It's time for an afternoon slate for MLB on a Thursday! The six games included in the DFS docket are all of the afternoon variety, with the first pitch being thrown at 1:05 p.m. ET. That makes for an early day of MLB action, and here are my DFS lineup recommendations!
Pitching
Tyler Glasnow, LAD at SFG ($8,700): Glasnow is all but locked into a double-digit K/9 rate. He's done that thus far, and he's done it literally every season since 2018. Also, at his current rate he is going to hold both lefties and righties below the Mendoza Line. The Giants have hit for average reasonably well, but they don't walk and they are way behind the pace when it comes to home runs. It seems quite likely the Giants will finish in the bottom five in runs scored.
Edward Cabrera, CHC vs. PHI ($8,000): While Cabrera's strikeout rate is way down, his walks remain generous and he's got a 2.38 ERA and 3.09 FIP. Things have been fine, and Cabrera should pick his strikeouts up some. Meanwhile, if not for the Mets being a disaster, the Phillies would be getting a lot more criticism. They are in the bottom five in runs scored and the bottom 10 in batting average.
Top Targets
Yes, Matt Olson ($4,500) can hit home runs. He's hit at least 29 in each of the last five seasons. However, four times in those five campaigns he hit at least 35 doubles, and he already has 10 this year. Cade Cavalli has a 4.12 ERA, but he hasn't allowed a homer. Lefties have hit .400 against him, though, so give me the southpaw Olson.
As a 28-year-old rookie with the Marlins, Troy Johnston ($4,300) wasn't bad. He hit .277, but in only 44 games. Well, now Johnston, who is eligible at first base and in the outfield, plays his home games at Coors Field. He's hit .301 with eight extra-base hits, already besting his number from last season. Matt Waldron has spent his entire career with Petco Park as his home. He also has a career 5.04 ERA. Petco is not Coors.
Bargain Bats
Though Riley Greene ($4,200) only has one home run, he hit 36 last year, so I'm not worried. Plus, he has eight doubles after having 31 last year. Greene's OBP is up to .382, so it's really just about the ball leaving the yard a bit more, and warmer weather tends to help on that front. Brandon Sproat is still struggling to show that he currently belongs in MLB. He has a 6.88 ERA, a 2.12 HR/9 rate, and in his career lefties have hit .313 against him.
Given that Ildemaro Vargas ($3,600) is eligible at second base in addition to first base, I'm willing to take a shot on his hot start. The switch-hitter has slashed .369/.388/.708 with five homers and five doubles. Of course, on the flip side, I am dismissing Davis Martin's 2.16 ERA. To be fair, he has a 3.49 FIP, a 6.84 K/9 rate and a career 4.13 ERA.
Stack to Consider
Padres at Rockies (Ryan Feltner): Fernando Tatis ($5,400), Xander Bogaerts ($4,700), Gavin Sheets ($4,200)
The Padres have themselves one more game in this series with the Padres. Feltner has a career 5.23 ERA, which is high even for a career-long Colorado pitcher. This year, though, his ERA is up to 6.00. Also, his worst start of the season was in San Diego. Two of these guys are right-handed, but righties have hit .264 against Feltner since 2024 so I'm not too concerned about stacking lefties against a right-handed pitcher.
Tatis has swiped six bags this year, but the power has been slow to arrive. Well, he had 54 extra-base hits last year, and playing at Coors Field could help him tally his first homer of 2026. Given that Bogaerts is a shortstop, I wanted to take a shot on him in this environment. He only hit 11 homers last year, but that was in 136 games, and he has three this season. Bogaerts has also picked up two stolen bases after having 20 last year. Last season, Sheets slugged .453 against righties in his first season as a Padre, hitting 17 of his 19 homers in those matchups. This year he's been much better at home, but last season he slugged .465 on the road. Also, this is Coors Field. That changes things.
Agree with these recommendations? Give them a spin with various combinations of other players in RotoWire's MLB DFS Lineup Optimizer.
