This article is part of our DraftKings MLB series.
Major League Baseball laid out for the NFL on Thursday, but it's back in full force Friday. There are 12 games on the slate starting at 7:05 p.m. ET or later. Friday is the day MLB gets away from football from here on out. Let's make the most of it!
Pitching
Noah Syndergaard, PHI vs. WAS ($9,900): Syndergaard has a 3.72 FIP this season, but he has tamped down home runs at a tremendous rate. He's lost his strikeout acumen, but he can do enough to handle the Nationals at home. Washington is 25th in runs scored, and it no longer has Juan Soto (though Joey Meneses is apparently Babe Ruth reincarnated).
Lance McCullers, HOU vs. LAA ($9,000): McCullers was hurt for the bulk of the year, but he hasn't been entirely eased into the rotation. He's gone at least five innings in all four of his starts, and he's posted a 2.08 ERA. The Angels have Mike Trout, but they also rank 26th in runs scored and have a .294 OBP as a team.
Lucas Giolito, CWS at OAK ($8,500): This is born out of hope that Giolito taps into the skills that he displayed in the past. Over the three seasons prior to this one, Giolito had a 3.47 ERA and struck out double-digit batters per nine innings. This year, the 28-year-old does have a 3.91 ERA on the road, which isn't good but isn't terrible. Oakland has a pitcher-friendly ballpark, and also a lineup that ranks 29th in runs scored and team OPS.
Top Targets
Southpaw Rafael Devers ($5,500) has slashed .289/.348/.530 with 25 home runs. When a righty is on the mound, though, he has a .924 OPS, and since 2020 he's tuned up righties at a .944 clip. Austin Voth, a righty, has admittedly pitched well since leaving the Nats for the Orioles, but in his career he has a 4.93 ERA.
Though Cedric Mullins ($5,200) is not going to hit 30 home runs again, he has 30 stolen bases already so he's going to set a new personal best on that front, and may lead the majors in swiped bags when all is said and done. Last year he unexpectedly hit his fellow lefties well, and while he has regressed to the mean there, against righties he has a .796 OPS. Brayan Bello is a righty, and he has a 5.98 ERA and has allowed lefties to hit .316 against him.
Bargain Bats
Since 2020, Ryan McMahon ($4,800) has an .812 OPS at home (thanks, Coors) and a .776 OPS versus righties. This game is at Coors and he'll get to face the righty Zach Davies. In his first season as a Diamondback, Davies has a 4.41 FIP.
Over the last three weeks, Michael Taylor ($2,600) has an .821 OPS. Plus, on the season, his home OPS is .807. He'll face Joey Wentz on Friday, who started the year in Double-A and in two MLB starts has an 8.10 ERA.
Stacks to Consider
Phillies vs. Nationals (Patrick Corbin): J.T. Realmuto ($5,600), Rhys Hoskins ($5,000), Alec Bohm ($4,700)
Corbin's last two starts have gone well! He also still has a 6.28 ERA on the season, and a 4.89 ERA in four seasons since joining the Nationals. The runs he allowed in those last two starts all came on home runs as well, and he's allowed 1.67 homers per nine innings. Even when Corbin isn't pitching terribly, at least one or two opposing players are racking up fantasy points, and most of the time he is, in fact, pitching terribly.
Realmuto is a catcher who has hit .268 with 15 homers and 17 stolen bases, which honestly probably doesn't get enough attention given the dearth of hitting options at that position. He also has an .864 OPS at home. Hoskins feeds off of matchups with southpaws. Since 2020 he has an 1.004 OPS when taking on a lefty pitcher, and additionally in that time he has an .870 OPS at home. Bohm isn't as good of a hitter as Hoskins but he does share one trait with him. The third baseman has a .956 OPS against lefties this season.
Diamondbacks at Rockies (German Marquez): Daulton Varsho ($4,800), Jake McCarthy ($3,700), Corbin Carroll ($2,900)
At home, Marquez has a 6.09 ERA. Unsurprisingly, he has given up two home runs per nine innings at Coors Field as well. I am stacking three lefties here, as Marquez has allowed left-handers to hit .272 against him.
This season Varsho has an .829 OPS versus righties and an .832 OPS on the road as well. Additionally, over the last three weeks he has a .985 OPS. McCarthy has hit .288 with seven homers and 15 stolen bases. He also has a .998 OPS over the last 21 days as well. Carroll has only appeared in eight games, but he was the top prospect in baseball when he was called up. He had a .943 OPS in Triple-A when he got the call, and I am betting on upside here.
Astros vs. Angels (Michael Lorenzen): Yordan Alvarez ($5,600), Alex Bregman ($5,400), Kyle Tucker ($5,200)
Lorenzen is returning from the 60-day IL to make this start. Prior to his injury, he had a 4.94 ERA. This year, on the road he has a 7.52 ERA, and since 2020 his road ERA is 7.69. Sure, that's with different teams, but it's still notable. Lefties have hit .284 against Lorenzen as well.
Alvarez has 31 home runs and a .974 OPS. He's slowed down recently, but has an 1.006 OPS versus righties on the season. Bregman may be a righty, but he has an 1.036 OPS over the last three weeks, so he should be just fine. On top of that, he has an 1.006 OPS at home. Tucker has tallied 24 home runs and 22 stolen bases. He also has a .903 OPS versus right-handed pitchers since 2020.
