This article is part of our DraftKings MLB series.
Air quality has been a bit of a problem the last couple days, but hopefully Friday we get a full slate of baseball. There are 13 games on the slate starting at 7:05 p.m. ET or later. Fingers crossed, these are my DFS recommendations.
Pitching
Cristian Javier, HOU at CLE ($10,800): Javier has been on fire, having allowed a single run in each of his last four starts. This matchup could make it five in a row. The Guardians are 29th in runs scored, and last in home runs as a squad.
Tyler Wells, BAL vs. KC ($8,300): Wells has a 3.29 ERA this year, but a 2.45 ERA at home. Mostly, though, this is about the matchup. The Royals are 27th in runs scored and have a .294 OBP as a team.
Adrian Houser, MIL vs. OAK ($6,000): In Houser's last four starts, he's pitched well three times and gotten stomped on the road by the Blue Jays. However, in two of those starts he blanked the Astros and Rays over 11.1 innings. Oakland is baseball's worst team and in the bottom four in runs scored, so Houser has a great chance at picking up a win and perhaps a quality start to boot.
Top Targets
It's another fine season for Mookie Betts ($6,200), and that's with him playing multiple defensive positions for good measure! He's slashed .255/.362/.528 and has picked up 49 runs. Since 2021, he has a .940 OPS versus lefties. Ranger Suarez is a southpaw, and this year righties have hit a whopping .342 against him.
Maybe power isn't part of the game of Christian Yelich ($4,800) these days, but when you can bolster seven homers with 16 stolen bases, that more than suffices. Plus, he has slugged .437 against righties and .446 at home this season. Luis Medina's rookie campaign has been brutal. He has an 8.19 ERA and has allowed a whopping 3.03 home runs per nine innings.
Bargain Bats
Ji Hwan Bae ($2,900) is a new addition to the roster of guys who hit for average and steal bases. This year he's batted .276 and stolen 18 bases. In his career, Tylor Megill has been at home, but he still has a 4.09 ERA at Citi Field. Also, lefties have hit .301 against him, and Bar is a southpaw.
Due to injuries, Kyle Farmer ($2,900) will likely be in the lineup for the Twins on Friday. Plus, since 2021 he has an .870 OPS versus southpaws. Yusei Kikuchi has a 4.40 ERA, but a 5.95 FIP. The lefty has also now allowed nine home runs over his last 23.2 innings.
Stacks to Consider
Padres at Rockies (Austin Gomber): Fernando Tatis ($6,400), Manny Machado ($5,200), Ha-Seong Kim ($4,200)
Since joining the Rockies, Gomber has a 5.43 ERA. He's actually been worse on the road in that time but not this season. The lefty has an 8.64 ERA at Coors Field in 2023. While the Padres have disappointed offensively, this trip to Denver should certainly help some, enough to get me to stack three of their right-handed hitters.
Tatis hasn't quite been at his peak this year, but he does have 11 homers and seven stolen bases. However, he has an 1.003 OPS versus southpaws after his return from a lengthy absence. Machado's struggles in 2023 have been against righties. Versus left-handed pitchers, he has a .903 OPS. He has a career .828 OPS, so I think he will turn out just fine. Kim has five homers and 11 stolen bases. Since 2021 he has a .757 OPS against lefties, and this year he has a .775 OPS as well.
Phillies vs. Dodgers (Michael Grove): Bryce Harper ($6,300), Kyle Schwarber ($5,600), Brandon Marsh ($4,100)
Grove's career 5.04 FIP is alarming, but his road ERA is even more jarring. In MLB, Grove has an 8.44 ERA in away games. The Phillies have a few notable lefties in their lineup, which is perfect for this matchup. Grove has allowed southpaws to hit .315 against him in his career.
Harper has a .390 OBP, and while his power is down, that has been mostly due to his struggles against lefties. His OPS is over 1.000 against righties once again, which tracks given that he has an 1.058 OPS in those matchups since 2021. Schwarber has hit 16 home runs after hitting 46 last year. Plus, over the last three seasons he has a .908 OPS against righties and an .897 OPS at home. Marsh's first full season with Philly is going well, which carries over his success after he was dealt from the Angels in 2022. He has an .841 OPS against right-handed pitchers, but also an .858 OPS at home.
Yankees vs. Red Sox (Garrett Whitlock): Giancarlo Stanton ($4,800), Anthony Rizzo ($4,400), DJ LeMahieu ($3,500)
In his first season as a full-time starter for the Red Sox, Whitlock has scuffled. He has a 5.61 ERA and has allowed 1.75 home runs per nine innings. I have two righties in this stack, because Whitlock has allowed his fellow right-handers to hit .314 against him.
Since his 59-homer season in 2017, which is to say his entire run with the Yankees, he's slugged .501 and hit at least 31 homers every time he has played more than 100 games. Over the last three seasons he has an .834 OPS against his fellow righties, and last year he had an .877 OPS at home. He hasn't even played in 20 games yet in 2023, so I am not looking at his home/road splits yet. Rizzo is a lefty, but I wanted his power against the homer-happy pitcher. Plus, Rizzo has an .871 OPS at home since 2021, including having slugged .501. To the extent LeMahieu has power, it's been at Yankee Stadium. Over the last two seasons his OPS has been 26-percent better at home.
