The Seoul Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres, Major League Baseball’s big start to the 2024 season, concludes Thursday and gives us another chance to have some fun with early MLB DFS picks and contests. 

We get the debut of Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto and another look at some of the top hitters in the game today. Both Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts helped deliver some solid fantasy totals in the first game and we’re looking to see if other stars such as Fernando Tatis can follow suit. 

 

 

 

Again, as I mentioned in yesterday's Dodgers vs. Padres DFS playbook, showdown slates for MLB can be a little crazy, so there’s no need to play too heavy. We’re going to dive head-first into the action on Opening Day next week, so for this contest, let’s just have some fun!

MLB DFS Picks & Playbook: 2024 Seoul Series - Dodgers vs. Padres, 3/21

MLB DFS Starting Pitchers

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Los Angeles Dodgers

There is a definite “unknown” factor going on here which is going to make using Yamamoto very popular in a GPP showdown tournament. He was dominant over his last four season in Japan, but if you caught the MLB Best Bets & Props article, you’ll see his strikeout prop is only at 4.5. 

While I’m bullish on the over, I don’t think it’s by much at all, so don’t think, just because the Padres haven’t faced him outside of some international competition, that he’s going to generate a ton of whiffs. Still, we watched manager Dave Robert let Tyler Glasnow throw 77 pitches over five innings, so expect a similar workload. If the bats support him early, he should be in line for the win which is always good for your point total.

Joe Musgrove, San Diego Padres

He’s the contrarian lay, for sure, after a rough spring and given the experience the Dodgers lineup has against him, this appearance isn’t likely to be much better. He does have decent strikeout potential, so there is that aspect, and if the bottom half of the Dodgers order struggles again, he could rack up a few extra. 

*Side Note: You cannot use starting pitchers for this Showdown slate on FanDuel. They limit it to hitters only, but they also offer you an MVP (2x points) as well as a STAR (1.5x points) which makes it a little more interesting.

 

 

 

MLB DFS Hitters: Recommended Options

Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers

He continues to be dominant on the field, as evidenced by his two-hit showing in the first game. He also swiped a base and plated one run. He doesn’t have an extensive track record against Musgrove, having only faced him seven times, but he’s a superior hitter who you cannot stray away from, especially when he’s trying to lend run support to his BFF.

Mookie Betts, Los Angeles Dodgers

Betts is 6-for-19 (.316) with five walks in his career against Musgrove and he’s probably jazzed up about his two-hit game the day before. He would have also had a stolen base, but because the home plate umpire was crawling all over the catchers back, umpire-interference was called and Betts was sent back to first. Bummer, for sure, but the important takeaway is that he was running. Expect another solid effort Thursday.

Freddie Freeman, Los Angeles Dodgers

We whiffed with Freeman in Game 1, but he still looked good at the plate, drawing a pair of walks. He’s got a .448/.529/.724 slash line over 29 at-bats against Musgrove, so we’re happy to go back to the well for this game.

Xander Bogaerts, San Diego Padres

Bogaerts looked solid in his Padres debut and will likely continue to bat leadoff in this game. He showed strong plate discipline, as expected, and boasts a .344 wOBA from last year against righties. He’ll continue to see good pitches with Tatis batting behind him and stands a good chance to give a harsh welcome to Yamamoto in his first outing.  

Manny Machado, San Diego Padres

Machado is a dominant hitter who posted a .310 wOBA with a .203 ISO against righties last year, so regardless of a hitless Game 1, we’ll continue to look at him for our DFS contests. Again, Yamamoto is a bit of an unknown, but Machado has likely seen him up close in the World Baseball Classic.

Fernando Tatis, San Diego Padres

Yes, he went 0-for-4 with a strikeout but this is still Tatis we are talking about. An elite hitter, Tatis posted a .314 wOBA against righties with 18 homers and 20 steals against them last season. Always willing to invest in him.

 

 

 

MLB DFS Bargains: Recommended Options

Max Muncy, Los Angeles Dodgers

Muncy posted a .371 wOBA against right-handed pitching last year and had one hit and two walks in Game 1 against Darvish and the Padres bullpen. He’s 10-for-28 with one home run, four RBI and seven walks against Musgrove who has allowed a .307 wOBA to lefthanded hitters in his career. With a modest price tag, he should prove to be a good value in this game.

James Outman, Los Angeles Dodgers

Another lefty bat who showed great patience at the plate in Game 1, drawing a pair of walks and scoring one run. The price is more than reasonable and should allow you to get a couple of the big bats into your lineup.

Jake Cronenworth, San Diego Padres

While I don’t have lefty/righty splits for Yamamoto, I’m willing to take a shot on Cronenworth as a low-budget option. He’s probably still looking into his glove for that eighth-inning grounder last night and is probably kicking himself for the error, even though it’s the glove manufacturer at fault. Maybe some redemption here? I’ll play it.

Luis Campusano, San Diego Padres

A but of a bummer he hits so far down in the lineup, but I like the fact that he hit the ball hard in Wednesday’s game. Even just a little more lift and he should turn those hard grounders into line drive base-hits. He posted a .326 wOBA over 127 plate appearances against righties last season, and always has a good grasp of the strike zone. It’s worth a shot at this cost.