This article is part of our DraftKings MLB series.
Thursday evening only brings us a little MLB action. There are five games on the docket from 7:10 p.m. EDT and beyond. Don't skimp on the DFS contests, though! Here are my recommendations for your lineup.
Pitching
Max Fried, ATL vs. PIT ($9,500): After a rough first start, Fried has been crushing it on the mound. Over his last 10 starts he has a 2.27 ERA. The Pirates rank 28th in runs scored, so they aren't at the bottom of the league, but they are only above the truly woeful Athletics and Tigers.
Nick Pivetta, BOS at LAA ($8,400): Pivetta has been in the groove for the last month. Across his last six starts he has a 1.32 ERA. The Angels have been struggling so much that Joe Maddon got fired, and now Mike Trout is banged up which obviously is a concern for their offense, and for baseball lovers around the world.
Konnor Pilkington, CLE vs. OAK ($7,100): Pilkington is worth a gamble given the matchup. He got a chance to go five innings for the first time in his last start, and those were shutout innings for the record. The Athletics are 29th in runs scored, but they are last in team OPS, down the with the Tigers in terms of struggling to even have a .600 OPS at a team, which is simply awful.
Top Target
I am only going to recommend one Top Target and one Bargain Bat, but that's because I am going to give you three stacks on a day with only five games. Basically, don't sweat it, the opportunities abound. On the Top Target front, I am going with Jose Ramirez ($6,300). He can hit both lefties and righties as a switch hitter, but this season he has a 1.079 OPS against right-handed pitchers. Ramirez also had 14 homers and nine stolen bases for good measure. James Kaprielian has a 6.06 ERA, and over his last four starts he's given up six home runs.
Bargain Bat
It's striking that Whit Merrifield ($4,600) has only hit .221, but I'm expecting regression to come his way. He's never hit worse than .277 in a season. He's also picked up three homers and seven stolen bases, and last year he swiped 40 bags. Merrifield may look like his old self against Bruce Zimmermann, who has a 7.33 ERA over his last five starts thanks in part to allowing 12 home runs in that time.
Stacks to Consider
Braves vs. Pirates (JT Brubaker): Ronald Acuna ($6,200), Matt Olson ($5,300), Ozzie Albies ($4,700)
Brubaker has been the pitcher he's been since he hit the majors. He has a 4.70 ERA, which is in line with his career 5.12 ERA. Additionally, he's allowed 1.69 home runs per nine innings. The Braves should be able to tee off with him, with more viable options than I can list in a three-hitter stack.
You would think that Acuna wasn't returning from a serious knee injury with the way he's been hitting. The dude has slashed .318/.406/.523 with five homers and 10 stolen bases. He's still the guy who came three stolen bases away from a 40-40 season in his sophomore campaign. It's nice to get a righty on the mound to include Olson in a stack. He has an .886 OPS against righties this year, and a .369 OBP over the last two seasons. Albies has seven home runs and three stolen bases after he had 30 of the former and 20 of the latter last year. He started the season slow, but he has a .282 average over the last three weeks.
Yankees at Twins (Dylan Bundy): Giancarlo Stanton ($5,700), Anthony Rizzo ($5,600), DJ LeMahieu ($4,400)
Bundy's hot start to the season is completely overshadowed by this point in the year. He has an 8.44 ERA over his last six starts. Considering that he had a 6.06 ERA last season, that isn't terribly surprising. A change of scenery hasn't done anything for Bundy, and now he has to face the Yankees.
Stanton is back in the lineup, and on the season he has 12 home runs. That's not surprising, given that he's hit at least 35 home runs in his last three full seasons. Stanton isn't beholden to his home ballpark either, as he has a .954 OPS since 2020. Rizzo is having trouble making contact, but he has 14 home runs and four stolen bases anyway. He also has an .847 OPS against righties. LeMahieu's power has been sapped, but he's been hot. Over the last two weeks he has a .333 average and .533 slugging percentage.
Orioles at Royals (Kris Bubic): Trey Mancini ($4,700), Austin Hays ($4,100), Ryan Mountcastle ($3,100)
Bubic came into this year a below-average pitcher, but this year he's been awful. Through seven games he has a 7.55 FIP, and in his career he has a 5.20 FIP. The lefty has also allowed 1.59 home runs per nine innings in his career. Since he's a lefty, I didn't include Cedric Mullins, but I still found a worthy all-righty stack from Baltimore.
Mancini was solid last year after not playing at all in 2020, but it seems like he's fully in the swing of things in 2022. He's slashed .303/.374/.448, and he has a career .470 slugging percentage. Getting his first real playing time in 2201, Hays hit 22 home runs. He's taking it to a new level in 2022, slashing .292/.359/.467. Mountcastle hit 33 homers last season, and while he has eight this year, three have come in his last eight games.
