This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
Games are scattered throughout the day Thursday, but there are only 10 total contests to choose from as a lot of teams travel. The "main" slate of game starts at 1:05 EDT and consists of only six games, so that's where I will focus my attention.
PITCHERS
Dylan Cease ($10,200) is the easy choice for cash games, especially considering he's scored 42 and 44 fantasy points in his first two outing. The Guardians aren't an offensive buzz saw (although Jose Ramirez might beg to differ) and Cease should have a relatively easy day ahead of him. The White Sox are a -145 favorite, suggesting there's a good chance the right-hander earns the win here.
Paul Blackburn ($7,600) isn't the flashiest name, but it's hard to ignore his strong start to the season. He has 10 strikeouts in his first two starts (10 innings total) and has gone five innings in each game, making him eligible for the win each time. He's facing the Orioles, who have had to travel across the country and have scored exactly one run in three straight games. Baltimore has also fanned in 125 out of 442 plate appearance (28.2 percent), providing an opportunity for Blackburn to rack up some strikeouts.
TOP BATS
If you're planning to fade Cease, it's probably a good idea to put Jose Ramirez ($4,600) into your lineup. Ramirez has scored positive fantasy points in every game this season and is averaging 19.9 fantasy points per game. He has four home runs and 20 RBI and is hitting .469 to lead the way for the Guardians. Ramirez is a great pick for GPPs given that he shouldn't be a wildly popular pick going up against Cease.
It's never a bad idea to roster Tim Anderson ($3,900) given his speed/power combo. Anderson has scored at least nine fantasy points in five straight games and also has games of 21.4 and 34.7 fantasy points under his belt. Zach Plesac has been solid to start the season but Anderson, in his leadoff spot, should continue to be a productive fantasy player.
BARGAIN BATS
Whit Merrifield ($2,800) has gotten off to a slow start, but that doesn't mean the talent isn't still there. As a result of the slow start, he's a value option right now. While Joe Ryan is a good prospect, it's still early in his career and there's no reason to avoid facing him quite yet.
Seth Brown ($2,600) has gotten off to a hot start, averaging over nine fantasy points per game, and he should be hitting in the middle of the lineup after already racking up 11 RBI this season. He has at least six fantasy points in each of his last four games and also has three game of over 20 fantasy points.
STACKS TO CONSIDER
New York Yankees at Detroit (Michael Pineda): Giancarlo Stanton ($3,700), Aaron Judge ($3,600), Aaron Hicks ($2,700), DJ LeMahieu ($3,300)
Hicks and LeMahieu have essentially switched spots in the lineup, with Hicks now leading off and DJ being pushed down to the sixth spot. I still like both today and it should be a good matchup for the Yankees facing Pineda in his first start of the season. The Yankees expected run total (-170 favorites, over/under of eight) is somewhere between four and five runs, one of the higher totals on this slate of games.
Toronto Blue Jays at Boston (Tanner Houck): Vladimir Guerrero ($4,100), Lourdes Gurriel ($3,600), Bo Bichette ($3,300), Raimel Tapia ($2,600)
Houck seems like an easy pitcher to pick on today, and there's plenty to like with these four Blue Jays. Gurriel should be hitting cleanup while Tapia should be leading off for the Jays. It's only a matter of time (hopefully sooner rather than later) before Bichette gets going, and there's no need to explain why using Guerrero is a smart option.
