Welcome back to another edition of MLB DFS! We return for an eight-game slate starting at 1:05 p.m. EST on this Thursday. Let’s take a look at some studs and value plays that could help you earn some cash.
All prices are from DraftKings.
Pitchers
Stud – Gerrit Cole ($10,500)
Cole has been on fire to start the season and faces his former team in the Houston Astros, with the New York Yankees going for the sweep. The ace of the bombers has struck out 62 batters over 37 2/3 innings pitched while allowing just six earned runs and three walks. Look for him to shut down the Astros as they get rained down with boos and “F**k Altuve” chants.
Stud – Brandon Woodruff ($9,300)
Woodruff has had an outstanding, Cy Young type start to the 2021 season. He has a 40-9 K-BB rate through 35 innings pitched and has allowed just seven earned runs. Woodruff has also shut down the Phillies batters for just 7-for-64 (.109) in his career.
Value – Michael Pineda ($7,500)
Pineda had his start pushed back from Wednesday due to a wrist injury from a line drive comebacker in his recent start. He responded well to his throwing session on Tuesday and will be ready for his normal turn in the rotation The right-hander has gotten off to a great start in 2021 as he has a 2.30 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, and 27-6 K-BB rate in 27 1/3 innings in his first five starts. The Rangers lineup has not been performing very well as they have a .695 OPS so far, which is 19th in the league. Pineda should do well against them.
Batters
Stud – Xander Bogaerts ($5,100)
The Boston Red Sox shortstop has gotten off to a very hot start to the 2021 MLB season. Bogaerts is batting .351 with a .988 OPS and has six home runs. He went 2-for-5 with a two-run homer on Wednesday, his tenth multi-hit game of the season. Spencer Turnbull has a very low strikeout rate of 17.9 percent, while Bogaerts has only struck out at a 17.1 percent clip.
Stud – Nelson Cruz ($5,300)
Cruz went hitless yesterday, but other than that he has been on fire. He has at least one hit in 10 of his fifteen games, three of them of the multi-hit variety. The Minnesota designated hitter has eight homers along with 21 RBI and a .964 OPS and has scored 9.2 fantasy points per game. Cruz has also gone four-for-13 with one homer and four RBI against Pirates’ pitcher Jordan Lyles.
Value – Austin Riley ($3,900)
Riley has had back-to-back hitless games following his 4-for-4 performance on Sunday against the Toronto Blue Jays. He looks to get rolling again against Washington Nationals pitcher Jon Lester from the opposite side of the plate. His four-hit game was his third multi-hit game in his last five games and second four-hit game in that time. He looks to stay hot against the Nationals.
Value – Giancarlo Stanton ($4,400)
I am not sure how Stanton is still this cheap as he is on an 11-game hitting streak, including seven multi-hit games during that span. He went 3-for-4 against the Astros last night, including a home run following his four-for-five performance on Tuesday. The slugger is 1-for-3 against Lance McCullers with three walks in his career. Look for Stanton to extend his hitting streak to 12 games.
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