On Wednesday, we recommended adding veteran catcher Travis d’Arnuad and first baseman Carlos Santana to your DFS roster. These two decided to keep the trend going of recording one hit a piece, providing minor contributions but not truly living up to our expectations.
Philadelphia Phillies’ slugger Kyle Schwarber was our hitter to avoid and we sure hope you did. Schwarber went 0 for 4 with three strikeouts in Wednesday’s matchup against the New York Mets.
There are a limited number of MLB games on Thursday and no hitter who has faced their opposition more than 16 times. Even these conditions will not stop us from finding two hitters you should add to your DFS roster and one you should avoid.
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Add: OF Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Arizona Diamondbacks
The Arizona Diamondbacks will play host to the Tampa Bay Rays in the desert on Thursday. Drew Rasmussen will take the ball for Kevin Cash and one hitter he will have to go through is Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
Gurriel has faced Rasmussen a total of 11 times in his career and has four hits against the right-hander including three singles and a homer. So far in 2025, Gurriel is only hitting .172 but has shown flashes of his power hitting four home runs. Perhaps facing an arm he has gone deep against before can help ignite him and your DFS as well.
On DraftKings, Gurriel has a salary of $4,000 which will give you the opportunity to build stellar pieces around him and makes adding the Arizona outfielder feel like it is worth the risk on Thursday.
Add: OF Bryan Reynolds, Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates will look to build off the momentum they gained on Wednesday by shutting out the Los Angeles Angels in a 3-0 victory. Pittsburgh will take on Angels southpaw starter Tyler Anderson in the final game of a three game set. Bryan Reynolds may be the one to lift the Pirates offense.
Reynolds has faced Anderson only six times in his career but has recorded four hits against the lefty, including two singles, a double and a home run. Albeit in a limited number of chances, Reynolds has proved that he is comfortable facing Anderson and has potential to have a big offensive day on Thursday.
Reynolds will cost you $4,500 on DraftKings. With his favorable matchup and a below-average salary, Reynolds is a must-have on your DFS roster today.
Avoid: OF Hunter Renfroe, Kansas City Royals
The Colorado Rockies are in Kansas City to take on the Royals on Thursday and left-hander Germán Márquez is on the mound for the visitors. Royals’ outfielder Hunter Renfroe is usually a big power threat, especially against southpaw pitching but given his history with Márquez, you should avoid Renfroe at all cost when building your DFS roster today.
In 16 plate appearances against the Rockies’ starter, Renfroe is 1 for 13 with a single (.077) and has struck out eight times. If history repeats itself, we could see Renfroe have a day like Kyle Schwarber did on Wednesday.
Renfroe’s DraftKings salary is about as low as it gets at $2,200. While he likely wasn’t at the top of your wishlist anyway, many DFS users would see Renfroe’s name beside a more than affordable salary and plug him in hoping he would be a sleeper. Don’t fall for the trap. DraftKings has a reason for making his salary so low.