This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
There are eight MLB games Thursday, with the first starting at 3:35 PM ET. If you aren't able to get your lineup in by the afternoon, don't sweat it too much. Seven of the games don't start until the evening, so if you miss the 3:35 start you won't be out of luck.
That being said, with only eight games total on the slate, having one more game's worth of options for your daily fantasy lineup is certainly helpful.
Hopefully you will also find these recommendations helpful…
PITCHER
Matt Boyd, DET vs. KAN ($8,500): It may be hard to care about a game between two 90-loss teams, but don't overlook Boyd. At home, he has a 2.44 ERA, and over his last five home starts his ERA is down to a nearly pristine 0.84. As for the Royals, they rank a mere 25th in runs scored.
GPP Fade: Eduardo Rodriguez, BOS at NYY ($9,000): The Red Sox and Yankees are kind of the polar opposite of a Royals-Tigers matchup. These are the two best offenses in the league, with New York trailing only its rivals from Boston in runs scored. Rodriguez is solid, but he has a career FIP of 3.92. Yankee Stadium is tough on pitchers, and so is Aaron Judge, who recently returned from injury.
Cheap GPP Consideration: Cody Reed, CIN at MIA ($6,400): I'm not going to sugarcoat it for you; the cheap options at pitcher Thursday are bleak. This is almost entirely about the matchup for Reed. The Marlins are last in runs scored by a sizable option. That's something. For Reed's part, he did just strike out 10 Cubs in 5.0 innings, and he's struck out 9.18 batters per nine innings this year, even if that was mostly in the bullpen.
CATCHER/FIRST BASE
Ji-Man Choi, TAM at TOR ($3,600): Choi has bounced around in his brief MLB career, but he seems to have finally found a role in the majors. He's a lefty bat that can't hit his fellow southpaws but can do damage to a righty (.887 OPS in such matchups). Sam Gaviglio is right handed, and he also has a 5.25 ERA and has allowed 1.67 homers per nine innings.
SECOND BASE
Starlin Castro, MIA at CIN ($2,900): Yes, Cody Reed was the choice for the cheap pitcher, but that's about the overall lousiness of the Marlins' offense. He's not Jake DeGrom, so a player like Castro could still prove a good value at this price. Castro, if nothing else, can put the bat on the ball, as his .281 batting average indicates. He has a little bit of power (12 homers) and has stolen a few bases (six), and that's enough in this situation.
THIRD BASE
Yolmer Sanchez, CWS at CLE ($2,900): Sanchez doesn't have a ton of power, but mostly that's because he struggles against lefties. Against righties he has a .419 slugging percentage with eight homers this year. The 26-year-old has also stolen 14 bases for good measure. Cleveland has a lot of good pitchers, but Thursday's starter Josh Tomlin isn't one of them. Tomlin has a 7.67 FIP this year and has allowed a staggering 3.47 homers per nine innings.
SHORTSTOP
Jose Peraza, CIN at MIA ($3,500): Peraza has bounced back after a cold stretch, as over the last 14 days he has a 1.076 OPS with four homers. That may be a somewhat small sample size, but he still has a .290 batting average (not to mention 23 stolen bases) on the season. Jeff Brigham has only pitched 7.1 innings in the majors, so his 7.36 ERA has to be taken with a grain of salt. However, he had a 3.91 FIP in Triple-A this year as well.
OUTFIELD
Juan Soto, WAS vs. NYM ($4,000): A rookie season for the ages is nearing a close, but there is still time to take advantage of Soto's precocious skills. We're talking about a 19-year-old who has slashed .298/.413/.520. Now, he has a chance to add to his accolades against Jason Vargas, who has a 6.47 ERA and has given up 1.93 home runs per nine innings.
Stephen Piscotty, OAK vs. LAA ($3,500): Piscotty has been a red-hot hitter for a few weeks, as over his last 30 games he has a .319/.366/.637 slash line with 10 homers. For most of the season, Matt Shoemaker has been on the disabled list, but in his four starts he has a 3.98 ERA. Over his career, he has a 3.87 ERA, which is right in line with his career 3.87 FIP.
Scott Schebler, CIN at MIA ($3,200): Schebler hit 30 homers last season, and he's added 17 more this year despite only playing in 99 games. Since returning from his injury, he's posted a .825 OPS with five homers in 23 games. As previously noted, Jeff Brigham has looked bad in very limited MLB action, and odds are he's probably not much better than what he's shown, given that he is only being given time for the Marlins now.
