This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
Due to the limited number of games Thursday the main slate starts at 4:05 p.m. EDT, which is a pretty rare feat. There's only four games to use, creating a tighter player pool to choose from.
Pitchers
Trevor Bauer, CIN vs. MIL ($12,000): While his salary jumps off the page, Bauer's been worth every penny so far. He's had performances of 52, 59 and 61 fantasy points to start the season and has a solid home matchup against the Pirates. Pittsburgh has the lowest wOBA (.233) in the league against right-handed pitching and strikes out at a slightly higher rate (23.9 percent) than league average.
Tyler Glasnow, TB at BOS ($8,800): Glasnow has had a mixed bag of results over his first three starts. He got hit hard by the Yankees his last time out but gave up only three earned runs in his first two starts (8.2 innings). While on the surface his matchup with the Red Sox might seem worrisome, they've started this season pretty poorly against right-handed pitching. They have the eighth-lowest wOBA (.294) while striking out at the seventh-highest rate (26.3 percent) in the league.
Top Targets
Kris Bryant, CHI vs. MIL ($3,800): Bryant crushed lefties last season with a .432 wOBA and gets a decent matchup with Brett Anderson toeing the rubber for the Brewers. Anderson struggled much more against right-handed hitters last season, allowing a .322 wOBA to that side of the plate. Javier Baez ($3,600) and Willson Contreras ($3,200) are cash game options as well, and all three can be used in a stack.
Rhys Hoskins, PHI vs. BAL ($3,000): At this price Hoskins easily could have been put in the "Value Plays" section. Like Bryant, he crushed southpaws last season to the tune of a .407 wOBA. Tommy Milone has allowed a .333 wOBA to opposing right-handed hitters throughout his career, making this a plus matchup for Hoskins.
Value Plays
Jose Martinez, TB at BOS ($2,900): Martinez should be hitting in the cleanup spot and is a great candidate to go yard today. He had a .414 wOBA against left-handed pitching and has a potentially excellent matchup against rookie Kyle Hart. Hart is a 27-year-old who is making his big league debut and isn't considered a great prospect.
Andrew McCutchen, PHI vs. BAL ($2,400): Cutch has gotten off to a slow start, batting only .147 with no home runs. However, like Hoskins he gets the righty-lefty matchup in this game and should be able to take advantage from the leadoff spot. While he's no longer in the prime of his career, McCutchen's career wOBA against lefties sits at .401 and was at .371 last season.
Stacks To Consider
Tampa Bay at Kyle Hart: Martinez ($2,900), Hunter Renfroe ($2,800), Yandy Diaz ($2,600), Mike Brosseau ($2,600)
The case for Martinez has already been made, but the others here are stack-worthy as well. Facing lefties, Renfroe has a career .370 wOBA, while Diaz had a .402 wOBA last season and Brosseau ihas a .397 wOBA in his short career. This game has an over/under of 9.5 runs with the Rays being a -155 favorite despite being on the road, showing the upside Tampa has.
Pittsburgh at Trevor Bauer: Colin Moran ($3,200), Josh Bell ($2,800), Gregory Polanco ($2,500), Adam Frazier ($2,300)
Yes, this column said to use Bauer and it's the correct move in cash games and probably tournaments as well. However, every pitcher has their occasional bad game, and the Reds bullpen could get blown up in the later innings even if Bauer pitches well. Bauer is only a -185 favorite, which seems fishy, so there might be some merit to this stack. Consider this a contrarian play to use in single-entry tournaments.
