Garion Thorne gives his top studs and value plays for today’s three-game MLB Wild Card fantasy baseball slate on DraftKings.

We’ve got three elimination games on Thursday, with the action getting underway at 3:08 p.m. ET in Cleveland.

Are these high-leverage conditions going to make for an MLB DFS nightmare? Yes. Is it going to be a lot of fun watching nail-biting baseball all day long? Also yes.

Let’s dive in and find some studs and values for your DraftKings lineups.

Make your DraftKings MLB DFS picks here: MLB $100K Bat Flip [$25K to 1st]

PITCHER

Stud

Cam Schlittler, New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox, $8,300 – It’s funny to think about with the Max Fried discourse following Game 1, but no team has shown a longer leash with their starters in this Wild Card round than the Yankees. Part of that is the fact that the team has spent hundreds of millions on its rotation, part of that is the fact that Aaron Boone doesn’t really trust his bullpen. Either way you slice it, if I had to put money on one of today’s six starting pitchers reaching the sixth inning, the clear choice is Schlittler. The rookie was fantastic during the regular season, posting a 2.96 ERA and a 3.74 FIP across 73.0 innings of work. Schlittler also registered a well above average 27.6% strikeout rate at the MLB level. The Red Sox haven’t really hit since an injury to Roman Anthony. I believe Schlittler can take advantage of this lineup that’s at less than 100% health.

INFIELD

Stud

Manny Machado, San Diego Padres at Chicago Cubs, $5,100 – Machado’s bat went a little cold in August and September, but a towering home run off Shota Imanaga in Game 2 is a reminder of how impactful the veteran third baseman can be at the plate. A 93rd percentile average exit velocity (92.9) and an 88th percentile expected slugging rate (.511) are pretty good indicators, too. Due to injuries, the Cubs are sending Jameson Taillon ($7,500) to the mound on Thursday, a man who has surrendered 2.02 home runs per nine to opposing RHBs this season. If that doesn’t sound like an opportunity for Machado, I don’t know what would.

Value

Kyle Manzardo, Cleveland Guardians vs. Detroit Tigers, $3,600 – There’s simply a lot of upside in Manzardo’s bat, as evidenced by his 27 home runs during the regular season. Manzardo also got hot in the year’s second-half, posting an .811 OPS and a 126 wRC+ after the All-Star break. As you could’ve guessed, Manzardo can not hit left-handed pitching. However, he’s likely to get at least two cracks at Jack Flaherty ($7,700) before the Tigers pivot to their bullpen, a starter who did have some issues with LHBs in 2025.

OUTFIELD

Stud

Aaron Judge, New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox, $6,000 – There isn’t really anywhere to spend up on pitching, so you should have the freedom of dropping $6,000 on the best hitter in the world. Judge is obviously viable on every single slate he appears, but here’s the deciding factor on Thursday: His incredible numbers versus LHPs. Judge led the league with an .840 expected slugging percentage versus lefties during the regular season. For context, that was 200 points clear of any other hitter with at least 100 at-bats within the split. The real question is how many different southpaws will Judge end up seeing in Game 3. Connelly Early ($8,800) will start this contest for the Red Sox, yet I wouldn’t be shocked to see Justin Wilson, Steven Matz or, obviously, Aroldis Chapman, as well. Maybe even Kyle Harrison.

Value

Kerry Carpenter, Detroit Tigers at Cleveland Guardians, $4,100 – We all know the deal with Carpenter at this point. The outfielder is one of the league’s premier platoon bats. In 2025, Carpenter posted a .255 ISO and an .812 OPS against right-handed pitching in more than 400 plate appearances. Today, he’ll have the privilege of facing off with Slade Cecconi ($7,200). Well, he’ll have that privilege at least once — it is a Game 3, after all. Cecconi has struggled to keep the ball in the park throughout his time in the majors, and it’s not all that hard to see why. The RHP finished the regular season with a first percentile opponent hard hit rate (49.1%) and a third percentile opponent barrel rate (12.2%). Yikes.