This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Baseball series.
Get ready for a busy Friday consisting of 15 games across baseball. We'll get to see the beginning of some exciting series, including the up-and-coming Mariners facing the Astros. As far as top-tier pitchers go, there aren't many set to take the mound, despite the busy schedule. The hard-hitting Blue Jays begin a series against the Athletics, but they'll do so without Teoscar Hernandez (oblique), who they placed on the IL on Wednesday. With so many options to wade through, let's get down to business and highlight some players to target on Yahoo.
Pitchers
The Giants made a splash in free agency after they signed Carlos Rodon ($46) away from the White Sox. Injuries had derailed his career, and he wasn't exactly a workhorse last season after logging 132.2 innings. However, he was dominant when on the mound, recording a 2.65 FIP, 0.96 WHIP and a 34.6 percent strikeout rate. His debut with the Giants was stellar, allowing one run and recording 12 strikeouts across five innings against the Marlins. The Guardians have a better lineup than the Marlins, but Rodon is still a very appealing option.
The Orioles' lineup has been awful out of the gate, scoring the fewest runs and striking out the fifth-most times in baseball. Their struggles are nothing new given that they scored the fifth-fewest runs and struck out the 10th-most times last season. The Yankees will begin their series against them with Jordan Montgomery ($37) on the mound, so look for him to exploit this favorable matchup.
MacKenzie Gore ($32) looked great in Spring Training, but was on the outside looking in at a spot in the Padres' rotation because of the excellent depth that they had built. However, injuries have hit them early with Mike Clevinger (knee) and Blake Snell (groin) already on the IL. Gore has been called up to make this start against the Braves, and although it's a difficult matchup, he is still worth considering in tournament play based on his salary and strikeout upside.
Top Targets
Talk about two contrasting performances. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. ($24) destroyed the Yankees on Wednesday, going 4-for-4 with a home run and a double. He followed that up by going 0-for-4 with four strikeouts Thursday. A bounce-back performance could be in the cards against Daulton Jefferies ($29), who allowed 1.5 HR/9 at Triple-A last year.
Staying with the Blue Jays, George Springer ($22) could also be in store for a big night. Injuries were an issue for him last season, but he's healthy right now, and has already recorded four multi-hit performances across seven games.
Bargain Bats
The Blue Jays have decided to give Ross Stripling ($30) a start in a way to manage the workload of the usual members of their starting rotation. Stripling has been a starter in the past, but this will basically amount to a bullpen game. Despite them not having many dangerous hitters, the Athletics could still take advantage of this matchup. A member of their lineup to consider who has a cheap salary is Sheldon Neuse ($8), who had a .394 wOBA at Triple-A in 2019 and a .353 wOBA at the same level last season.
With the Athletics trading away most of their top players before the start of the season, they did bring in some exciting prospects. One who has immediately stepped into a starting role is Cristian Pache ($8), who they acquired from the Braves in the Matt Olson deal. He'll need to cut down on his 30.4 percent strikeout rate if he's gong to maintain his current .304 batting average, but since Stripling only has a 22.6 percent strikeout rate for his career, that might not be an issue in this matchup.
Stacks to Consider
Dodgers vs. Vladimir Gutierrez ($27): Trea Turner ($20), Freddie Freeman ($19), Gavin Lux ($15)
Gutierrez made 22 starts for the Reds last season and mostly struggled on his way to a 5.22 FIP and 1.41 WHIP. He was lucky to only allow two runs in his season debut against the Braves given that he allowed nine total base runners over 4.1 innings. Freeman has a career .384 OBP, so with Gutierrez's struggles to keep hitters off base, he should be at the center of any Dodgers stack.
Angels vs. Matt Bush ($25), Rangers: Mike Trout ($24), Shohei Ohtani ($20), Anthony Rendon ($20)
Another team rolling with a bullpen game will be the Rangers. Bush will serve as the opener, while Kolby Allard could follow him and attempt to pitch multiple innings. The Angels should be a popular team to stack, and rightfully so. All three of these hitters are off to slow starts, but they all carry tremendous power upside. Trout went deep in the series opener Thursday, marking his second home run over his last five games.
Yankees vs. Jordan Lyles ($27), Orioles: Aaron Judge ($24), Anthony Rizzo ($21), DJ LeMahieu ($17)
The Orioles' starting rotation is a disaster again. They brought over Lyles from the Rangers, but he's not exactly an upgrade given his 5.15 ERA and 5.34 FIP last season. In his first start against the Rays, he allowed five runs and 10 base runners over five innings. The Yankees could score runs in bunches in this game, with Rizzo possibly front-and-center in that effort. He's been their hottest hitter to start the season, posting a 1.086 OPS over seven games.
