Atlanta Braves’ Ronald Acuna Jr. (13) celebrates after he hits a home run in the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins Wednesday, April 14, 2021, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
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Opponent - DET (Eduardo Rodriguez) Park - DET
FD - 41.65 DK - 23.21
As with all MLB Opening Days, we have a bunch of aces taking the mound. That’s going to be the story when every team has the chance to put their best arms forward to start. Shane McClanahan is coming off a fantastic 2022 campaign that saw him strikeout 10.5 batter per nine while rocking a 2.60 xFIP. He’s about as efficient as it gets on the mound and even a late season shoulder issue didn’t slow him down all that much. The Rays -225 home favorites against the Tigers and McClanahan gets to go in one of the best pitchers parks around.
Opponent - COL (Germán Márquez) Park - COL
FD - 40.59 DK - 22.52
Blake Snell had an almost sneakily great 2022 season, sporting a 3.21 xFIP while striking out more than 12 batters per nine. The walks have always been a bit of an issue for the lefty, one of the reasons he only averaged 5.33 inning per start last season. But he can dial up the strikeouts with the best of them. For Opening Day, he’s coming in as a -208 home favorite against the weak-hitting Rockies who won’t do much outside of Coors Field this season. Snell is a fantastic value on both sites.
Opponent - PIT (Mitch Keller) Park - PIT
FD - 10.4 DK - 7.93
The Reds might have a rough season here, but they still play in one of the best hitters’ parks around and get a decent matchup against Mitch Keller to start things off. Tyler Stephenson should hit in the middle of the order after being in and out with injuries last season. When healthy, he was a mid-800s OPS guy though the Ks did climb some. He’s better against lefties for his career, but has been fine against righties and the pricing on both sites doesn’t make it all that tough to fit into lineups. And at catcher on DraftKings he makes for a particularly good value.
Opponent - BAL (Kyle Gibson) Park - BAL
FD - 9.69 DK - 7.28
We’ll get into some more expensive hitters here shortly but if looking for a cheaper option to save on salary, Casas makes for an interesting consideration. He should hit 5th or 6th for the Red Sox this season The lefty has flashed power in the minors and shown extreme patience as well, even walking 20% of the time in his 100 plate major league plate appearances last season. That kind of floor is helpful at these price points.
Opponent - PIT (Mitch Keller) Park - PIT
FD - 10.95 DK - 8.37
As we said with Stephenson, the Reds are in a good spot here on Thursday and have one of the higher implied run lines on the day at 4.5. India will be in the leadoff slot for Cincy and though he failed to live up to his rookie season numbers in year two last season, there is still upside here. He does, in theory, still possess the power/ speed combo you want to roster in fantasy and put up 21 home runs and 12 steals in 2021. If he can get back to some of that production the FanDuel price is way too low.
The Braves are in a great spot on Thursday and Ozzie Albies (FD $3500 DK $3900) should be hitting just below the middle of the order. He’s only a season removed from 30 home runs and 20 steals, making him one of the better fantasy upside guys available at the position.
Opponent - KC (Zack Greinke) Park - KC
FD - 11.5 DK - 8.71
The Twins are the other team near the top of implied run totals going into Thursday’s Opening Day slate. They are currently sitting at 4.82 facing off against Zack Greinke and the Royals. Correa should be hitting second in the lineup and is coming off a solid 2022 season. He swatted 22 home runs in his first season with the Twins and sports an .843 OPS as well. He’s good at making contact for his career, and at this point in his career Greinke represents one of the easier matchups on the slate.
Hitting leadoff for the Pirates could have some advantages and Oneil Cruz (FD $3100 DK $5100) is a solid option here if you want to get away from Correa. The 24-year-old future star has shown power in the majors already with 17 home runs in his first 361 plate appearances.
Opponent - WSH (Patrick Corbin) Park - WSH
FD - 12.79 DK - 9.63
The Braves are likely going to be a popular stack on Thursday facing off against Patrick Corbin who is coming off a lackluster season in 2022. The lefty doesn’t strike anyone out at this point and that could be a problem against this Atlanta lineup. Austin Riley has put together 33 and 38 home run seasons over the last two and has crushed lefty pitching in that stretch. For his career, he has a 142 wRC+ and .922 OPS in that split. He could be set to tee off in this one.
If looking for a cheaper option, Spencer Steer (FD $2400 DK $3200) is coming very cheap and should be hitting fifth for the Reds on Opening Day.
Opponent - WSH (Patrick Corbin) Park - WSH
FD - 14.11 DK - 10.73
Ronald Acuna might very well end up as one of the higher-owned plays on the slate when it’s all said and done. He’s not overly cost prohibitive because of the Opening Day pitcher pricing and he’s in a great spot. He’ll hit leadoff on the team with the highest implied run line and is in the better side of his splits. The power was way down last season which is certainly a concern but he was able to add 29 steals, giving him a higher floor. This is too good a spot to pass up with the Braves’ star.
Opponent - KC (Zack Greinke) Park - KC
FD - 12.99 DK - 9.78
Opponent - KC (Zack Greinke) Park - KC
FD - 10.71 DK - 7.92
Joey Gallo and Byron Buxton should hit first and third in the Twins order respectively on Opening Day when they face Greinke. Gallo should begin to benefit from the new shift rules in the majors and, at minimum, is set to see the .219 BABIP from last season climb up some. He still has major power and even though the K rate has always been high, he does take walks. If the Twins are fine hitting him leadoff then we can be fine playing him at these low prices.
Meanwhile, Buxton came out of the gate hot last season though tailed off in the second half. He still finished with 28 home runs and is set to continue improving entering his age 29 season. Health has been an issue over his career, but he looks good to go to start the season and the Twins have one of the easier matchups on this slate.
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