Time for some Thursday baseball! We have an early slate today, so make sure to get those lineups made quickly! We have a 7-game slate on both DraftKings and FanDuel that will be starting at 12:20 PM EST. A smaller slate of games but still plenty of options to choose from to build a winning DFS lineup today. Today’s slate is highlighted by Spencer Strider on the mound, who is cementing himself as the best strikeout pitcher in all of baseball right now. He also comes with a huge price tag, but there are some great value options as well to either pair with him or pivot away from him completely. On the offensive side, we have some great options as well, with some of my favorite offenses to target today including the Chicago White Sox, New York Mets, Cincinnati Reds, and the Milwaukee Brewers. We’ve got no time to waste before baseball with the games starting so early, so let’s get right into some of my favorite value options of the day! 

 

MLB DFS Value Pitchers

George Kirby, Seattle Mariners (DraftKings: $8,300 / FanDuel: $9,700) 

Giving up 6 runs against the Detroit Tigers isn’t what you wanted from Georgie Kirby, but that doesn’t really worry me going forward. He has struggled a little bit with giving up the long ball recently, but Kirby has some of the best command in all of baseball, and I think we see the strikeouts develop more as well. He faces the Minnesota Twins today, and I will be surprised if he doesn’t bounce back from that Detroit start and give us a gem today. 

Corbin Burnes, Milwaukee Brewers (DraftKings: $8,500 / FanDuel: $9,300) 

Corbin Burnes looked a lot more like himself in that last outing. He piled up 13 strikeouts over 6 innings, giving up only 2 hits and shutting out the Cincinnati Reds. With the strikeouts coming back and his ERA back down to 3.73, I’m not sure why we wouldn’t trust Burnes to be an ace once again, and I am certainly willing to pay this price for him today, even with a tougher matchup taking on the Philadelphia Phillies. 

MLB DFS Value Hitters

Francisco Alvarez, C New York Mets (DraftKings: $3,600 / FanDuel: $2,900) 

Only Manny Machado has more home runs than Francisco Alvarez in July. This month he has slashed .381/.447/.881 with 7 homers and has 5 multi-hit games. Michael Kopech has been up and down this season but was really down in his last start, not even getting out of the first inning, and he has struggled with the long ball holding a 1.87 HR/9 on the season, so this should be a decent spot for Alvarez to add to his impressive home run total on the month. 

Wilmer Flores, 1B/3B San Francisco Giants (DraftKings: $3,100 / FanDuel: $2,700) 

Wilmer Flores is red-hot at the plate right now. Over his last 10 games, he has an OPS of 1.272 and has 6 multi-hit games, including his two-homer game two days again in Cincinnati. This is the final game for him to take advantage of Great American Ballpark and hopefully have one more big game already has 6 hits and 3 homers in his first three games there. Andrew Abbott has been less brilliant in his last two starts, so hopefully, Flores and the Giants will be able to pile up some hits today.

Edouard Julien, 2B Minnesota Twins (DraftKings: $2,800 / FanDuel: $2,800) 

I usually avoid including hitters who are facing my favorite pitchers, but Edouard Julien is on too incredible of a streak right now to ignore. I probably wouldn’t play him if you are playing George Kirby, but if you aren’t going with Kirby, then you should be including Edouard Julien. He is on a 7-game hit streak over which he has 15 hits and 3 homers, and an outrageous OPS of 1.866. He has also been in the 2-hole for 5 of those games and is at a great price for someone on the top of a lineup hitting this well. 

Will Benson, OF Cincinnati Reds (DraftKings: $2,800 / FanDuel: $2,800) 

Will Benson has homered in each of the last two games against the San Francisco Giants. He has been a solid hitter all season when in the lineup for the Reds, with a .887 OPS on the year. He is at the bottom of the lineup most days, but with a strong Red’s lineup, he can usually still contribute plenty from the bottom. Alex Cobb has been excellent all year, but pitching in Cincinnati can be rough on anyone, so I am hoping Benson can make it three straight games with a homer. 

 

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