This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
This is one of the shortest slates of the season. The good news is that all the games are at night, which is rarely the case for a Thursday card. That leaves us with four games to dissect, and despite such a small slate, we do have one elite arm in an amazing spot to build around.
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Pitching
Zack Wheeler, PHI vs. ATL ($10,600)
This Chris Sale-Wheeler matchup will be a fun pitcher's duel to watch, but we have to ride with Wheeler. The right-hander is one of the early frontrunners for the NL Cy Young, allowing two runs or fewer in seven straight starts. He's got a 1.55 ERA, 0.78 WHIP and 11.7 K/9 rate in that span and enters this matchup amid a 19.2-inning scoreless streak. We would usually be concerned about a matchup with Atlanta, but they rank 15th in wOBA and 19th in K rate. In their three meetings last season, Wheeler had a 0.95 ERA and 0.79 WHIP against ATL.
Top Targets
James Wood, WAS (vs. Emerson Hancock) $4,000
I just saw Wood hit an absolutely majestic home run as I'm writing this piece, and this feels like the perfect opportunity to show the young stud some love. He came in with a high pedigree and has lived up to it with a .376 OBP and .927 OPS in a breakout campaign. Wood is on pace for a 40-20 season, and we can't overlook his .390 OBP and .953 OPS against righties this year. In addition, he has a .436 OBP and 1.133 OPS across his last nine outings, and he's facing the worst pitcher on this slate. We'll dive into that in the Stacks To Consider section.
Vladimir Guerrero, TOR (vs. Jacob Lopez) $3,300
We love Vlad in this spot, as he faces a lefty with a 5.03 xFIP and 1.57 WHIP. That also gives Guerrero the platoon advantage, and he's registered a .409 OBP and .935 OPS against left-handers this year. The slugger is rolling right now, too, generating a .393 OBP and .848 OPS across his last 37 games. If you want to stack Toronto, Bo Bichette ($2,900), Anthony Santander ($2,700) and George Springer ($2,900) all have the platoon advantage against Lopez as well.
Bargain Bats
Jonathan Aranda, TB (vs. Ryan Gusto) $3,100
The Rays always seem to have players undervalued from a DFS standpoint. Aranda is one of those guys this year, sporting a .389 OBP and .889 OPS in a breakout campaign. He's been even more dominant against right-handers, tallying a .393 OBP and .959 OPS with the platoon advantage. Aranda comes into this matchup having scored 16 and 32 FanDuel points in his two most recent outings, and we'll talk about the matchup with Gusto in the Stacks To Consider section.
Mitch Garver, SEA (vs. MacKenzie Gore) $2,300
This is a risky pick, but Garver is in a great lineup spot relative to his salary. That's the key variable, because Garver is projected to bat fifth due to his sensational splits. He has a .364 career OBP, .474 SLG and .838 OPS with the platoon advantage. Most players in this price range are slap hitters at the bottom of the lineup, but that's not the case with Garver. He also faces a pitcher who's struggled to keep runners off the bases in his career, with Gore totaling a 1.40 career WHIP.
Stacks to Consider
Washington Nationals at Seattle Mariners (Hancock): Wood ($4,000), CJ Abrams ($3,600), Nathaniel Lowe ($3,000), Luis Garcia ($2,900)
I've been stacking against Hancock all season, and nothing will stop me now. The right-hander is only in there as a fill-in for the Mariners, compiling a 5.95 ERA and 1.65 WHIP. That's scary given how Washington is swinging the lumber right now, as the Nats have averaged over 5.3 runs across their last nine outings.
We already discussed Wood as one of our core plays of the day, but Abrams is right there with him. The shortstop is on pace for nearly 35 homers and 35 steals, posting a .296 AVG and .919 OPS against righties this year. Lowe is the everyday three-hole hitter for the Nats, producing a .361 OBP and .790 OPS against righties since 2023. As for Garcia, he's got an OPS above .900 across his last nine fixtures.
Tampa Bay Rays at Houston Astros (Gusto): Josh Lowe ($3,200), Brandon Lowe ($3,100), Aranda ($3,100), Jose Caballero ($2,700)
Tampa's offense has been struggling this season, but they have plenty of capable players at dirt-cheap salaries. That alone makes them an enticing stack, but the matchup is the best part of this. They face a righty who's yet to throw a quality start and has a 4.58 ERA and 1.53 WHIP.
Let's kickstart our Tampa stack with the Lowes, because these two have been crushing righties throughout their careers. Josh has a .276 AVG and .795 OPS against them since 2023, while Brandon has a .386 AVG and 1.221 OPS across his last 12 outings. We already discussed Aranda, but we also love that Caballero has at least 9.0 FanDuel points in nine of his last 11 games.
