In the penultimate Thursday slate of the season, we have a relatively large slate with seven matchups.
Weather Report
There isn’t rain in the forecast at any of the home stadiums.
Injury Report
Max Fried - His start was pushed to Thursday after he began to develop a hotspot on his pitching hand. The team hasn’t announced if the hot spot is gone entirely so don’t be surprised if they yank him out of the game earlier than expected.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. - He was scratched from Wednesday’s game with right knee discomfort and is set to undergo an MRI so the team can get a better idea of his prognosis. He is considered day-to-day until we learn more.
Everson Pereira - Everson Pereira has missed the last five games due to a low-grade hamstring strain. He has avoided the injured list so far but he would be a risky player to rely on Thursday night.
DJ Stewart - Stewart was scratched from Wednesday’s contest with a wrist injury. We should find out more about his status later in the day on Thursday.
Javier Báez - Báez has missed the past two contests with lower back tightness. There is a chance he is ready to go on Thursday.
Brandon Crawford - Crawford was removed from Wednesday’s game with right hamstring tightness. Tyler Fitzgerald is expected to be added to the active roster, so we should expect the veteran shortstop to miss some time.
Starting Pitchers
Grayson Rodriguez ($8,000 DK/ $9,000 FD) The 23-year-old righthander has had a superb second half of the season and he will face the Guardians on the road Thursday. Since July 17, Rodriguez has a 2.5 ERA, 2.91 FIP, 1.06 WHIP, and 16.5 K/BB ratio. His 111.1 IP this season is way above his 75 IP he pitched last season. It isn’t likely that the Orioles will cap his innings this season as they just punched their card to the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
Tarik Skubal The lefty has been outstanding since he returned from the injured list this summer. He has a 3.25 ERA, 2.8 SIERA, 0.97 WHIP, and 25.9 K/BB ratio over 69 1/3 innings. His fastball velocity is up around one MPH and he gets to face the Athletics in Oakland on Thursday night.
His price ($9,600 DK/ $10,300 FD) seems like a great price point for a pitcher of his caliber facing one of the worst offenses in recent memory.
Batter to Target
David Peterson has had a mostly down season this year, posting a 5.22 ERA overall but an out of the world 7.35 ERA on the road this season. The Phillies are just coming off a wild and exciting series against the Braves and Nick Castellanos ($4,800 DK/ $3,500 FD) could be looking to feast on Thursday. The 31-year-old is hitting lefties extremely well, posting a .323/.369/.557 with an impressive 1.151 OPS against southpaws at home.
Stack Attack
Giants (Kyle Harrison) vs. Dodgers
Kyle Harrison is expected to start for the Giants Thursday evening and while it is difficult to create a stack of Dodgers hitters, it can be done!
J.D. Martinez has been absolutely on fire since he returned from the injured list. The veteran designated hitter is hitting .395/.455/.737 with four homers and 14 RBI since September 8.
Amed Rosario doesn’t play often but he did start against the last southpaw the Dodgers faced. The 27-year-old is hitting much better against lefties, posting a .781 OPS with just a 14 percent strikeout rate.
Then there is Freddie Freeman. What is there to say? Whenever you have enough money to add Freeman to your DFS lineup, you are usually in for a good night!
Cubs vs. Pirates (Johan Oviedo)
Johan Oviedo has had an interesting season. It seems he either does really well (complete game shutout vs Kansas City on August 28) or very bad (3 2/3 IP with five hits and three earned runs against the Cardinals on September 3.
The Cubs have been on a bit of a skid as they look to lock down a spot in the playoffs. Nico Hoerner has had a bit of a breakout season this year, hitting .286/.346/.30 with nine home runs and 41 stolen bases.
It will be a tall task to swipe a base against Oviedo and Endy Rodriguez, but Hoerner has the speed to get it done. Ian Happ has a 925 OPS against right-handers on the road and his price point is much better than Cody Bellinger’s price.
Seiya Suzuki has been a man on a mission in the second half, hitting .305/.363/.568 and it doesn’t seem like many of the popular DFS sites have got on to that fact.