Thursday’s MLB action provides us with an interesting 11-game slate. For those who enjoy playing day and night slates then today is your day. Five games will be played before 7pm while six games will be played at 7pm or later. Beware of league formats that you join and as always, good luck!

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Weather:
STL/KC: Rain at 50-60%
MIL/MIN: Rain at 30-50%
ARI/COL: Rain at 30-40%

Positional Breakdown:

Madison Bumgarner easily sits at number one for my top pitcher of the day. He gets to face the Reds and their weak .230 average against LHP. The Reds have hit .244 in the last six games, which is alright I guess. I like Bumgarner because he owns that lefty/lefty battle on a lot of good Reds’ bats. He’s also been amazing in his last two starts striking out 20 in 14 innings.

Justin Verlander is a big time GPP pitcher tonight when he faces the Blue Jays. Rick Porcello pitched great against them last night and Anibal Sanchez did so the night before, so it’s certainly possible to be great against Toronto. Verlander was routinely hitting 95mph with his fastball last game and if that’s the case today then he should be great.

Two other pitchers worth taking a look at are Doug Fister and Drew Pomeranz. Fister has been great this season sporting a 3.34 ERA with 23 strikeouts in 29.2 innings. Fister’s sinker has been great lately and that bodes well against a lefty heavy lineup today. Pomeranz had a rough outing against the Angels, but there were some extenuating circumstances around that game like him sitting for 30+ minutes at one point before pitching. He faces a lefty heavy lineup in the Yankees and has almost one strikeout per game this season.

Others to Consider: Michael Wacha, J.A. Happ

Catchers

Catchers seem to be a crap shoot today. There aren’t many at all hitting .300 in the last 15 days, and there’s only one real platoon splits that is jumping out. Jonathan Lucroy has been the best catcher lately hitting .340 and hitting in the four hole for the Brewers. He’ll face Correja tonight who is giving up a .328 average to right handed batters this season. He’s also averaging one extra base hit allowed per seven at bats.

Besides Lucroy, I would find the cheapest catcher starting and roll with him. I’m guessing it’ll be Hector Sanchez with the day game between San Francisco and Cincinnati. He’s only hitting .100 lately, but his price is 3.5k on Draftstreet.

Others to Consider: Dioner Navarro

The top first basemen both have great potential tonight, but are too pricey for me. Instead, I’m looking at Paul Goldschmidt as my high-priced option. He faces Nicasio in Colorado who is giving up one home run per six innings pitched at home. He’s also averaging just under one hit per inning at home.

The other first basemen in this game is also intriguing. Justin Morneau has struggled lately to the tune of a .170 average, but he’s so much better at home. He has 12 extra base hits in 93 at bats (one per 7.75 at bats) and faces a RHP in Arroyo.

If you want another first base option that’s not a huge name then look towards Adam LaRoche. Kyle Kendrick has been brutal against LHB this season and LaRoche has all seven of his home runs against LHP with a .333 average in 93 at bats.

Others to Consider: Mark Reynolds, Eric Hosmer

Ian Kinsler seems to be really underpriced in a game that could have a high score in it if Happ isn’t on. He’s only 6.6k and had a home run last night. If you’re not a fan of Kinsler then look towards Chase Utley. I like Fister tonight, but Utley has just been so good against RHP. He’s still towards the top when it comes to average against RHP.

Rougned Odor has been great in his last 15 days hitting .353 with nine RBI. Tillman, on the other hand, hasn’t been great at all lately. He has an 10+ ERA in his last few starts and gets to pitch in Texas tonight.

Others to Consider: Daniel Murphy

Mike Leake has been surprisingly really good this season, but tonight might not be his day. Pablo Sandoval has been great against RHP since May and is hitting .333 with five home runs in his last 15 days. Another stud third basemen who is underpriced is Adrian Beltre. He’s hitting over .400 with four home runs lately. He gets to face Tillman who I just talked about as being terrible lately. Beltre has been quite the opposite with five hits and three home runs in his last two games.

If you’re looking to go cheap at this position today, which I wouldn’t do, then look towards Nick Castellanos. He’s starting to swing it better and his .244 average shows that. He’s priced at just 3k, so there’s definitely some value to be had there.

Others to Consider: David Wright

Jose Reyes has been red hot lately and if you think Verlander won’t be on today then he’ll be leaving a lot of pitches up. This should mean lots of extra base hits from guys behind Reyes. He should get on at least once even if Verlander is on and he’s always a threat to steal a bag. It’s worth noting that if Holaday starts behind the plate because of the day game that he has a caught stealing percentage of just 18% in his career.

JJ Hardy has been red hot since returning from the DL a few weeks ago and it’s evident by his .345 average lately. Colby Lewis is a good matchup for his as he has a 6+ ERA with just seven strikeouts in 10 innings and change lately. One flier to take a look at tonight is Didi Gregorius against the Rockies. He gets to hit in Colorado and if he’s starting tonight then he’ll have a chance to make it two straight games with a home run.

Others to Consider: Danny Santana, Ruben Tejada

Michael Cuddyer at home is always an option for me. He’s a .364 hitter at home compared to .282 on the road. He’s also 4-12 in June with a double. I expect him to turn it up this home stand and he’s very affordable tonight. Nick Markakis is even hotter than Cuddyer is lately with a home run last night and a .371 average in his last 15 days. He faces Lewis who allows LHB to hit .350 against him so far this season.

Khris Davis has an affordable price and faces a reverse splits guy in Kevin Correja tonight. He has struggled to a tune of a .214 average against RHP, but Davis does average one extra base per ten at bats. He has potential against Correja and should be considered a GPP option tonight. Alex Rios and Shin-Soo Choo are both great options tonight against TIlman for obvious reasons. Rios is hitting better than Choo lately, but Choo does very well against RHP.

Others to Consider: Adam Jones, Mitch Moreland, J.D. Martinez

Top Stacks:
Detroit: Kinsler/Cabrera/Martinez/Martinez
Toronto: Reyes/Bautista/Encarnacion/Lind
Baltimore: Markakis/Jones/Cruz/Hardy
Rangers: Choo/Beltre/Rios/Odor

Lineup:

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