This article is part of our DraftKings MLB series.
Time to kick off another weekend of MLB action! We have eight games on the slate for DFS purposes. That's about business as usual for a Friday, but every Friday brings different matchups. First pitch is at 7:05 p.m. ET. Here are my lineup recommendations.
Pitching
Spencer Schwellenbach, ATL at LAA ($9,800): Schwellenbach just managed to pull off a quality start at Coors Field. Sure, the Rockies aren't the most-impressive offense, but that's never easy, especially for a rookie. He now has a 2.54 ERA over his last six starts. The Angels are in the bottom five in runs scored, and with Mike Trout and Luis Rengifo both out the rest of the way, they aren't likely to get any better on that front.
Sean Manaea, NYM vs. MIA ($8,700): Manaea's last start was a disaster. In his prior two starts he went seven innings, both times without giving up a single run. So, you know, a mixed bag. I feel like Friday's matchup offers Manaea a chance for one of his better outings. After all, the Marlins are 29th in runs scored (14 runs behind the Rays in 28th, who also have a game in hand) and collectively have a .660 OPS.
Top Targets
In addition to hitting .298, Jose Altuve ($5,400) has tallied 15 homers and 15 stolen bases in 117 games. He also has an .851 OPS against righties, as well as an .843 OPS at home. Garrett Crochet was a matchup to avoid for a while this season, but it would appear he's fading in his first campaign as a starter in MLB. Over his last four starts he has an 8.78 ERA.
Though Freddie Freeman ($5,300) is behind his usual standards, that is owed entirely to being mediocre against his fellow lefties, as opposed to being one of the best southpaws at hitting other southpaws. He has a .946 OPS versus righties in 2024. When Miles Mikolas is on the mound, balls are hit. He's elite at avoiding walks, but terrible at racking up strikeouts, and all in all he has a 5.30 ERA. Lefties have hit .284 against Mikolas over the last two campaigns, which is right up Freeman's alley.
Bargain Bats
At this point Charlie Blackmon ($4,900) is only playable at home. He's been even worse than usual on the road in 2024, but at Coors he's still slashed .290/.364/.497. After all these years wearing purple and black, he's attuned to his ballpark. Knuckleballer Matt Waldron's ball hasn't been knuckling great recently. He has a 5.19 ERA over his last eight starts, and has allowed 1.9 homers per nine innings in that time.
Over the last two seasons, Max Kepler ($3,500) has managed well enough against his fellow lefties (a .751 OPS in 2023, a .724 OPS in 2024). This year he has an .825 OPS at home as well. Why look for a lefty to face Andrew Heaney, who is also a southpaw? Well, last season lefties hit .276 against him, and this year their average is up to .310.
Stacks to Consider
Padres at Rockies (Cal Quantrill): Manny Machado ($5,600), Jackson Merrill ($5,100), Xander Bogaerts ($4,800)
This is Quantrill's first season with the Rockies. He has a sub-2.00 K/BB rate once again, but he used to be good at avoiding home runs, and this year he's allowed 1.25 per nine innings. His 4.90 FIP would be a career high. Righties have hit .279 against Quantrill since 2022, so I have two right-handed hitters in this stack.
Machado has a .900 OPS over the last three weeks. While he hits for more power against lefties, he's slugged .479 against righties since 2022, which more than suffices. Hitting .288 with 17 homers and 13 swiped bags, Merrill is having a fine rookie season (though learning to take a walk would benefit him going forward). Notably, the southpaw has an .867 OPS versus righties and a .910 OPS on the road. It's been a tough campaign for Bogaerts but he has a .791 OPS across the last 21 days of action. He had a .787 OPS versus righties last season, and this year he's batted .284 against righties (with no power, but Coors should help there).
Mets vs. Marlins (Roddery Munoz): Francisco Lindor ($5,300), Jesse Winker ($3,600), Jeff McNeil ($3,200)
The rookie Munoz has a 5.67 ERA. Now, his FIP tells a different story, but his FIP is 6.73, so the story it tells is that he's somehow been a bit lucky. The righty has allowed 2.53 homers per nine innings, and lefties have hit .295 against him. Thus, I wanted to find three guys who hit left handed. With Brandon Nimmo dealing with the "stomach flu," this is the trio I went with.
The switch-hitting Lindor is better against lefties, but his .777 OPS against righties suffices, especially against a pitcher like Munoz. Plus, he has 23 homers and 24 stolen bases, two things that make DFS players quite happy. Winker has gotten a chance to play more recently thanks to an injury to Starling Marte and some righties on the schedule. Across his time with the Nationals and Mets, he has an .820 OPS against right-handed pitchers. McNeil has cooled off from a hot streak, but he still has a .791 OPS over the last three weeks. He's hit six of his 11 home runs over the last month, and he's altered his approach to be less of a slap hitter.
