Stan Son gives his top studs and value plays for Thursday\u2019s three-game fantasy baseball slate on DraftKings.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve got a three-game slate for Thursday\u2019s MLB action. That makes me so sad, but at least we have something. <\/p>\n
Let\u2019s turn that frown upside down and find some studs and values for your MLB DFS lineups on DraftKings. This article was written before lineups were announced.<\/p>\n
Make your\u00a0DraftKings<\/a>\u00a0MLB DFS picks here:\u00a0MLB $125K Bat Flip [$25K to 1st<\/a>]<\/p>\n PITCHER<\/p>\n Stud<\/p>\n Cole Ragans, Kansas City Royals vs. Minnesota Twins, $9,200 \u2014 Ragans got lit up in Atlanta for the season opener, walking four and allowing three home runs. But the pitching options are limited on this small slate, and Ragans has the highest upside. He owns a career 29% strikeout rate and 19.8% K-BB%. Last season, those numbers ballooned to 38.1% and 30.4%, respectively. Minnesota also ranks 29th in runs scored through its first five games of 2026.<\/p>\n Value<\/p>\n Reynaldo Lopez, Atlanta Braves at Arizona Diamondbacks, $7,000 \u2014 My first thought was to stack against Lopez since he had tons of luck in the opener. While he only allowed one run, his FIP was 5.36 and his BABIP was a paltry .125. But he looked good during spring training, and during the 2024 season, he posted a 27.3% strikeout rate with a 2.92 FIP across 135.2 innings. It\u2019s a small slate, so I will likely have stacks against Lopez as well. But I\u2019m going with my gut that he continues pitching well. <\/p>\n OUTFIELD<\/p>\n Stud<\/p>\n Ronald Acuna Jr., Atlanta Braves at Arizona Diamondbacks, $5,800 \u2014 Acuna has power. Acuna has speed. The universe probably nerfed his legs in the past so that he wouldn\u2019t be able to generate enough thrust to leap over tall buildings. A petty universe we live in. Anyways, Acuna has a career 143 wRC+ and .235 ISO against right-handed pitching. Thursday\u2019s starter for the Diamondbacks, Ryne Nelson, has a career 4.10 FIP and 1.34 HR\/9 against righties. In his first start of the season, Nelson walked three, struck out four, and allowed four earned runs on two hits (both home runs) over 4.2 innings. That game was against the Los Angeles Dodgers, though, so context is important.<\/p>\n Value<\/p>\n Kyle Isbel, Kansas City Royals vs. Minnesota Twins, $2,500 \u2014 My initial reaction was to stack against Taj Bradley because it\u2019s tended to work out in the past. That said, I\u2019ve always been allured by the potential: he misses bats, has been getting better at suppressing home runs, and was lights out in the opener. That said, it\u2019s still Taj Bradley! I\u2019m not gonna stack against him, but I do have some interest in Isbel. While it stinks that he hits ninth, he\u2019s hit safely in each of his first three games, belted one homer, and swiped two bases. The most important part of the equation is the price.<\/p>\n INFIELD<\/p>\n Stud<\/p>\n Matt Olson, Atlanta Braves at Arizona Diamondbacks, $4,800 \u2014 Yeah, stacking against Ryne Nelson. I\u2019m not crazy about it since he\u2019s been relatively good the past two seasons, posting a FIP right around 3.73 while suppressing the long ball. But it\u2019s a three-game slate, and Chase Field so far has the highest Park Factor in baseball. Albeit against the Dodgers, Nelson got lit up in his first start, and it\u2019s not like he misses a ton of bats \u2014 owning a career 19.1% strikeout rate. Olson hasn\u2019t gotten off to the best start, but he\u2019s posted an ISO over .200 in every season since 2017. He bats in the heart of the order and, if the Braves get busy in this one, Olson should be at the center of the action.<\/p>\n Value<\/p>\n Mauricio Dubon, Atlanta Braves at Arizona Diamondbacks, $2,300 \u2014 Dubon bats in the bottom of the order for the Braves. He doesn\u2019t have much power (career .116 ISO) or blazing speed (22 stolen bases in 668 games), but he\u2019s started the season 6-for-15 with five RBIs. This is a price play and would make for a unique stacking piece.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Stan Son gives his top studs and value plays for Thursday\u2019s three-game fantasy baseball slate on DraftKings. 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