With the Twins and Rockies playing a split doubleheader, there are six day games and six evening games on Thursday's slate. Anytime the schedule is divided that evenly, it can be tough to put devise a daily fantasy baseball strategy and make lineup picks.
That's especially true with pitchers, where four of the top five in our rankings are playing day games. While Jon Lester stands out at the top choice, Dylan Bundy and his eight-game quality start streak isn't far behind, especially with Miguel Cabrera (oblique) out.
The evening slate is headlined by Marcus Stroman, who will be a very popular pick in cash games. For GPPs, Jordan Montgomery and Edinson Volquez both have high strikeout potential and could rack up big points if they can limit runs.
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Daily Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Pitchers
| Rank | Pitcher | Team | Opp. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jon Lester, LHP | CHC | vs. CIN |
| 2 | Dylan Bundy, RHP | BAL | at DET |
| 3 | Marcus Stroman ,RHP | TOR | at ATL |
| 4 | Ervin Santana, RHP (G1) | MIN | vs. COL |
| 5 | Tanner Roark, RHP | WAS | at PIT |
| 6 | Sonny Gray, RHP | OAK | vs. BOS |
| 7 | Danny Duffy, LHP | KC | vs. NYY |
| 8 | Julio Teheran, RHP | ATL | vs. TOR |
| 9 | Jordan Montgomery, LHP | NYY | at KC |
| 10 | Edinson Volquez, RHP | MIA | at LAD |
| 11 | Hyun-jin Ryu, LHP | LAD | vs. MIA |
| 12 | Amir Garrett, LHP | CIN | at CHC |
| 13 | Jose Berrios, RHP (G2) | MIN | vs. COL |
| 14 | Tyler Glasnow, RHP | PIT | vs. WAS |
| 15 | Zach Davies, RHP | MIL | at SD |
| 16 | German Marquez, RHP (G1) | COL | at MIN |
| 17 | Jarred Cosart, RHP | SD | vs. MIL |
| 18 | Martin Perez, LHP | TEX | vs. PHI |
| 19 | Jordan Zimmermann, RHP | DET | vs. BAL |
| 20 | Tyler Chatwood, RHP (G2) | COL | at MIN |
| 21 | Dylan Covey, RHP | CWS | at SEA |
| 22 | Nick Pivetta, RHP | PHI | at TEX |
| 23 | Sam Gaviglio, RHP | SEA | vs. CWS |
| 24 | Hector Velazquez, RHP | BOS | at OAK |
Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks: Thursday, May 18
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Thursday’s MLB slate is one of the most unusual I have seen in quite some time. There are 12 games on the docket, but thanks to a doubleheader in Minnesota and a mid-afternoon game in San Diego, DraftKings and FanDuel are offering five games in the early slate and five in the main slate. If you want to play the early games on Yahoo!, then you have to play the all-day slate.
Thursday’s slates may be made even more interesting by weather. Yankees-Royals is the only possible rainout on our board at this time, and while I suspect that game will get in, it's worth keeping an eye on. Three games in the early slate could see high winds, most notably Reds-Cubs, where the wind will likely blow out to right field. Phillies-Rangers could see fewer runs than the pitching matchup might suggest, as the wind will likely help the pitchers in that contest.
There are a couple really thin positions in the late slate, most notably catcher and first base. When that is the case, I usually pay up for somebody I trust or punt the position, and Thursday is no different. -- Nick Berns
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