This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Baseball series.
Thursday's slate has been reduced to six games after four contests were postponed due to inclement weather. Start times vary throughout the day. Let's dig into the matchups and highlight some hitters and pitchers to consider on Yahoo.
Pitchers
Kevin Gausman ($49) drew a tough assignment in his first start of the season, taking the mound against the Cardinals in St. Louis. He would allow three runs over six innings, although all of them were unearned. He also recorded seven strikeouts, which came on the heels of his 28.3 percent strikeout rate last season. An easier matchup awaits him against the Royals, who scored the seventh-fewest runs in baseball last season.
After logging just 30 innings last season, Dustin May ($42) is likely to have his innings limited this year. The good news for right now is that he's not facing any restrictions out of the gate. He logged seven innings against the Diamondbacks in his season debut, striking out four hitters without allowing a run. He has a sparkling 1.06 WHIP for his career, making him a great option for another matchup with the Diamondbacks.
The Red Sox need Chris Sale ($37) to step up with all of the injuries to their starting rotation. He disappointed in his first start, allowing seven runs and three home runs over three innings against the Orioles. Injuries have derailed his career, leaving him to throw a total of 48.1 innings the last two seasons. As inconsistent as he has been, he's still worth considering against a Tigers team that scored the fewest runs in baseball last year.
Top Targets
It's always a thrill a minute whenever Blake Snell takes the mound. He can rack up strikeouts in bunches, like he did in his season debut when he posted nine of them over 4.1 innings against the Rockies. However, he can also walk the ballpark when he doesn't have his control. His walk rate was 9.5 percent last season, and 12.5 percent in 2021. He will have a difficult matchup against the Braves, who have one of the best lineups in baseball. Two Braves to target are Austin Riley ($20) and Ozzie Albies ($19). For their careers, they have a .388 wOBA and a .385 wOBA versus left-handed pitchers, respectively.
Bargain Bats
Alex Wood will be making his first start of the season for the Giants after posting a 5.10 ERA last season. His FIP was much more encouraging at 3.76, so he could see significant improvement in his ERA this season. However, this is a tough matchup for him against a White Sox team that had the seventh-highest OPS in baseball last season against left-handed pitchers. Andrew Vaughn ($14) has a career .368 wOBA versus southpaws and is a great option to target on the White Sox. It's even worth considering Elvis Andrus ($10), who had a .358 wOBA against lefties last year.
Stacks to Consider
Rockies vs. Josiah Gray ($26), Nationals: C.J. Cron ($20), Kris Bryant ($20), Ryan McMahon ($19)
After two straight series on the road, the Rockies finally return to Coors Field. That's great news for their lineup and horrible news for Nationals' starter Gray. He allowed a whopping 38 home runs over 148.2 innings last season and gave up three of them over five innings Saturday against the Braves. Any Rockies stack should include the powerful Cron, who has slugged at least 25 home runs in each of the last four full seasons.
Nationals vs. Kyle Freeland ($32), Rockies: Joey Meneses ($17), Lane Thomas ($19), Keibert Ruiz ($17)
The Nationals don't exactly have a ton of appealing hitters in their lineup, but a game at Coors Field makes them a viable stacking option. Freeland has a career 4.65 FIP and 1.43 WHIP at home. Two top options on the Nationals are Meneses and Thomas. Menses slugged 13 home runs over just 56 games last season, and Thomas is off to a hot start by hitting 8-for-24 with two doubles and a steal.
Blue Jays vs. Jordan Lyles ($25), Royals: Bo Bichette ($18), Vladimir Guerrero Jr. ($18), Whit Merrifield ($14)
Lyles has bounced around the majors with the Royals being his eighth team across the last seven seasons. The Royals hope that he can eat some innings for them in the back end of their starting rotation, but his inability to keep hitters off base has been what has plagued him. He had a 1.39 WHIP for the Orioles last season and has a 1.43 WHIP for his career. Bichette, who has at least one hit in five of six games this season, is a top candidate to exploit Gibson's struggles.
