This article is part of our PrizePicks MLB series.
Thursday brings us a 10-game all-day slate and plenty of potentially profitable PrizePicks 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 at DET: More Than 8.5 Hitter Fantasy Score
Witt faces a pitcher he's frequently tormented in the Tigers' Reese Olson, who he's racked up a .546 average against in 13 career plate appearances. That sample includes a double, triple, two homers and 15 total bases overall.
Witt boasts a .310/.383/.493 slash line following Wednesday's action, and he's accrued 34 total bases overall in 18 games. Olson has also allowed a .310 average and .361 wOBA to right-handed hitters, along with a highly elevated 37.5 percent line-drive rate that significantly ups the chances of hits continuing to fall in versus the right-hander if it persists.
Finally, the .316 average and .376 wOBA that Detroit relievers have conceded to right-handed hitters over the last week makes Witt an even better candidate for a big fantasy day.
Josh Jung, TEX vs. LAA: More Than 1.5 Hits + Runs + RBI
Jung went 0-for-4 on Wednesday, but he still sports a .343/.343/.571 slash line and has a combined 23 hits + runs + RBI through nine games. The talented slugger also carries a massive .446 wOBA overall, including a .505 figure against right-handers specifically.
Those numbers stand out even more considering Thursday's matchup against Angels righty Jack Kochanowicz, who's pitched to a 5.74 ERA and 1.7 HR/9 through his first 15.2 innings, despite also benefitting from an unusually low .229 BABIP. Kochanowicz also has a .275 BAA and .341 xwOBA, with the latter figure notably higher than his standard .316 wOBA.
Texas is projected for a robust 5.2 runs Thursday, and Jung went into Wednesday's action sporting .500 averages with both runners on base and runners in scoring position. Therefore, banking on him having a part in some of the offense is certainly a solid way to go.
Lars Nootbaar, STL at NYM: More Than 5.5 Hitter Fantasy Score
Nootbaar launched his third homer Wednesday with a pair of runners aboard and also got on base another two times via walks, pushing his OBP to a stellar .422 across 83 plate appearances. He's also carrying a .458 xSLG and .387 xwOBA alongside a 16.7 percent walk rate and 15.4 percent strikeout rate.
Nootbaar is also sporting a .295 average and .913 OPS against right-handed pitching specifically, and Thursday, he'll face a righty he's already enjoyed some past success against in Griffin Canning. Nootbaar has already tagged Canning for two singles and a double over six career encounters.
Nootbaar is an excellent contact hitter who has plenty of plate discipline and Canning has a career-worst 4.8 BB/9 paired with a 1.2 HR/9 and middling 20.0 percent strikeout rate. Additionally, Mets relievers have pitched to a 5.87 ERA and .351 wOBA against lefty hitters in the last week, furthering Nootbaar's case for a solid fantasy day.
JP Sears, OAK at CWS: More Than 17.5 Pitching Outs
Sears draws one of the best possible matchups for southpaws in the White Sox, which sport a 28.3 percent strikeout rate, .194 average, .548 OPS, .248 wOBA and -7.2 wRAA in 152 plate appearances against lefties thus far.
Sears has been in typically good form through his first three starts, posting quality starts in each of his first two outings before slipping slightly against the Mets his last time out (4 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 1 BB) but still compiling seven strikeouts.
Sears recorded 20 and 19 outs in his first two starts, and Chicago is now averaging the third-fewest runs per game (3.18) after scoring just a single one Wednesday. He also has a career-low 1.6 BB/9, which helped limit him to an efficient 91 and 87 pitches in that first pair of turns.
Meanwhile, the ChiSox are also averaging an MLB-low 6.35 hits and 9.71 total bases per contest, buttressing Sears' case for at least a six-inning stint on the mound even further.
