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Thursday is a short slate with an EARLY lock time, so make sure your lineups are loaded and good to go by 6:05 p.m. ET. The reason for the early lock is without the games in the 6 o’clock hour, this would have been just a five-game slate. Let’s take a look at a few teams we can stack tonight and hopefully make some of that green.
As always, you can reach me on the ol’ Twitter machine @SBuchanan24.
Set your DraftKings lineups here: MLB $250K Relay Throw [$50K to 1st]
1. Chicago Cubs
The Cubs are one of two teams with a 5.5 team total on this slate along with the Yankees. They’ll be facing Brad Keller ($6,400), who is making his 2020 debut and will likely be on a strict pitch count. Keller posted some good numbers at home in 2019, but with a delayed start to the season and a short outing ahead, the Cubs should be into the Royals bullpen early. That’s a good thing. Thus far, their relievers have pitched to a 4.64 FIP and allowed 1.4 HR/9 and a 38.1% hard-hit rate. On a short slate, I’ll be targeting against those numbers.
Players to Consider
Anthony Rizzo ($5,000)
Kris Bryant ($4,500)
Kyle Schwarber ($4,700)
Willson Contreras ($4,500)
Ian Happ ($3,600)
2. New York Yankees
Another pitcher making his debut tonight is Zach Eflin ($6,900). Likely also on a pitch count, he does present a bit tough matchup for the Yankees. He was good against righties last season, allowing a .299 wOBA with a 4.70 FIP and 11 of the 28 home runs he surrendered. Lefties are the bats that really got to him, but the Yankees are very right-handed heavy. To that end, we should again see the bullpen take over in a game. The Phillies bullpen have the third-highest FIP at 5.05 to go with just a 23.1 K% and a 1.39 WHIP. Building a Yankees stack for a bit later in the game could end up being the play.
Players to Consider
Aaron Judge ($5,300)
Giancarlo Stanton ($5,600)DJ LeMahieu ($4,500)
Brett Gardner ($3,800)
Luke Voit ($3,900)
Editors Note: Aaron Judge and DJ LeMahieu are not in tonight’s lineup.
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3. Philadelphia Phillies
On the other side of this game, I do think the Phillies can put up some runs of their own. Jordan Montgomery ($7,800) will be making his second start of the season after allowing just one run on five hits with four strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings against the Red Sox. A nice beginning to the season, but is it sustainable from a pitcher that missed most of last season due to Tommy John? The Phillies have some good power against lefties and could be a bit overlooked on this slate, especially while playing the Yankees. With some cheap right-handed power in this lineup, this is not one I want to pass on.
Players to Consider
Rhys Hoskins ($3,700)
J.T. Realmuto ($4,700)
Jean Segura ($3,100)
Bryce Harper ($5,000)
Andrew McCutchen ($3,900)
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4. Miami Marlins
Ohhhh yeah, baby! Let’s get a Marlins stack going tonight!!!
It’s important to note that THIS GAME IS AT CAMDEN YARDS. Despite the Marlins being the home team, this is in Baltimore. It changes the dynamic of this game dramatically. Wade LeBlanc ($6,600) has been “meh” in two starts thus far. While the Marlins aren’t this powerful juggernaut, I do think they can handle LeBlanc and then get into that Orioles bullpen. I don’t expect this to be a popular stack by any means and I think it makes for a great GPP play. Let’s not forget, last season with the Mariners, LeBlanc allowed a .356 wOBA with a 5.35 FIP and 19 of his 28 home runs to righties.
Players to Consider
Brian Anderson ($4,400)
Jonathan Villar ($4,300)
Jon Berti ($4,600)
Jesus Aguilar ($4,200)
Corey Dickerson ($4,600)
Set your DraftKings lineups here: MLB $250K Relay Throw [$50K to 1st]
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is Steveazors) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.