This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
Thursday night brings us a smaller main slate of games with only six contests scheduled. The weather has worked out nicely recently and that should continue tonight. Seven of the 11 known starting pitchers have salaries of $7,000 or more, and as always I'll take a look at some of the matchups for both the hitters and pitchers.
Pitching
Sonny Gray vs. PIT ($9,300): Framber Valdez ($9,700) is definitely in the conversation here for cash but Gray's been a better strikeout pitcher of late. Valdez hasn't struck out more than six batters in any of his last nine games while Gray has fanned six or more six times in his last nine contests. The Pirates have the fifth-worst wOBA (.297) against right-handed hitters while Gray has an 11.37 K/9IP this season.
Dallas Keuchel vs. KC ($7,000): The Royals have been an awful road team this season, ranking in the bottom four for wOBA against right-handed pitching (.295) and left-handed pitching (.279). Keuchel should be able to take advantage of this matchup and has a better strikeout rate (0.72 K/9IP higher) and lower wOBA (29 points) against at home than on the road this season.
Top Targets
George Springer, TOR vs. CLE ($4,200): Springer can be a streaky hitter, and right now he's been killing it at the plate. Going into Tuesday night's game he had a 1.248 OPS over his last 21 days and was missing only a triple to hit for the cycle last night. This is a great home matchup against Triston McKenzie, who brings in a 6.11 ERA into this game. McKenzie's biggest problem this year has been the long ball, allowing 14 home runs (10 on the road) in only 63.1 innings.
Joey Votto, CIN vs. PIT ($4,400): Speaking of hot hitters, Votto has arguably been the best hitter in baseball over the last month. He has a 1.285 OPS over his last 21 days fueled by 10 home runs in only 74 plate appearances. Votto has hit better at home this season than on the road (.931 OPS vs. .894) and this is a fantastic matchup against Wil Crowe. Crowe has a 5.40 ERA supported by a 1.51 WHIP and has allowed 15 home runs in 71.2 innings.
Value Bats
Corey Dickerson, TOR vs. CLE ($2,000): I'm going to go back to the well with Dickerson as he's at the lowest possible salary cap hit and is in a lineup with one of the highest projected run totals. The case against McKenzie has already been made, but let's look a little further at Dickerson. He has a career .356 wOBA and is only a couple of seasons removed from having a .906 OPS. Being in this lineup should only improve his fantasy upside.
Abraham Toro, SEA at NYY ($2,500): Toro has been an excellent find for the Mariners and he's been raking ever since moving to Seattle. He has a 1.266 OPS over the last 14 days and homered in four straight games in a recent visit to Texas. It looks like the Yankees will start Nestor Cortes, who has done well in limited work. However, Cortes could see some regression to the mean given his numbers and Toro has an .812 OPS against southpaws this season.
Stacks To Consider
Houston Astros vs. Griffin Jax: Jose Altuve ($4,300), Yordan Alvarez, ($3,700), Kyle Tucker ($3,600), Carlos Correa ($3,400)
While this is one of the more obvious stacks of the night (no offense to our Toronto friends), the Astros are always in play. Jax has allowed seven home runs in 26.2 innings this season and isn't a huge prospect at age 26. I like this stack because it fills some position scarcity at 2B and SS, allowing for more economical options at the other positions.
Minnesota Twins at Valdez: Jorge Polanco ($3,500), Miguel Sano ($3,200), Mitch Garver ($2,700), Brent Rooker ($2,400)
Fading Valdez at home is a huge contrarian play. However, it's a short slate of games and this is my favorite stack, especially if you're entering a single-entry GPP. Sano has a career .347 wOBA against southpaws while Garver's sits at .361. Polanco makes sense because he should be setting the table ahead of those two, while Rooker is an interchangeable part as a righty-hitting gamble.
