FanDuel MLB: Thursday Breakdown

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Updated on May 23, 2019 10:17AM EST

There's an early-only and an all-day slate that starts at 12:10 p.m. EDT, and usually there's some overlay with the all-day slate.

The bigger note for Thursday night is the main slate that starts at 6:10 p.m. EDT instead of the usual 7:05 p.m. EDT and only has two games. In GPPs, Thursday is a good night to not use up the whole salary cap; it's not a bad strategy to have as much as $1,000 leftover.

Pitching

Blake Snell ($11,200) is the obvious choice on the slate for cash games, and the Rays ace been absolutely cruising over his last three starts. Over that span of games, he has 30 strikeouts in 17.2 innings and has scored 46, 47 and 55 fantasy points, respectively. The Indians are an excellent matchup as well, ranking in the bottom third of the league in wOBA (.298) and strikeout rate (25.4 percent).

Looking at the other three pitchers, Houston's Corbin Martin ($8,400) likely ranks as the second best pitching name being home and facing the White Sox. Normally Lucas Giolito ($8,300) would be a great option, but the matchup with the Astros is the worst in baseball. The Astros are a -195 favorite in this one putting Martin in a good spot to pick up the win.

Adam Plutko ($7,600) is the third-best target Thursday and is firmly in play in GPPs. The Indians righty scored 37 fantasy points in his first start and should see his pitching count increase from the 83 pitches he threw in that game. The Rays have a solid .334 wOBA against right-handed pitching, but their 22.3 percent strikeout rate is league average.

Key Values/Chalk

The Astros have the highest expected run total, so it'll be wise to use a couple of their bats in cash games. Michael Brantley ($4,100) has a .411 wOBA against right-handed pitching this season. Alex Bregman ($4,200) is the top name at the top corner and has a .419 wOBA against right-handed pitching this season. Using those two in cash games is a good way to start building the bat portion of a cash lineup. Josh Reddick ($3,300) is a decent middle-priced choice. Jake Marisnick ($2,300) or Tyler White ($2,400) would make for a solid punt play.

Tim Anderson ($3,300) is at a nice price considering his power-speed combo, and he has a .391 wOBA against right-handed pitching this season.

Jordan Luplow ($2,600) is a good GPP contrarian play who has hit lefties well in a limited sample, going 10-for-33 (.303) with five home runs and two doubles (1.197 OPS).

Ji-Man Choi ($2,900) is an interesting piece for tournaments if he's hitting in the middle of the Rays lineup. He has a .347 wOBA against right-handed pitching this season.

Stacks

Astros vs. Lucas Giolito (White Sox)

Brantley (OF - $4,100), Bregman (3B - $4,200), Reddick (OF - $3,300) and Marisnick (OF - $2,300)

This will be the most-used stack of the night with Houston expected to score between five and six runs. Fading Brantley and Bregman and using two other players might be the winning formula for one of the big tournaments.

Rays at Adam Plutko (Cleveland)

Choi (1B - $2,900), Austin Meadows (OF - $4,300), Tommy Pham (OF - $3,400) and Brandon Lowe (2B - $3,800)

Plutko probably won't go far into this game, and odds are he won't be as effective as he was in his first start. That means the Indians could be forced to use multiple middle-tier pitching selections, allowing the Rays to tee off on some bullpen guys.

The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire. Kevin Payne plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: Fanduel: kevinccp, Draft Kings: kevinccp, Yahoo: kevinccp.