This article is part of our DraftKings MLB series.
The 2022 baseball season kicked off — a little later than expected — Thursday and more teams join in on the fun Friday. There are 13 games Friday, but the featured DraftKings contests involve the five games starting at 7:05 p.m. EDT or later. Ten teams of players aren't as many as 26, but you still have some choices to make. Here are some recommendations.
Pitching
Sean Manaea, SD at ARI ($9,400): Manaea escaped Oakland and landed in San Diego, where he should get more offensive support. The lefties FIP has been decidedly better than his ERA the last couple years — he had a 3.65 FIP in 2021, for example — and the Diamondbacks ranked 25th in runs scored last season. They kept Ketel Marte, but haven't added around him.
Charlie Morton, ATL vs. CIN ($8,400): All the chatter about the Reds' fire sale might have been tamped down briefly after an Opening Day win, but let's not overreact to one game. You can look at Cincinnati's roster and see the difference in terms of talent. Morton is 38 now, but he's one of the best pitchers in baseball at suppressing home runs, and he had a 3.17 FIP last season, his first with Atlanta.
Josiah Gray, WAS vs. NYM ($7,600): This is my "roll the dice, try to save some salary" option at pitcher. Gray's rookie campaign was poor, but he was a centerpiece of the Trea Turner/Max Scherzer trade and he's still only 24. It's way too early to write him off. While the Mets were probably a bit unlucky last season, they still ranked 27th in runs scored in 2021.
Top Targets
Jose Altuve ($5,700) has said that he wants to steal more bases this year, harkening back to the days when he was a guy who would regularly swipe 30 bags a season. Maybe he does that, maybe he doesn't, but he's definitely a player with a career .307 batting average who hit 31 home runs last season. Southpaw Reid Detmers only pitched 20 innings in 2021, but he posted a 7.40 ERA.
It feels like Manny Machado ($5,200) hasn't lived up to hopes in San Diego, and yet he's batted .273/.345/.492 in that time. Plus, last season he had double-digit home runs (28) and stolen bases (12) for the first time as a Padre. Arizona starter Merrill Kelly didn't make his MLB debut until his age-30 season, and since then he has a career 4.27 FIP.
Bargain Bats
Marcell Ozuna ($4,000) had a rough season in 2021, but in 2020 he had a 1.330 OPS against lefties. Now, he can also set up shop in the new DH spot for the Braves. Cincinnati's Reiver Sanmartin has only pitched 11.2 career innings, but he's a lefty, and he had a 3.94 ERA in Triple-A last season.
Prior to last season, Jeff McNeil ($3,300) was a steady bat, hitting .319/.383/.501 in three season. In 2021, McNeil had a .251 batting average, but with a .288 BABIP. It seems like he was a bit unlucky. With better luck in 2022, McNeill is going to prove himself a bargain at this salary.
Stacks to Consider
Blue Jays vs. Jon Gray: Vladimir Guerrero ($5,900), George Springer ($5,700), Teoscar Hernandez ($5,600)
The Blue Jays might have the best lineup in baseball. Gray has gotten away from Coors Field, but last season he had a 5.22 FIP on the road. He hasn't had a FIP less than 4.00 since 2017. The move to the Rangers isn't likely to save him.
Guerrero had the breakout year we were waiting for in 2021 with an 1.002 OPS and 48 home runs. Springer dealt with injuries last year, but he's healthy now. He hit 22 home runs in only 78 games last season and has a career .857 OPS. It's easy to overlook Hernandez with all these bats around him, but the last two years he's hit .295 and in 2021 he had 32 homers and 12 stolen bases.
Angels vs. Jake Odorizzi: Jared Walsh ($5,200), Anthony Rendon ($4,500), Max Stassi ($4,300)
In his first season with the Astros, Odorizzi had a 4.47 FIP and allowed 1.38 home runs per nine innings. He's plugged into the fifth spot in the Houston rotation for a reason. Walsh has an 1.007 OPS versus righties since 2020, and Odorizzi is a right-handed pitcher. The start to Rendon's tenure with the Angels has gone poorly due to COVID-19 and injuries. In his three seasons prior to the move, though, he had a .310/.397/.556 slash line. You need a catcher in your lineup, and Stassi has a .910 OPS at home since joining the Angels.
