This article is part of our DraftKings MLB series.
One MLB game is in the books! The Dodgers scored the first victory of the 2024 season with a 5-2 triumph over the Padres in Seoul, South Korea. Now, Thursday brings us the second game of this two-day occasion. That means another chance at some single-game DFS contests to tide you over until the season starts "properly."
At DraftKings, you get $50,000 in salary for six players. One is your Captain, who earns 1.5 times the points, but with an elevated salary. On the mound, we have Joe Musgrove taking on Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Pertinent information is at a premium as is right about now. It's a new season, and all I really took away from the first game is nobody got hurt. This game is also taking place on a neutral field on the other side of the globe. Now, throw on top of that Yamamoto making his first MLB start. He was highly vaunted coming over from Japan, and then he put up an ERA over 8.00 in spring training. On the other hand, it was spring training! It just adds to the mystery.
All that said, I have landed on a roster I like for Thursday. Let's see what happens in Seoul!
CAPTAIN
Xander Bogaerts, SD vs. LAD ($11,100): Based on salaries, I ended up with Bogaerts as my captain to balance things out a bit. It's not because he delivered the first RBI of 2024, I assure you. Moving over from the Red Sox last year, Bogaerts hit .285 with 19 homers and 19 stolen bases. While he was better at home than on the road, he built his reputation with Fenway, not Petco, as his home park, so we don't know if that meant much. If the second baseman from Aruba is leading off against a pitcher making his proper MLB debut, I like him as much as anybody for this role.
UTILITY
Mookie Betts, LAD vs. SD ($9,400): Betts had two hits and a walk Wednesday, so the move to shortstop hasn't distracted him from his hitting, evidently. Considering that he's one of the five best hitters in baseball, that isn't surprising. Musgrove is a righty, but notably since 2021 he's held lefties to a .216 average. He might get pulled early — Mike Shildt took Yu Darvish out after 72 pitches — but while Musgrove is in, the Dodgers' righties have the advantage on their lefty counterparts.
Manny Machado, SD vs. LAD ($8,200): Coming off a down year, Machado is DHing while he deals with an elbow issue. Even in his down campaign, though, he racked up 30 homers and 91 RBI in 138 games. He posted a .280 average over his four previous seasons with San Diego, so a bounce back could occur.
Ha-Seong Kim, SD vs. LAD ($7,600): Sure, it would be great if Kim came up big in his native South Korea, but this is not wishcasting. Kim hit 17 homers and stole 39 bases last year, and it tends to be easier to steal on right-handed pitchers, which is what Yamamoto is. Additionally, being away from Petco is to Kim's benefit, as he has a .695 OPS at home since 2022, but a .761 OPS on the road.
Teoscar Hernandez, LAD vs. SD ($7,000): The Dodgers' go-to starting lineup is lefty heavy, but there is a new righty in town, and that is Hernandez. He says that he had issues with the Mariners' home ballpark in 2023, and to that end he had a .643 OPS at home and an .830 OPS on the road. Hernandez had a hit and scored two runs Wednesday, so that's a nice start with his new team. Given how Musgrove handles lefties, as previously noted, Hernandez is my choice among the secondary Dodgers hitters.
Jake Cronenworth, SD vs. LOS ($6,600): I don't think Yamamoto's spring training performance is indicative he will flop in the States. This is simply how the salaries led to my roster playing out. Cronenworth offers a lefty bat from the Padres, and those are rare. He's coming off a couple so-so seasons with a relative lack of power, especially for a first baseman, but this scenario is beneficial. Since 2022, he has a .718 OPS against righties and a .734 OPS on the road.
