This article is part of our PrizePicks MLB series.
We have a modest six-game slate Thursday, but PrizePicks still has a full array of gameplay opportunities. We highlight four of our favorites below:
Use code ROTOWIRE100 to sign up for your PrizePicks account and receive $50 in bonus funds when you make an initial $5 deposit and place $5 on your first selection or selections.
You can also download RotoWire's new Picks App and utilize RotoWire's proprietary PrizePicks tool for suggestions on PrizePicks contests across all sports!
Bobby Witt, KC vs. MIN: More Than 6.5 Fantasy Score
Witt hasn't fully rounded into form yet this season, as he'll walk into Thursday's matchup against Bailey Ober and the Twins with an ordinary .255 average. However, Witt also has a .340 on-base percentage thanks in part to five walks and an HBP through 12 games, and he sports a respectable .426 slugging percentage after lacing seven of his 13 hits for extra bases.
Witt has enjoyed plenty of success in the past against Ober, getting to the Twins starter for a .474 average, two doubles and a homer in 19 career plate appearances, a sample in which he's only struck out twice. Ober has allowed a .286 average, .430 wOBA and four extra-base hits (out of six total) to the 23 right-handed hitters he's faced thus far, while Witt went into Wednesday's action with a .330 xBA per Statcast.
Ober notably also pitched to a 1.5 HR/9 against right-handed hitters last season and Witt is arguably due for some long-ball success, considering he's homered just once in 53 plate appearances after averaging a round-tripper every 22.6 PAs in the last two seasons.
Mike Trout, LAA at TB: More Than 1.5 Total Bases
Something has to give with Trout soon, as he's now hitting just .179 through his first 50 plate appearances. However, there are hints of better days to come in his .320 OBP and respectable .436 slugging percentage, which are largely the byproduct of eight walks and four extra-base hits, including three homers.
There's also the fact Trout went into Wednesday with a .283 xBA and .419 xwOBA paired with an absurdly low .115 BABIP, which just screams imminent breakout. Then there's the matchup with Blue Jays starter Zack Littell, who Trout owns a .600 average with a double and a home run against over six career encounters.
Trout owns a career .297 average. 981 OPS and .411 wOBA against right-handed pitching, and despite his unsightly batting average this season, he's still compiled 17 total bases in his first 11 games.
Will Wagner, TOR at BOS: More Than 0.5 Total Bases
Wagner isn't typically in the conversation when it comes to emerging hitting talents, and granted, he's not going to wow with his power. However, the 2021 18th-round pick of the Astros has followed up a stellar minor-league career where he fashioned a .297 average and .843 OPS – as well as a 14.2 walk rate and 16.9 strikeout rate – over 297 games with a strong start to his MLB tenure.
Wagner looked completely unfazed in his initial exposure to big-league arms last season, posting a .305/.337/.451 slash line in his first 86 plate appearances. He owns a solid .267 average and .353 OBP in 35 plate appearances thus far this season, and he's posted 47 total bases in his first 33 MLB games overall.
Red Sox starter Walker Buehler has surrendered a .412 average to left-handed hitters thus far this season and a .307 average with 20 extra-base hits to that handedness since the start of the 2023 season, which boosts Wagner's chances of hitting this very achievable prop.
Jesus Luzardo and Spencer Schwellenbach, PHI at ATL: Less Than 0.5 1st Inning Runs Allowed
A pitching gem could be in the offing during Thursday's series finale between two teams that were expected to fight wire to wire for the NL East. Atlanta has seriously scuttled those plans for the moment by forging a 2-9 record through its first 11 games, but Schwellenbach can't shoulder any of that blame.
The talented right-hander has surrendered just three hits over 14 scoreless innings over his first two starts against the Padres and Marlins, generating a 14:1 K:BB in the process. Schwellenbach now has a 1.17 ERA and .117 BAA in 23 career first innings, and Philadelphia's projected first two hitters, Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner, are a combined 3-for-14 with no extra-base hits and three strikeouts in their careers versus Schwellenbach.
On the other side, Luzardo has been just as impressive as his opposite number to open 2025. The left-hander is 2-0 with a 1.50 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 19:4 K:BB across his first 12 innings, and he's coming off having held the defending champion Dodgers to two hits and two walks in seven shutout innings during his last start. Luzardo has also limited current Atlanta hitters to a combined .214/.283/.381 slash line in 92 career encounters, a sample in which he's recorded 27 strikeouts. He also hasn't given up a run in either first inning this season and held a 2.25 ERA/.167 BAA in 12 opening frames last season.
