This article is part of our DraftKings MLB series.
A little luck would go a long way for your MLB DFS lineups Thursday. Of course, making good selections for your rosters also helps. There are six games on the slate starting at 7:10 p.m. ET or later. These are my lineup recommendations. Good luck.
Pitching
Luis Castillo, SEA vs. CWS ($8,500): Castillo has a 5-7 record, but offensive support has been behind that to some degree. He has a 3.35 ERA through 14 starts and a 2.96 ERA at home. The offense around Castillo hasn't changed, but the Mariners' bats may not need to do much Thursday. Chicago is last in team OPS, and comfortably last in runs scored.
Luis Severino, NYM vs. MIA ($8,000): I'm doubling down on pitchers named Luis. Maybe Severino just needed a new home ballpark. He struggled last season with the Yankees, but having moved from the Bronx to Queens, he has a 3.25 ERA in 2024. That's bolstered by a 2.61 ERA at home. The team that is 29th in runs scored and OPS? That would be these Marlins.
Top Targets
Teoscar Hernandez ($5,500) has been on an absolute tear recently. He has a 1.150 OPS over the last three weeks and five home runs over his last six games. Michael Lorenzen has a 3.05 ERA, but a 4.67 FIP. Also, while he's right-handed, he's held lefties to a .103 average, but righties have hit a whopping .318 against him.
Through 50 games, Carlos Correa ($4,300) has slashed .290/.356/.459. Oddly, he's struggled with lefties but has a .832 OPS versus his fellow righties. Luis Medina, a righty, has a 5.40 ERA in his career. This season he literally has an equal number of walks and strikeouts.
Bargain Bats
Last year, Nolan Schanuel ($3,400) debuted in MLB the same year he was drafted. He was praised for his batting eye, and while that hasn't been there this year, the southpaw does have seven home runs. Brandon Pfaadt is coming off his worst start of the season, leading himself up to a 4.60 ERA. In his sophomore season, he still struggles with southpaws, having let them hit .288 against him.
This season, Jeff McNeil ($3,300) has only batted .226, but he's a career .293 hitter, so there is room for improvement. The second baseman does have three home runs and three stolen bases. Every time the Marlins have given Roddery Munoz a chance on the mound, it has largely gone terribly. Across four starts, he has a 7.86 FIP and has allowed 3.66 homers per nine innings. However, righties have only hit .150 against him, while lefties have batted .324 with six homers across 40 batters. That's why I went with McNeil, a lefty, even if he's having a down year.
Stack to Consider
Diamondbacks vs. Angels (Griffin Canning): Christian Walker ($5,300), Corbin Carroll ($4,500), Joc Pederson ($4,400)
It's been business as usual for Canning. That's not a good thing for the Angels. He has a 5.13 FIP and has allowed 1.42 homers per nine innings. There is one difference, though: His strikeouts are all the way down to 6.07 per nine innings. Last year, righties hit .271 against him, but this year it's lefties who have tuned Canning up, having averaged .301 against him. Thus, I have two lefties in this stack.
The righty Walker has hit over 30 home runs in each of the prior two seasons. He's knocked 13 homers this year. He's not reliant on facing lefties, either, as since 2022 he has a .795 OPS against righties (and a .802 OPS at home). Carroll has suffered a power outage but has five triples and 11 stolen bases. He went 25/50 and batted .286 in winning National League Rookie of the Year unanimously in 2023. Carroll is only 23. He'll be fine, and this matchup is worth it. Pederson is enjoying his first season with Arizona, having slashed .280/.378/.484. The lefty slugger is also enjoying his new ballpark, where he has a .943 OPS.
