This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Baseball series.
There will only be six games played across baseball on Thursday, leaving us with limited options on Yahoo. With things kicking off in the afternoon, let's get right to it and highlight some pitchers and hitters to pursue.
Pitchers
Julio Urias ($44) had a couple of bad starts at the end of April, but he has allowed two or fewer runs in all three starts since. He continues to do a great job of keeping hitters off base, posting a 1.07 WHIP that is right in line with his career mark of 1.09. There aren't many top-tier pitching options for this small slate, which makes Urias stand out amongst the crowd, despite a less-than-ideal matchup against the Cardinals.
Eury Perez ($37) missed a ton of bats in the minors. At Double-A last year, he recorded 106 strikeouts over 75 innings. He carried that over into his major league debut against the Reds, posting seven strikeouts over 4.2 innings. That kind of upside, paired with the Nationals having the sixth-worst OPS in baseball, makes Perez worth taking a chance on.
Staying in that same game, Trevor Williams ($31) might also be worth targeting. No, his production hasn't been great. He hasn't been terrible, either, with a 4.23 ERA and 4.71 FIP. The real reason to like him is that he will be facing a Marlins team that has scored the third-fewest runs in baseball and is now without their best hitter in Jazz Chisholm Jr. (toe).
Top Targets
Adam Wainwright ($26) has not pitched well since returning from a groin injury. He has made two starts, allowing eight runs over 10 innings. Things won't get any easier for him in a matchup against the Dodgers. This could be an opportune matchup to roll with both Freddie Freeman ($23) and Mookie Betts ($19). Freeman has a .378 wOBA and Betts is right behind him with a .373 wOBA. They also bring plenty of power to the plate, while recording low strikeout rates.
Bargain Bats
For those who decide not to add Williams to their lineup, Bryan De La Cruz ($12) is a potential value option on the hitting side. Over the last 12 games, he is 16-for-43 (.372) with a home run and four doubles. During that span, he has just a 19.6 percent strikeout rate.
Austin Hays ($11) is also swinging a hot bat, going 12-for-38 (.316) with a home run and two doubles over his last 10 games. His hard-hit rate this season is 46.0 percent, which is nearly eight percentage points higher than his career mark. More success could be on the horizon for him against Tyler Anderson ($30), who has a 5.26 ERA and an even worse 5.80 FIP.
Stacks to Consider
Rays vs. Tylor Megill ($25), Mets: Randy Arozarena ($21), Josh Lowe ($19), Brandon Lowe ($10)
Megill has shown very little control this season, posting a 12.3 percent walk rate that has contributed to his 1.51 WHIP. His strikeout rate has also dropped to 17.3 percent, which is nearly seven percentage points lower than his career mark. A matchup against a Rays team that has scored the most runs in baseball likely won't help his cause. Josh Lowe is finally starting to live up to the lofty expectations that came with his promotion from the minors, posting a .308 ISO and a .411 wOBA.
Yankees vs. Jose Berrios ($36), Blue Jays: Aaron Judge ($23), Anthony Rizzo ($19), DJ LeMahieu ($15)
It's difficult to project what Berrios is going to do whenever he takes the mound. He has allowed two or fewer runs in five of his eight starts, but he allowed at least five runs in each of the other three. Coming into this matchup, he has been taken deep four times over his last three outings. That could end up being his downfall against Judge, who has smacked 11 home runs on his way to a .312 ISO.
