This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
A 13-game main slate awaits Friday night. Only Baltimore didn't have a listed starter as of submission, so we're dealing with 25 pitchers to sort through, giving us plenty of options to target and fade.
Pitching
It will take a lot of convincing to have me paying for Frankie Montas ($10,200) or Nestor Cortes ($10,000), as their form fits the price, but the names surely don't. That makes them low-used GPP options, but they aren't for me. With so many choices, we can pay up and down at the same time. Two options stand out for stability; Alex Wood ($9,500), and Noah Syndergaard ($8,900). Wood gets light-hitting Washington, creating that nice floor, but the Nats fan only 16.5 percent of the time against lefties, limiting upside. Syndergaard is pitching to contact, fanning only 5.8 per nine, but it's allowed him to work at least 5.1 frames in all three starts. Pair that with a matchup with the White Sox, who have a league-low .262 wOBA against righties, and there's ample reason to expect 3x+ return.
Adam Wainwright ($8,500) appears to give us some upside potential. His 9.4 Ks per nine aren't sustainable as it's the highest mark of his career, but he gets a plus matchup against and Arizona lineup that is fanning 27.0 percent of the time, paired with just an 81 wRC+ and .137 ISO.
Two pay down options intrigue me. First is Madison Bumgarner ($7,400). The Cardinals lead the league with a .375 wOBA against lefties, but they also fan 25.6 percent of the time. If Bumgarner can get a quarter of his outs via swings and misses, he should be able to flirt with 3.5x return. The next is Aaron Civale ($6,200). His 5.37 xFIP is far from ideal, but it's also far better than his 9.58 ERA. He's due some positivity, and is also striking out 9.6 per nine. Pair that with a matchup against Oakland's meager .280 wOBA and 25.7 percent K rate, and there's ample upside.
Top Targets
I'd expect a lot of lineups to feature Dodger bats against Tyler Alexander, but their splits against lefties aren't terrific in the early going. Freddie Freeman ($3,800) can offer stability thanks to a .375 wOBA, though Trea Turner ($3,900) is warming up and has a .463 wOBA, 198 wRC+ and .357 ISO against lefties since the start of last season.
We can always target the Rockies when at home, and if Hunter Greene's velocity remains down, he could be in for a long, or short, outing, depending on how you view that. There are no shortage of choices either, as the four of the top five-priced Rockies bats all have wOBA's over .380 against righties. Greene's allowing much more hard contact to lefties, but more fly balls to righties. So pick your poison, but I'll roll with a resurgent Charlie Blackmon ($4,000) and his .404 wOBA, 152 wRC+ and .311 ISO.
It's never a bad night to use Vladimir Guerrero ($4,000), but he looks even more appealing against Jose Urquidy, who is allowing a .438 wOBA, 1.007 OPS and 46.9 percent fly ball rate to righties. Just make sure he's in the lineup!
Value Bats
Ronald Acuna ($3,600) is a free square Friday given his upside and price that hasn't adjusted to his return. But for GPPs, give Dansby Swanson ($2,900) a look. Texas is using Garrett Richards as their opener, but he'll only go two innings tops. That gives Swanson, the team's nine-hole hitter, a likely early crack at Spencer Howard and his .795 wOBA allowed to righties to date. Swanson has quietly hit safely in three straight and five of six.
With Joc Pederson likely out, stacking Giants will be challenging against Washington and Aaron Sanchez. But Wilmer Flores ($3,000) is in a decent spot to produce, carrying a .360 wOBA, .208 ISO and only a 17.9 percent strikeout rate.
I wouldn't be afraid to look at Oriole bats against Rich Hill Friday, who is allowing a .409 wOBA to righties. There's been next to no power out of Trey Mancini ($2,800) but his team leading .360 wOBA and 160 wRC+ work at this price.
Stacks to Consider
Yankees vs. Royals (Kris Bubic): Aaron Judge ($3,900), Anthony Rizzo ($3,900), DJ LeMahieu ($3,500)
This figures to be incredibly chalky, but with good reason, as Bubic is allowing a .584 wOBA and 1.357 OPS to lefties, and a .465 wOBA and 1.031 OPS to righties. This trio isn't exorbitantly priced, likely hit 1-2-4, and are all off to hot starts against southpaws. Rizzo's .441 wOBA and 199 wRC+ is the lowest of the group, while Judge simply mashes left-handers to the tune of a .544 wOBA, 272 wRC+ and .579 ISO. LeMahieu offers position flexibility and doesn't strike out. Put the ball in play here and the odds seem in his favor for success.
Reds vs. Rockies (Antonio Senzatela): Jonathan India ($3,400), Brandon Drury ($2,900), Kyle Farmer ($2,800)
That we are able to consider a stack in Coors Field for this cheap fully illustrates how awful the Reds have been offensively. But the ballpark, and Senzatela's current poor form make this a matchup worth considering. He's allowing a .546 wOBA, 1.269 OPS and massive 62.5 percent hard-hit rate to righties in the early going. I'll trust India as the table setter here, as he's hit safely in all three games since returning from injury. Drury has a team-leading .348 ISO against righties. The third piece can be interchangeable depending on how Cincinnati lines up. Nick Senzel ($2,600) has a team-leading .341 wOBA against righties, Tommy Pham ($3,200) brings more power potential, and there's always Joey Votto ($2,900) if you really want to be different. Give me Farmer for now, as he's coming off of a 6-of-13 heater in three games against the Padres, collecting four doubles, two RBI and three runs scored.
