This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
We are about the have the final weekend of the MLB regular season, but before that comes the last Thursday of the campaign. It's your typical Thursday, which means not every team is in action, and a few games are in the afternoon. That leaves us with just five games starting at 7:07 p.m. EDT. Even so, I have some DFS recommendations I like for you.
Pitching
Jordan Montgomery, TEX at SEA ($10,200): This is what you want when you make a deal like the Rangers did for Montgomery. His 3.42 ERA in St. Louis was good, but he has a 2.92 ERA across 10 starts in Texas. Plus, he's gone seven innings in each of his last three outings and allowed one run total. The Mariners may be just above average in terms of runs scored, but if Montgomery is locked in, that's not a high enough level for me to avoid this matchup.
Chris Bassitt, TOR vs. NYY ($9,500): Bassitt is an innings eater by modern standards, as he's made 32 starts and could theoretically hit the 200-inning mark Thursday. He'll need to mow through the Yankees, but that's entirely possible. Bassitt has a 3.08 ERA at home, where he's allowed a mere 0.8 homers per nine innings, and the Yankees have a .226 batting average as a squad, higher than only the Oakland Athletics.
Top Target
Needing to get in gear to lock up a playoff spot, the Rangers can thank Marcus Semien ($3,600) for coming up big. He has an 1.078 OPS over the last three weeks. He's also a righty who has hit right-handed pitchers as well, and often better, than lefties. That includes his .838 OPS in those matchups in 2023. If the Mariners fall short of the postseason, Logan Gilbert's regression will have played a role. He has a 4.18 ERA at home, where he's allowed 1.7 homers per nine innings.
Bargain Bat
The Blue Jays have been doing a lot of tweaking in terms of playing time for the "Bargain Bat" types, but one thing is pretty much a lock -- if a righty is starting, Kevin Kiermaier ($2,400) and his elite defense will be in the lineup to patrol center field. The southpaw has a .766 OPS against righties with six triples and 13 stolen bases. Luke Weaver is on his third team this season. He has a career 5.14 ERA and has allowed lefties to hit .285 against him since 2021.
Stacks to Consider
Dodgers at Rockies (Chris Flexen): Mookie Betts ($4,900), Max Muncy ($4,100), Jason Heyward ($3,100)
Flexen has a 7.01 ERA, which would be enticing enough if he had pitched every game of the year at Coors Field. However, he actually had a 7.71 ERA while he was with the Mariners before joining the Rockies. Of course, the fact this game is at Coors is also helpful.
Betts has hit .309 with 39 homers and 40 doubles. While he's a righty, Flexen has allowed righties to hit a whopping .344 against him. Muncy has his fourth season with at least 35 homers. While he's usually better at home, he has an .896 OPS against righties, and I'll happily take him at Coors Field with a right-handed pitcher on the mound. Heyward has an .839 OPS versus righties and an .859 OPS on the road. He has a .945 OPS over the last three weeks for good measure.
Cubs at Atlanta (AJ Smith-Shawver): Cody Bellinger ($3,800), Ian Happ ($3,200), Mike Tauchman ($2,800)
When Atlanta went ahead and let us know that Smith-Shawver was getting called back up from Triple-A to start this game Thursday, it flipped my script in terms of a stack idea. I figured we'd be seeing a Triple-A pitcher get the nod, but Smith-Shawver means a specific kind of stack. Across seven MLB appearances he's posted a 7.32 FIP. However, righties have hit a mere .132 against him, while lefties have hit .279. Thus, three guys who can hit left-handed.
Bellinger has hit .310 with 26 homers and 20 stolen bases, and don't worry if Atlanta goes to the bullpen early. He actually has a .984 OPS in 178 plate appearances against southpaw pitchers. Happ, who just picked up his 20th homer, also has a .361 OBP. While he's a switch hitter, he has an .821 OPS against righties (plus an .824 OPS on the road). Tauchman also gets on base well, he has an .362 OBP, but while Happ was hitting his 20th homer Tauchman was hitting his eighth. However, he has a .744 OPS versus righties, and Smith-Shawver has allowed 2.91 homers per nine innings. You don't need to be Matt Olson to take advantage of that.
