This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Baseball series.
If you want to play a full 15-game slate Friday, you will have to have your lineup in by 2:20 PM ET. However, if you are cool with skipping out on the Giants and Cubs, you will have until 7:05 PM ET to make your choices. Also, on the plus side, only one game is threatening rain (Cardinals-Pirates), and it's just a 15 percent chance of precipitation.
Here are my recommendations…
STARTING PITCHER
Sean Manaea, OAK vs. ARI ($47): Manaea has a 2.71 ERA, and even if he's been lucky his 3.95 FIP is still the best of his career. Additionally, he's always pitched better at home in the friendly confines of Oakland's stadium. The Diamondbacks have gotten off to a bad start, as they rank 29th in runs scored and have a league-low .292 OBP.
Jon Gray, COL vs. CIN ($35): Gray's 5.34 ERA may be scary, but his 3.09 FIP is much more encouraging. He has a 3.34 FIP in his career, and he's struck out 9.61 batters per nine innings. Cincinnati's offense has been decidedly mediocre, and its starter Sal Romano has been quite poor. That increases Gray's chance of getting a win.
CATCHER
Omar Narvaez, CWS at DET ($7):Welington Castillo has been suspended for 80 games, which means Narvaez is the new starting catcher. He's struggled to start the season, but his .244 BABIP is partially responsible for that. Last year in 90 games he had a .277/.373/.340 slash line. Detroit's starter Mike Fiers has a 5.53 FIP, and his career FIP is 4.30.
FIRST BASE
Carlos Santana, PHI vs. TOR ($18): Santana's batting average is finally over the Mendoza Line, but it should keep increasing. His BABIP is a mere .193, well below his career average of .266. Plus, even with those struggles he's hit eight home runs in 47 games. Over the last three seasons he's averaged 25 homers as well. Sam Gaviglio impressed in his first start this year, but he's only pitched at home, and he's a 28-year-old who had a 4.36 ERA last season (his first in the majors).
SECOND BASE
Josh Harrison, PIT vs. STL ($16): Injuries have limited Harrison's games to start the season, but he's posted a strong .303/.352/.408 slash line. The 30-year-old is also coming off a year where he had a .272/.339/.432 slash line and hit 16 home runs in 128 games. John Gant has mostly pitched in relief, and despite that he has a 4.78 ERA in his career. In three starts this season, Gant has a 6.52 ERA, and it is expected this will be his last start for a while.
THIRD BASE
Justin Turner, LAD vs. SDP ($16): Turner has only played in nine games this season, so his numbers this year are effectively irrelevant. However, he has a .294/.371/.498 slash line over his last three seasons, which establishes him as a legitimate threat with the bat. Clayton Richard has a career FIP of 4.37, even though he's pitched most of his career in San Diego. Unsurprisingly, he's been much worse on the road the last few years.
SHORTSTOP
Dansby Swanson, ATL at BOS ($9): Swanson hasn't been walking much the last couple of seasons, but he has a .273 batting average and .402 slugging percentage this year. Eduardo Rodriguez has a career ERA of 4.22 and has allowed 1.20 homers per nine innings. Also, he's pitched worse at home than on the road, so the fact Swanson will be in Boston actually isn't a point against him.
OUTFIELD
Aaron Judge, NYY vs. LAA ($23): Judge is crushing it again, as he has a .568 slugging percentage and has 13 home runs in 47 games. He may not hit 50 homers this year, but his power isn't going anywhere. The 26-year-old has also crushed it at home the last two seasons. Andrew Heaney is having the best season, but he has still allowed 1.46 home runs per nine innings in his career.
Charlie Blackmon, COL vs. CIN ($20): Blackmon has a .263 batting average, his worst since his rookie season, but his .277 BABIP is well below his career mark. Besides, he still has a .876 OPS and 12 homers in 45 games. Meanwhile, Reds starter Sal Romano has a 5.62 ERA and 5.50 FIP through 10 starts this season.
Shin-Soo Choo, TEX vs. KAN ($15): Though Choo isn't the player he used to be, he does have a .264/.363/.433 slash line over his last three seasons. He's also hit 22 home runs in each of his last two full seasons and has six to start this year. This is Eric Skoglund's first season as a starter, and he has a 6.15 ERA after having a 9.50 ERA last season.
