This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
This might be my final time writing about a slate with two games this season. The only other scheduled one that I have that could happen would be Monday, but both of these series would need to be extended to get to that point. It feels like the Yankees are cruising to the World Series, but seeing who comes out of the NL will be interesting. I'm hoping we can get a Yankees-Dodgers World Series, but MLB would probably be just as happy with the hoopla around a Subway Series. We have a little time yet to figure that out, though, so let's talk about this critical Thursday slate!
Pitching
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, LAD at NYM ($8,800)
Not enough people talked about how special this guy was in his rookie season. A nightmarish MLB debut in Korea really had people overlooking Yoshi, who allowed four runs or fewer in his other 17 starts. He had a 2.53 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 10.4 K/9 rate if you take out that stinker, allowing just seven runs across his last seven starts. Some of those have been abbreviated, but Yamamoto should be creeping close to a full workload after throwing 79 and 71 pitches in his two most recent outings. That's massive when you consider the ballpark, because Citi Field is the most pitcher-friendly environment in baseball! In a home start against the Mets earlier in the season, Yoshi struck out nine batters in a quality start en route to 40 FanDuel points.
Top Targets
Aaron Judge, NYY (vs. Matthew Boyd) $4,800
Judge's postseason struggles have been a major topic this year, but it's just a matter of time before the best hitter in baseball gets going. We've seen glimpses of it in the last three games, with Judge averaging 19 FanDuel points per game in that span. That's the stud we saw in the regular season, as he averaged over 16 FD points per game. He also had a .458 OBP and 1.159 OPS for the year, while accruing a .505 OBP and 1.240 OPS against left-handers. This is not a southpaw we're scared of, as Boyd posted a 2.09 WHIP across his final three regular-season starts. The Yankees are our second favorite stack of the day, with Gleyber Torres ($3,600) and Giancarlo Stanton ($3,200) having the platoon advantage against Boyd as well.
Bargain Bats
Tommy Edman, LAD (vs. Jose Quintana) $3,000
I had Edman in this section Monday, and he provided us with 22 FanDuel points in yet another gem. That's what he's been doing since joining L.A., scoring at least 9.0 FanDuel points in five of his last nine outings. He also had a .829 OPS in his first 29 games with the Dodgers, and he will have a prominent spot in this lineup when evaluating his sensational splits. Edman has a .412 AVG, .882 SLG and 1.299 OPS against left-handers this season. We're also not scared of Quintana's hot stretch, although we'll get into that more in the Stacks section.
Kyle Manzardo, CLE (vs. Clarke Schmidt) $2,500
There aren't many punt plays we trust, naturally, but Manzardo is an interesting option. This guy has been rocking right-handers since his second call-up, posting a .250 AVG, .500 SLG and .808 OPS across his final 28 outings. He was even better at home, tallying a .389 OBP and 1.170 OPS in that span. That's why he's projected to bat in the heart of the Cleveland lineup, and there are not many $2,500 players with such a high upside. Schmidt was sensational during the regular season, but after an IL stint, he had a 6.75 ERA in his final two starts.
Stacks to Consider
Los Angeles Dodgers at New York Mets (Quintana): Mookie Betts ($4,000), Teoscar Hernandez ($3,400), Will Smith ($3,200), Edman ($3,000)
Quintana has been one of the Mets' best pitchers in the second half of the season, but that seems like an outlier when looking at the back of the baseball card. The lefty had a 4.57 ERA and 1.32 WHIP on Aug. 20, which is on par with his 4.04 ERA and 1.33 WHIP since 2019. His lack of strikeout stuff is even more worrying against a team like L.A., who ranked in the top five in batting average, OBP, SLG, runs scored and homers. That was on full display when they had eight hits and three runs against him in their one meeting earlier in the year.
Betts really struggled in the final weeks of the regular season, but he's starting to find it. The superstar has two homers, five runs scored and six RBI across his last five fixtures. He's also projected to hit second while posting a .286 AVG and .797 OPS in 30 at-bats against Quintana. Hernandez also has the platoon advantage against the southpaw, and he compiled a .290 AVG, .574 SLG and .931 OPS against lefties this year. Smith is right there with him, totaling a .361 OBP, .515 SLG and .876 OPS against LHP this season.
