati Reds vs. Washington Nationals ($6,100) — De La Cruz is slashing .292/.355/.518 with a .226 ISO this season. The strikeout rate is 28%, but that’s way down from the 33.7% that he posted in his rookie season. An elevated .364 BABIP fuels the slash, but he’s had a high BABIP throughout his whole career due to his tremendous speed. In 186 plate appearances, De La Cruz has produced 10 home runs, 30 runs, 29 RBIs, and nine stolen bases. His average exit velocity is 94 mph, launch angle is 12.4 degrees, and barrel rate is 15%. Against left-handed pitching, De La Cruz has a 165 wRC+ and a .381 ISO. Foster Griffin has been good to start the season, but the 4.08 FIP does not support the 2.12 ERA. His BABIP is only .216. Against righties, his K/9 is 2.21 points lower, and K-BB% is 5.6 percentage points lower than against lefties.
Value
Braden Shewmake, Houston Astros vs. Seattle Mariners ($2,700) — With Jeremy Pena and Carlos Correa injured, Shewmake has been the strong side of the platoon at shortstop. In 29 plate appearances, he has three home runs. His strikeout rate is only 13.8%, while the ISO is an impressive .321. Shewmake is slashing .357/.357/.679, but a .333 BABIP boosts those numbers. The bat speed is only 69.2 mph, but the launch angle is 17.5 degrees. He’s cheap, and Luis Castillo has struggled against lefties this season, posting a 5.18 FIP with four of the six home runs coming off southpaw bats.
OUTFIELD
Stud
Yordan Alvarez, Houston Astros vs. Seattle Mariners ($6,400) — Alvarez is slashing .308/.413/.616 with a 13.2% walk rate, a 16.4% strikeout rate and a .308 ISO. The BABIP is .310, so his slash is legit. He has 13 home runs through 189 plate appearances. The average exit velocity is 94.4 mph, the launch angle is 18.5 degrees, and the barrel rate is 17.8%. The numbers are video game-esque — on rookie mode. As previously mentioned, Castillo struggles against lefties.
Value
A.J. Ewing, New York Mets vs. Detroit Tigers ($2,600) — Ewing had quite the debut on Tuesday, going 1-for-2 with a triple, two runs, two RBIs, three walks, and a stolen base. That was good for 27 FPTS. Throughout his minor league career, Ewing’s walk rate was often in the double digits, while his batting average was over .300. He didn’t display much power, but his speed is legit, as he stole 70 bases in 2025.
