We're halfway through the MLB season! Thursday night isn't necessarily celebrating that with gusto, as there are only five games starting at 7:07 p.m. ET or later. Here are some DFS lineup recommendations as we pivot to the second half of this MLB campaign.
Pitching
Max Scherzer, NYM vs. MIL ($11,000): This was the one easy call at pitcher, even if Scherzer has a 3.95 ERA. He has a 2.95 ERA at home, and, you know, he's Max Scherzer. I wouldn't be surprised if the second half of the campaign is much better for the Cy Young winner. The Brewers also have the clear worst offense of the 10 teams in action Thursday night. They have the second worst batting average as a team in MLB, ahead of only the Athletics.
Chris Bassitt, TOR vs. SF ($9,600): Finding that second pitcher Thursday tricky, but I landed on Bassitt. He has major home/road splits, but he is at home here, where he has a 2.72 ERA and has only allowed 0.6 home runs per nine innings. The Giants are in the top 10 in runs scored, but Bassitt has some strong bats to support him as well in hopes of picking up a win.
Top Target
The power outage for Kyle Tucker ($5,000) this year is a concern, but he still has a .279 average, 10 homers, and 14 stolen bases. He's hit 30 homers in each of his last two campaigns, and the southpaw has had unexpected issues with righties that could be fluky. The wheels have come off for Adam Wainwright in his age-41 season. He's struck out a mere 4.63 batters per nine innings, and lefties have hit a staggering .398 against him.
Bargain Bat
Since joining the Phillies, Brandon Marsh ($3,000) has been a different player. In his first full season in Philadelphia, the southpaw has hit .283 with seven homers, four triples, and four stolen bases, plus an .895 OPS versus righties. Kyle Hendricks has a 2.60 ERA through six starts, but I'm skeptical. It starts with his 3.54 FIP, but he also has a 15.6 line-drive percentage and .220 BABIP that are not really sustainable, and he's allowed a mere 0.26 home runs per nine innings after allowing over 1.5 in each of his last two campaigns.
Stacks to Consider
Dodgers at Rockies (Chase Anderson): Freddie Freeman ($6,100), J.D. Martinez ($5,700), Max Muncy ($5,500)
One more day for the Dodgers at Coors Field, so let's make the most of it. Anderson has a 6.52 ERA over the last four seasons…and that's across five different teams. It's not a Coors thing, though the 2.36 home runs per nine innings he's allowed this year is partially related to the offense-friendly ballpark. I have two lefties in this stack, but Anderson has allowed a .299 average to righties since 2021, so don't be shy about right-handed bats.
Freeman has a .317 average, 14 home runs, and his 10 stolen bases have him primed to beat his personal best of 13 swiped bags (which he set last year). He also has an 1.001 OPS on the road in 2023. Martinez is bringing the power, having slugged .571 with 18 homers. In his first season as a Dodger, he's slugged over .600 against righties and on the road as well. Muncy is back from the IL, having racked up 18 homers in 62 games. He's been particularly poor against lefties this year, but has an .857 OPS versus righties.
Mets vs. Brewers (Adrian Houser): Brandon Nimmo ($4,000), Jeff McNeil ($3,400), Brett Baty ($2,900)
Houser is returning to the rotation for the Brewers, though the only enthusiasm greeting that move comes from the opposition, and from DFS players looking for a stack. While the righty doesn't allow home runs, he has a 4.14 FIP in his career and has struck out a mere 7.07 batters per nine as well. Since 2021, lefties have hit .290 against him, compared to .218 from righties, so I am stacking a trio of southpaws.
With an approach not geared around homers, Nimmo is an ideal southpaw for this matchup. He's got a .282 average and .369 OBP and is your leadoff hitter type, and he's scored 44 runs this year. A recent power surge has helped him to post a .903 OPS over the last three weeks, though. McNeil has scuffled in 2023, but he's a career .300 hitter. His issues have mostly been on the road, though, and since 2021 he has a .781 OPS at home. A top prospect upon hitting the majors, Baty has been much better at home so far as a Met. He has an .864 OPS at Citi Field.
