This article is part of our DraftKings MLB series.
A dozen MLB games are staring at us Friday for DFS purposes. There are 24 teams in action starting at 7:05 p.m. ET or later. To help you make your lineup decisions, I've got these recommendations for you. Good luck Friday!
Pitching
Joe Ryan, MIN at TOR ($10,100): Ryan goes six innings, he allows three runs and he doesn't walk anybody. That has been, roughly, the outcome whenever the Twins starter has taken the mound, and that will fly from a DFS perspective. His 7.67 K/BB rate stands out, but the Blue Jays stand out in terms of offensive futility. They are in the bottom five in runs scored and they have hit .228 as a team.
Paul Blackburn, OAK at SEA ($7,500): Blackburn has a 3.00 ERA, but he followed three great starts with three iffy starts. A couple of those tough games were visits to the Yankees and the Orioles, though. Blackburn's last outing was seven innings of one-run ball against the Marlins. Yes, the Marlins are bad offensively, but the Mariners are even lower in runs scored. In fact, Seattle is also below Oakland in terms of runs scored and team OPS.
Andrew Abbott, CIN at SF ($6,700): Abbott has a 3.32 ERA, even though he's had an issue allowing home runs. That's not likely to be an issue with this Giants lineup, though, especially in their pitcher-friendly ballpark. Additionally, Abbott is a lefty, and several key San Francisco bats are southpaws. This matchup in this stadium is better for Abbott than many scenarios.
Top Targets
As per usual, Tyler O'Neill ($6,100) has had trouble staying healthy. When he's played, though, he's slashed .283/.393/.606 in 28 games. The righty's first season with the Red Sox is going quite well. Friday, he gets what every righty hitter dreams of: a matchup with Patrick Corbin. It's been a classic Corbin season. That is to say, he has a 6.45 ERA and righties have batted .333 against him.
Since 2022, J.T. Realmuto ($5,200) has an .834 OPS versus lefties. On top of that, he has an .838 OPS in away games in that time, and he's actually struggled quite a bit at home the last couple years. Fortunately, this game is in Miami. Also, Trevor Rogers has been brutal. He has a 6.15 ERA, and righties have hit .315 against him as well.
Bargain Bats
As Christian Yelich works his way back from a back injury, and his injury track record means you want to be super careful, the one-time MVP will spend more time DHing, and Blake Perkins ($4,000) has been in center field. He has four homers and three stolen bases, and the switch hitter has a .772 OPS against righties in his career. Perkins will be batting from the left side of the plate Friday, because he'll be facing Lance Lynn. Over the last three seasons southpaws have hit .274 versus Lynn.
While Michael Massey ($4,000) does not walk at all, he's batted .262 this year and has slugged .459. For a second baseman, that's enough to entice me. Of course, the matchup matters, and the lefty will see Griffin Canning as the starter for the Angels. He's allowed 1.55 homers per nine innings in his career, and this season lefties are smashing him. Southpaws have hit .302 versus the right-handed hurler.
Stacks to Consider
Rangers at Rockies (Austin Gomber): Adolis Garcia ($6,000), Marcus Semien ($5,800), Leody Taveras ($3,600)
The Rangers are headed to Coors Field! Gomber has a 3.79 ERA, but a 5.25 FIP as he has allowed 1.66 homers per nine innings. Since 2022 he has a 5.85 ERA at home, which is not terribly surprising when you pair a below-average pitcher with the best hitter's park in MLB. Gomber is a lefty, so I do have three guys who hit right-handed.
Garcia has hit at least 27 homers in every season of his career, and he has eight this season. He also has four stolen bases. Last year, Garcia gave up on running by and large (nine swiped bags), but in 2022 he had 25 stolen bases. Semien has hit .286 with seven homers, but also nine doubles. Last year he had 40 doubles, and Coors is a good park for home runs but also doubles thanks to the layout of the outfield. Taveras had 14 homers and 14 stolen bases last year but also 31 doubles and three triples. He started the season slow, but over the last two weeks he has an 1.009 OPS. Good time for him to be heading to Coors!
Orioles vs. Diamondbacks (Brandon Pfaadt): Gunnar Henderson ($5,800), Ryan O'Hearn ($4,300), Cedric Mullins ($4,100)
Arizona's hopes that Pfaadt would carry over the encouraging signs from last year's postseason have dissipated in 2024. Now, his ERA is better than the 5.72 he had as a rookie, but a 4.61 ERA is not exactly exciting for a team. Pfaadt has been hit pretty hard, and in his last outing gave up 10 hits. Mostly, those hits have come from southpaws. Lefties have batted .347 versus Pfaadt, so I have grabbed three of them for this stack.
Henderson has put himself into the early MVP talks thanks to a .271 average, 11 homers, three triples and six stolen bases through 36 games. It seems like he has really improved versus lefties, but this is about how he has handled right-handers. Henderson has never had a problem with them, as he has an .877 OPS versus righties in his career. The Orioles have helped O'Hearn put up the best numbers of his career by completing keeping him away from southpaws. Seriously, he's made all of six plate appearances against lefties in 2024, but against righties he has a .987 OPS. Mullins is purely a counting stats guy. His slash line is discouraging, but he's still managed six homers and six swiped bags. Mostly, it seems like he's lost it against lefties, but he does have a .771 OPS against righties.
