This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
After a severely light Thursday slate, we've got 14 games featured Friday evening on FanDuel's main slate, with only the Cubs-Reds not included. rough. Seven pitchers are priced at $10,000 or more, with nine more coming in at $9,000 or more. That represents nearly 60 percent of the options.
We look dry across the board, and potentially have favorable winds in Oakland, San Diego, and Denver, which should open plenty of eyes. It should come as no surprise that Toronto-Colorado has a double-digit run total, nor should it surprise that it's the only game with one given the elite pitching depth. Arizona-Baltimore sits at 9.5, and every other game is lower.
Pitching
Freddy Peralta, MIL at PHI ($10,600): There are so many options on the mound, there may not be a bad choice. I'm hoping to identify some high upside options many won't target; which means going against decent offenses. Philadelphia is just that, turning in an elite August where they posted a .382 wOBA, 141 wRC+ and .262 ISO, striking out just 20.4 percent of the time. But Peralta is as locked in as any arm out there, having four quality starts in his last six, and averaging a massive 48 FDP in his last two outings where he didn't earn quality starts. He's missing bats at a high level, fanning 59 in those six outings, spanning 36.0 innings. The high whifs are driving up pitch counts and limiting innings, but lead to high upside. It's strength on strength, but the potential is as high as a 5x return.
Max Fried, ATL at LAD ($9,100): Fried hasn't been perfect since returning from injury, allowing 29 hits acorss his last 21.2 innings. He's got peculiar numbers against this Dodgers lineup, limiting Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman to a combined 3-of-27 (.111), but secondary Los Angeles bats have had success. I'm banking on his curve to change eye levels after the Dodgers faced Spencer Strider's heat Thursday. Overall, the Dodger lineup has a .266 BA with a .784 OPS with a 27.1 percent K rate off Fried. It sets up for a high reward GPP option that's priced right and likely won't be heavily targeted.
Hyun Jin Ryu, TOR at COL ($8,200): With so many options, paying down for an arm is likely not a winning strategy Friday. And targeting an arm in Coors field likely isn't either. Further, we're not getting a huge discount given the park. But, Ryu is in solid form, allowing just two runs and 10 hits across his last four starts, spanning 19.0 innings. His workload is limited having made just five starts overall since returning from Tommy John surgery, but the matchup is favorable despite the ballpark. Colorado has struggled all year off lefties, ranking last with a paltry 65 wRC+ off lefties, adding a .289 wOBA and 27.0 percent strikeout rate. A quality start may not be possible, but run support and a win is in the cards. He's earned 30 or more fantasy points in three straight, and a similar outing flirts with a 4x return.
Top Targets
What is FanDuel doing with Astros bat pricing? Perhaps they go overlooked as they are buried under some other options, but Yordan Alvarez ($3,900) and Kyle Tucker ($3,800) look like nice values Friday. Alvarez boasts a .395 wOBA, 155 wRC+ and .243 ISO off lefties, while Tucker sits at .408/164/.259.
It's far too easy to stack Toronto bats, so let's grab some shares and differentiate elsewhere. Vladimir Guerrero ($3,800) has a price boost due to the setting, but is quietly surging as well. He's riding an 11-game hitting streak while homering twice in his last six. He's also a decent 4-for-7 of Rockies starter Chris Flexen, who is allowing a .385 wOBA to righties at home.
Diamondback bats may appear obvious with the slate's second-highest run total and a matchup with Cole Irvin. But Irvin has been better on the road, and has bee tough on righties, allowing a .294 wOBA and .685 OPS, so don't go overboard. Still, Christian Walker ($3,600) and Ketel Marte ($3,400) profile favorably. Walker brings a .395 wOBA and .339 ISO off lefties into Friday, while Marte has a .372 wOBA and 135 wRC+.
Bargain Bats
Luis Robert ($3,500) isn't priced much differently than the Diamondback options above. He's a usual target when facing a lefty, even if he's just 1-for-7 off Eduardo Rodriguez. He's sits with four-straight multiple-hit games coming into Friday.
Daulton Varsho ($3,000) offers a cheap in to the Blue Jays lineup. Flexen has curiously been worse on the road overall, but is allowing a reasonable .358 wOBA to lefties overall. Varsho has just one long ball in his last 12 games, but has taken Flexen deep once in six at bats. He's got 11 hits over the last 12 games, so isn't a complete zero without a power showing either.
The Orioles offense I find to be Atlanta-light. They are deep, get production everywhere, making it hard to take one-offs nightly, but they are priced favorably across the board and have high potential. Gunnar Henderson ($3,300) is in a nice spot here. He has a team-leading .364 wOBA and .268 ISO off righties and has 22 hits in his last 15 games, including three long balls.
For real pay down options, Tiger lefties could be an option. Riley Greene ($2,800) has a .353 wOBA and 135 wRC+, second on the team behind only Kerry Carpenter ($3,000), who brings a .378 wOBA, 142 wRC+ and .257 ISO into a matchup with effectively wild Touki Toussaint.
Stacks to Consider
Red Sox vs. Jordan Lyles: Adam Duval ($3,200), Masataka Yoshida ($3,100), Triston Casas ($2,900)
Truthfully, take your pick throughout the Boston lineup. Lyles has pecular splits, being worse at home against righties while getting pelted by lefties on the road. I'll settle with this trio as a likely 4-5-6 lineup stack at a discount to the higher-priced BoSox bats. Duval saw a four-game home run streak snapped Wednesday night, but has a .402 wOBA, 153 wRC+ and .344 ISO off righties to date. Casas sits at .370/131/.225 and Yoshida comes with a decent enough .349 wOBA and 116 wRC+ to round this out as a traditional stack batting together.
Angels vs. JP Sears: Shohei Ohtani ($4,400), Luis Rengifo ($2,700), Nolan Schanuel ($2,700)
Sears is limping to the close of the season, allowing 13 runs and 18 hits in his last 10 innings and doesn't have a quality start since July 16. It's lefties that have done him in, allowing a .467 wOBA and 1.115 OPS to them at home. Ohtani needs no introduction, but the surrounding pieces make this stack very doable. Rengifo hits from the right side, but fairs well off lefties with a .407 wOBA, 160 wRC+ and .230 ISO. Schanuel continues to hit since his promotion, doing so in all 10 games since debuting, though hasn't shown any power upside. Keep an eye on how the lineup card looks. If we're not buying Sears LvL struggles, Logan O'Hoppe ($2,600) has feasted on lefties to a .389 ISO, .439 wOBA and 183 wRC+. He hasn't shown much since his return from injury, but likely gets a run-producing spot in the order and offers solid upside.
