This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Baseball series.
There are only five games in Thursday's night slate, which makes choosing two pitchers a tough task. I took the easy, but sensible, route, going with the best of the bunch (Gerrit Cole) and trying to form a lineup of minimally priced bats around him.
PITCHER
Gerrit Cole, HOU at TEX ($58): I usually don't write about the far and away highest-priced pitcher of the night, but Cole is a lock to reach 20 fantasy points and has the upside to earn a recommendation. He has at least 24 fantasy points in all but one start this season and already carved the Rangers for 14 strikeouts in April and he only needed 93 pitches. Over the last month, the Rangers have a 27.1 K percentage and .298 wOBA against righties, two of the worst numbers in MLB.
Mike Leake, SEA at TB ($36): No one else on the slate is a legitimate threat to rack up strikeouts outside of Cole Hamels ($41), so the options are slim. I think Leake is the best choice, because while he's averaging less than six Ks per nine innings, he had eight strikeouts against the Rays last start, totaling 27.6 fantasy points. He may not reach that total again, but Tampa has been mediocre all season and has little power against righties since May 1 with a .126 ISO.
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CATCHER
Max Stassi, HOU at TEX ($14): Even on a small slate, Stassi doesn't cost much, which makes for an easy play. He has an early .517 BABIP in 43 plate appearances against southpaws and that's worth a try against Cole Hamels, who already has allowed 14 homers to righties. Hamels is pitching well, but he still has a .328 wOBA allowed to righties, which is where he was last year at .324.
FIRST BASE
Matt Olson, OAK vs. KC ($20): Olson is on fire with 10 hits and four homers in his last six games, which has pumped his career numbers to a .325 ISO and .388 wOBA against righty arms. After a couple surprisingly good outings, Jason Hammel fell back to earth against the A's last start with three earned runs and only three strikeouts. Outside of a couple good performances, his numbers are in line with what he did in 2017 with a 5.15 xFIP against lefties.
SECOND BASE
Yangervis Solarte, TOR vs. BAL ($14): Solarte has mostly been a power bat early with 12 homers, but as a switch hitter, his numbers point to more success against righties after last year's .192 ISO and .335 wOBA. That should come into play against rookie David Hess, who has allowed five homers in his four starts. Hess has been solid, but his 12 strikeouts are still a worry, and he gave up 14 hits and eight runs in his first two outings.
THIRD BASE
Matt Chapman, OAK vs. KC ($11): If you have Cole on the squad, Chapman is a logical play at third base. His numbers are better against righties with seven homers, bringing his career ISO to .221 and wOBA to .334. Hammel struggles against both sides of the plate and has just a 12.6 K percentage against righty bats to go with last year's 4.67 xFIP.
SHORTSTOP
Carlos Correa, HOU at TEX ($17): Once I saw Correa at the same price as Jose Iglesias, I knew I had to use him. Correa may not have as much power against southpaws, but he still sports a solid .385 BABIP after a .217 ISO and .445 wOBA in 2017. Hamels is no longer elite, and even with some success this year, he's still giving up home runs at a monstrous rate to righties (2.09 HR/9) after a 5.01 xFIP last season.
OUTFIELD
Nelson Cruz, SEA at TB ($15): Cruz can hit both sides of the plate, so he's not a worry against Tampa Bay's opener, Ryne Stanek. Cruz has 10 homers even with his overall numbers down from previous seasons after a .385 wOBA in 2017. Stanek will get the start, but likely won't last more than two innings, and there's little reason to trust Tampa's bullpen since it lost its last six games.
Trey Mancini, BAL at TOR ($13): I'd use more Orioles, but none of them are hitting well enough to suggest. Mancini has been serviceable and has a career .334 wOBA against southpaws, which is enough against Jaime Garcia with his plus-six ERA. Garcia's having trouble against both sides of the plate, but last year's 4.59 xFIP against righty bats is still the outlier.
Marwin Gonzalez, HOU at TEX ($10): Gonzalez is my cheap outfielder with hopes that Hamels goes off the rails. Gonzalez is far removed from last season's .217 ISO and .340 wOBA, but he still has a solid .364 BABIP against lefty hurlers this year. Hamels has a decent 3.63 ERA, yet also has shown little consistency, walking nine batters in his three starts against the Astros.
