This article is part of our DraftKings MLB series.
As the day that takes us into the weekend series, Thursday is often light on the MLB front. This week is an example of that, with only five games starting at 7:05 p.m. ET or later. Still, that means you have DFS opportunities available, so I've put together some lineup recommendations for you.
Pitching
Editor's note: Logan Webb has since had his next start pushed back to Saturday. Check out our MLB Lineup Optimizer for more suggested pitchers for tonight's slate.
Logan Webb, SF at MIL ($10,600): Webb has been cleared after some back soreness during his last start, though even then he threw six innings of shutout baseball against the Marlins. Since revamping himself in 2021, Webb has been one of the better hurlers in MLB, posting a 2.95 ERA over the last three seasons. The Brewers are in the bottom 10 in runs scored, so as long as Webb is feeling good, he should be happy to grab this matchup.
Logan Gilbert, SEA vs. OAK ($9,900): You may see Gilbert's 3.81 ERA and think, "Oh, I guess he couldn't sustain his breakthrough in 2022." However, he actually has a 2.67 FIP and he's getting the most strikeouts and fewest walks of his career. The guy just needs some more luck. Or, perhaps, a fortuitous matchup. Oakland is 27th in runs scored and is trying to avoid being last in team batting average.
Top Target
It seemed like Cedric Mullins ($5,500) wasn't going to be the home-run guy he was in 2021 again, settling in as a top base stealer with doubles power. Recently, though, he's surged, and now he has eight homers to go with his 13 stolen bases. Clarke Schmidt has allowed 1.60 home runs per nine innings, and lefties like Mullins are obliterating him. Southpaws are batting .356 versus the miscast Yankees starter.
Bargain Bat
In his first season as a Giant — and his first action since 2021 — Michael Conforto ($3,100) is lagging on the average front, but the power is there. In particular, he's hit 10 home runs. Unsurprisingly, the lefty is once again performing better against right-handers, but he's also really preferred being on the road so far, as he has a .588 OPS in home games, dragging down his overall numbers. Fortunately, this game is on the road, and the former Met is expected to see a blast from the past on the mound. Julio Teheran had been pitching down in Triple-A for the Padres in an attempt to make a comeback before being picked up by the Brewers. His 5.63 ERA in eight Triple-A starts is not encouraging, and neither is his career 4.29 FIP in the majors.
Stacks to Consider
Mets at Cubs (Kyle Hendricks): Pete Alonso ($5,200), Brandon Nimmo ($4,300), Daniel Vogelbach ($2,100)
Originally, this was supposed to be a start for Jameson Taillon, which I was excited for. Instead, Hendricks is making his season debut for the Cubs. The soft-tossing righty has been down in Triple-A working back from a shoulder injury, and he had a 5.75 ERA in five starts. Over his previous two MLB campaigns, Hendricks posted a 4.78 ERA. In that time he's also allowed lefties to hit .288 against him, so I have two lefties in this stack.
Alonso is a righty, but with Hendricks's proclivity for giving up homers the last couple of seasons, I wanted the slugger with as much power as anybody in MLB. He has 18 homers in 2023 already, and since 2021 he's slugged .570 on the road. Nimmo has just enough power (16 homers in 2022) to entice, but he's mostly about the on-base skills and keen batting eye. The southpaw has hit .295 this year and has a career .385 OBP. When somebody else is hitting the homers, Nimmo is the one being driven in. Vogelbach is being wisely kept away from lefties, but he still has power when facing right-handers. He has an .836 OPS versus righties since 2021, and this is exactly the kind of matchup you have Vogelbach on your roster for.
Cubs vs. Mets (Carlos Carrasco): Ian Happ ($4,000), Seiya Suzuki ($3,900), Patrick Wisdom ($3,600)
It could be a high-scoring affair at Wrigley Field. Carrasco has an 8.68 ERA paired with a 6.97 FIP. All this, and the veteran pitcher has the lowest line-drive percentage of his career, going as far back as we have data for here at RotoWire. The former Cleveland pitcher has reverse splits, as lefties have hit .243 against Carrasco since 2021 while righties have hit .293. Thus, I'm stacking three guys that hit right handed.
The switch-hitting Happ has a .288 average and .409 OBP. He prefers facing righties, as he has an .808 OPS in those matchups over the last three seasons, and in that time he has an .819 OPS at home as well. Suzuki has been on fire since getting healthy. He's slashed .285/.373/.500 with six home runs in 36 games, and over the last three weeks he has an 1.018 OPS. Wisdom's power has dropped off after a hot start, but he still has 12 home runs and has slugged .532. He's hit at least 25 home runs in each of his last two campaigns, and the only game in which Carrasco hasn't allowed a home run this year was when he pitched in Oakland against the Athletics.
