This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
Thursday slates always tend to be the lightest of the week, and that's what we have again. While we do have seven games in total, only five of them make up the main card. That leaves us with very few options to pick from, but we do have two cheap pitchers in excellent spots. Let's start there!
Pitching
Jon Gray, TEX vs. OAK ($7,400)
Gray got off to a nightmarish start with five earned runs in his debut, but he bounced back in his most recent outing. He only made it 3.2 innings, but he didn't allow a run to a harrowing Houston lineup. Oakland is far from that, ranked 29th or 30th in runs scored, OBP, OPS and xWOBA last season. That was evident when Gray threw eight scoreless innings against them last year en route to 49 FanDuel points. We could see something similar here because Oakland is only projected to score four runs, with Texas entering this matchup as a -190 favorite.
Hunter Brown, HOU at KC ($6,900)
This was one of the most egregious prices I've seen all season. Brown was a breakout pick by many fantasy experts this season, posting a 3.52 xFIP last year, despite having an ERA north of 5.00. He's gotten off to another slow start, but facing the Rangers and Yankees is no easy task. A matchup with Kansas City should get the righty back on track, as the Royals ranked 26th in wOBA and 28th in OBP last season. All of that has Brown entering this matchup as a -140 favorite, making him a heck of a bargain south of $7K.
Top Targets
Adolis Garcia, TEX (vs. JP Sears) $4,300
Garcia looks like a tank out there and he's mowing down opposing pitchers just like one. The beefy outfielder has four homers and two steals through the opening two weeks, en route to a .292 AVG, .604 SLG and .944 OPS. We love that when looking at his splits, with Garcia generating a .372 OBP and .871 OPS against left-handers since the start of last season. It's not like Sears is a scary matchup either, sporting a 4.76 ERA since the start of last season.
Pete Alonso, NYM (vs. Allan Winans) $3,000
It was surprising to see Alonso so affordable. The Polar Bear has the most home runs in baseball over the last six years, posting a .526 SLG and .866 OPS in that span. He also comes into this matchup starting up one of his power surges, hitting a double and a homer Wednesday. Another dinger could be in line against a pitcher like Winans, who had a 5.29 ERA and 1.30 WHIP in six starts last season. He also surrendered seven runs in his last matchup with NY, which is scary since we're looking at a 9.5-run total.
Bargain Bats
Wyatt Langford, TEX (vs. Sears) $2,900
Some people believe this kid could be one of the best players in baseball. He displayed that when he led the league in homers during spring training, backing up a .477 OBP, .690 SLG and 1.166 OPS in the minors. Those are video-game-like numbers, and it's why Texas has this kid batting cleanup against right-handers. If Langford lives up to his pedigree, he could be a $4K player by the end of the summer, making this sub-$3K price tag look laughable.
Adam Duvall, ATL (vs. Jose Quintana) $2,600
We're going to talk about Atlanta later on, but let's give you a little appetizer. Duvall is the only true bargain in this expensive lineup, projected to bat sixth in this game. That'll have him hitting behind five of the best bats in baseball, with AD looking at numerous RBI opportunities. His splits are the reason we really adore him, with Duvall providing a .506 SLG against lefties since 2022. The BvP numbers are absurd as well, amassing a .643 OBP and 1.767 OPS in 14 at-bats against Quintana.
Stacks to Consider
Atlanta vs. (Quintana): Ronald Acuna ($4,100), Austin Riley ($3,800), Ozzie Albies ($4,200) and Marcell Ozuna ($3,900)
Stacking Atlanta can be done on almost every slate but it's scary to think what they could do here. We already discussed Duvall as a great value, but all of these guys in front of him are amazing options as well. Acuna led the league in FanDuel points last season, while Riley had nearly 40 homers and 100 RBI. Albies has also annihilated southpaws throughout his career, tallying a 2.036 OPS in 11 at-bats against Quintana. Ozuna has a 1.182 OPS in 24 at-bats against Quintana, homering five times through 10 games this year.
All of that is frightening when evaluating Quintana because all of these guys have the platoon advantage against him. It's not like Quintana has been an ace either, compiling a 4.10 ERA and 1.36 WHIP since 2019. All of that has Atlanta projected to score over five runs, which has been a regular thing for the best offense in baseball.
Milwaukee Brewers vs. (Nick Martinez): Christian Yelich ($3,900), William Contreras ($3,500), Rhys Hoskins ($3,100), Oliver Dunn ($2,600)
We want to stack Atlanta and the Rangers, but we need a cheap stack to complement those expensive guys. Milwaukee fits that bill, ranked sixth in OBP and ninth in runs scored through the opening two weeks. That form makes them a fantastic option in Great American Ballpark because that's one of the most hitter-friendly environments in baseball. That's bad news for Nick Martinez, totaling a 4.36 ERA and 1.39 WHIP throughout his career.
Picking the right Milwaukee players will be the tricky part of this, but Yelich has to be the heart of the stack. He's got a 1.146 OPS in a sensational start to the season, while Contreras has a 1.022 OPS. The sneaky options will be Hoskins and Dunn. Hoskins has a .353 career OBP, .491 SLG and .844 OPS, while Dunn is projected to hit leadoff in this game.
