This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
You are spoiled for choice for your MLB DFS lineups Friday. Of course, that can give some option overload. There are 13 games included in the slate, first pitch arriving at 7:05 p.m. ET. I've gone over these matchups to offer you up some recommendations to make your decisions a bit easier. Good luck.
Pitching
Taj Bradley, TAM vs. ATL ($9,700): We know the drill with Bradley at this point. He's going to fire in one of the fastest fastballs in the world. Strikeouts will ensue, as his 10.54 K/9 rate in his MLB career indicates. On the other hand, if he gets squared up, there's a good chance it leaves the park. Bradley also has a 1.67 HR/9 rate in his career. Atlanta is off to a bad start offensively, though. I think Bradley can rack up some strikeouts, and if the ball stays in the park he should be good to go. Hey, even if he holds Atlanta to a single solo homer that'll be fine with me.
Reese Olson, DET at MIN ($8,800): Olson has had a tough start against the Dodgers and a good start against the White Sox. The disparity of quality with those two opponents doesn't yield much to be gleaned. However, last year he had a 3.16 FIP, and in his career Olson has only allowed 0.87 home runs per nine innings. The Twins only have 44 runs through 13 games, so right now they are looking more "White Sox" than "Dodgers" out there.
Tomoyuki Sugano, BAL vs. TOR ($7,800): Sugano waited a long time to come over to the United States. The Japanese veteran is in his age-35 season, but he hasn't looked overmatched through two starts. He's not striking many guys out, but he's also limited walks and has a 2.89 ERA. Toronto is getting hits, but not showing a lot of power, as it only has six home runs through 13 games. That has the Jays tied with the Royals for last.
Top Targets
With Jackson Merrill on the injured list, Jackson Chourio ($3,800) has the chance to emerge as King Jackson in MLB. As a rookie, in his age-20 season, Chourio hit .275 and had a 20/20 campaign. The righty already has four homers, and a triple, to start 2025. Eduardo Rodriguez, a lefty, has a 5.22 ERA since joining the Diamondbacks, and last year right-handed hitter averaged .289 against him.
When you think of Manny Machado ($3,800), you probably think of a guy who is going to hit 30 homers and 30 doubles and do his damage with his bat. However, the Padres are running a bunch this season, and Machado is part of that. He has six stolen bases already through 13 games. German Marquez has only made seven starts over the last three seasons, but over the last five campaigns he has a 4.65 ERA.
Bargain Bats
Now the starting first baseman for the Rays, Jonathan Aranda ($2,700) has slashed .367/.429/.667 to start the season. There was reason to buy into him as a hitter, given that a robust 47.4 percent of his hits qualified as "hard" last season. AJ Smith-Shawver spent almost all of last season in Triple-A, and the fact he has a 5.19 ERA through two starts this season helps that make sense. The righty has walked six batters already, and his line-drive rate is 39.3 percent.
Though Ceddanne Rafaela ($2,600) is certainly a flawed player, he still manages to get the kind of counting stats that can help a DFS player. Last year the centerfielder had a sub-.300 OBP and was caught stealing 10 times, but has 15 homers, five triples, and 19 swiped bags. Davis Martin has a career 4.71 ERA. Over the last two seasons he's let his fellow righties bat .276 against him, and it's easier to steal on right-handed pitchers.
Stacks to Consider
Giants at Yankees (Marcus Stroman): Willy Adames ($3,400), Jung Hoo Lee ($2,9000, Mike Yastrzemski ($2,800)
Stroman has a 7.27 ERA over two starts this season, and I'm not terribly surprised. Obviously, he isn't likely to be that bad on the campaign, but in 2024 he had a 5.31 ERA and 1.6 HR/9 rate at Yankee Stadium. I have two lefties in this stack, as Stroman is right handed, and also Yankee Stadium tends to be kind to southpaws.
Adames is off to a slow start as a Giant, but in two of his last three seasons he had over 30 homers and 30 doubles. That kind of power is remarkable for a shortstop. On top of that, he slugged .511 against his fellow righties last year. Lee's first season in MLB was a write-off given that injuries limited him to 37 games. He's off to a fine start to 2025, though, having hit .333 with seven doubles and three stolen bases. Yastrzemski has an .807 OPS over the last three seasons, and he's off to a scorching start to this campaign. He has an 1.056 OPS with two home runs and two swiped bags.
Tigers at Twins (David Festa): Riley Greene ($3,400), Kerry Carpenter ($3,200), Spencer Torkelson ($2,900)
The Twins have called Festa up from Triple-A for a spot start with Pablo Lopez injured. He had a 5.40 ERA in two Triple-A starts, and last year he had a 4.06 ERA at that level. In MLB, though, Festa had a 4.90 ERA in 2024. The fact he couldn't make the rotation to start the season doesn't speak well to Festa's upside, and that makes it a fine opportunity to stack a few Tigers.
Last year Greene was able to (mostly) stay healthy and had 24 homers and 27 doubles while batting .262. This year he's averaged .286 and has three home runs to go with four doubles. Additionally, since 2023 the lefty has an .862 OPS versus righties like Festa. Carpenter has made little contact this year but still has four homers and has slugged .568. He has tremendous power, especially when facing righties. Since 2023 he's slugged .550 in those matchups. As a Tigers fan, I'm encouraged by Torkelson's start to the season. He's slashed .311/.415/.622 with three homers and five doubles. Last season was tough for the one-time top pick, but in 2023 he had 31 homers.
