This article is part of our DraftKings MLB series.
The Mets and Pirates miss out, but Friday's DFS slate features 14 games. That's the rest of MLB in action! The first pitch is at 7:05 p.m. ET. You have a lot of options to parse through, but I'm here to help. Here are my MLB DFS lineup recommendations.
Pitching
Merrill Kelly, ARI vs. MIA ($9,600): While Zac Gallen has headed in the wrong direction this year for the Diamondbacks, Kelly has turned things back around. He's down to a 3.39 ERA and up to a 9.00 K/9 rate. Miami is in the bottom 10 in runs scored, so Kelly's rebound campaign should continue apace.
Ryan Pepiot, TAM at BAL ($8,600): Yes, Pepiot has a 4.05 FIP compared to a 3.04 ERA, but he has a 2.83 ERA on the road largely because the Rays' short-term ballpark has yielded a lot of homers. Over his last 11 starts he has a 2.29 ERA for good measure. Meanwhile, the Orioles are 24th in runs scored, and they are one of a handful of teams with a sub-.700 OPS.
Jose Quintana, MIL vs. COL ($8,000): Quintana doesn't go deep into games, which is clear given that he's pitched 54.1 innings over 10 starts. However, in seven of those 10 starts he's allowed one run or fewer. The Rockies are in the bottom four in runs scored and have a sub-.300 OBP, even with their home park. Quintana will be pitching in Milwaukee, which makes this matchup look even better.
Top Targets
As per usual, Kyle Schwarber ($5,300) is delivering big power numbers. The lefty has slugged .527 and already hit 24 home runs. Let us not forget in 2022 and 2023 he hit more than 45 home runs. While Bryce Elder started his career keeping the ball in the park, over the last two seasons he's given up 1.48 homers per nine innings, and he's allowed a home run in each of his last three outings.
After having 21 homers and 22 stolen bases as a rookie, Jackson Chourio ($4,800) has 12 of the former and 15 of the latter this season. He's also a righty, and I wanted a righty from the Brewers. The expectation is that Kyle Freeland will return from the IL to start Friday. Freeland is a lefty, and he's also on pace to have an ERA over 5.00 for the third season in a row. It's not all Coors Field either, as in that time he has a 5.06 ERA on the road.
Bargain Bats
It's not hyperbolic to say that Brandon Lowe ($4,400) is one of the best homer hitters ever at second base. He's just had issues staying on the field. Lowe has 16 homers this season in 78 games, and he hit 21 home runs in each of the last two campaigns even though he missed more than 50 games both times. Bats get on the ball against Tomoyuki Sugano. He has an 1.83 BB/9 rate but also a 5.38 K/9 rate. While righties have hit for a better average against Sugano, lefties have hit more homers in the same number of at-bats, so I'll take a shot on Lowe and his left-sided power.
Six home runs from a first baseman is not remarkable, but Nolan Schanuel ($3,600) has 15 doubles in 77 games, and he has hit .274 as well. He's also effectively the only regular lefty for the Angels. Given that the righty Jake Irvin is on pace for career-worst numbers in terms of strikeouts and homers allowed, it's not surprising that his 4.18 ERA is paired with a 4.79 FIP. In his career, Irvin has only managed 7.16 strikeouts per nine innings, and that's something a player with Schanuel's profile can take advantage of, even if it is only with doubles and not homers.
Stacks to Consider
Athletics at Yankees (Will Warren): Lawrence Butler ($4,600), Tyler Soderstrom ($4,500), Nick Kurtz ($3,900)
Yankee Stadium is often kind to lefties, especially lefties with power. Warren, thus far in his career, has also been kind to lefties. Southpaws have hit .289 against Warren. Thus, I have three lefties from the Athletics for this Friday stack. Hopefully the road team also gets some Yankee Stadium love in this one.
Butler has been a doubles machine, as he already has 23 of them through only 78 games. However, he does have 11 home runs as well, 10 of them coming against righties. This is the righty scenario to deploy Soderstrom on your roster. He has an .864 OPS versus righties, but also an .854 OPS on the road. Kurtz has been what was expected, which is to say a giant lefty with light-tower power. He has 11 home runs in only 43 games, and he has a .914 OPS against right-handed pitchers.
Royals vs. Dodgers (Dustin May): Bobby Witt ($5,300), Maikel Garcia ($4,600), Jac Caglianone ($3,000)
One of the best offenses is facing one of the worst offenses…and I'm recommending a stack from the bad one. The Royals' lineup gets dire pretty quickly, but May offers up a good matchup. He's returned from an injury that cost him all of 2024 with a fastball 2.3 miles per hour slower than it was previously. May has a 4.46 ERA through 14 starts, but his road ERA is 5.94. That's with him starting the season well and then getting worse. May has a 5.40 ERA over his last 11 outings. Kansas City's two best hitters are righties, and so is May. Fortunately, righties have hit May for a higher average, so that pans out.
Witt may not get to 30 homers again, but he's hit .278 with 27 homers, three triples and 21 stolen bases. Over the last three seasons Witt has an .860 OPS versus lefties but an .890 OPS against righties, so this actually pans out for him as well. Garcia is about the only positive story for the Royals' offense this season. He's hit .309 with eight homers and 17 stolen bases, and it's not the product of some hot start. The third baseman has an .864 OPS over the last three weeks. Caglianone is Kansas City's Kurtz, though he hasn't delivered to the same level. He's a big lefty with power, though, he hit six homers in 12 Triple-A games before his call-up, and he's hit two homers in 20 MLB games.
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