This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
A somewhat reduced 10-game slate is offered in Friday's main contest at FanDuel. It's been a soggy week for me in the mid-Atlantic, and it's looking like that's trending north today, so we have the potential for multiple washouts. Seattle-Baltimore, Texas-New York (AL), and New York (NL)-Philadelphia all look troublesome, which could really reduce our options. We do have all 20 starting pitchers listed, giving us options, though only two are priced in five-figures. Given the lack of top end pitching, it's a tad surprising there are only three games with run totals of nine or greater as of Friday morning.
Pitching
Taijuan Walker, PHI vs. NYM ($9,400): Walker is in some kind of groove right now, allowing just one run in his last three starts combined, spanning 20 innings, while striking out 21. His last poor outing came against these Mets, largely due to a Mark Cahna homer. Cahna has Walker's number (4-for-7, two HRs), but the rest of the lineup is just 6-for-36 off of him. We're paying for form here, and rain could impact this as well. The Mets are pesky and can extend at bats, pushing up pitch counts. But they are also in a wicked funk overall, losing four of five and six of nine, and have just a .317 wOBA off righties overall.
Joe Musgrove, SD vs. WAS ($8,900): With options like Musgrove, it's difficult to justify paying up on this slate. He hasn't been elite, but has averaged 35.2 FDP across his last five starts, which is just a shade under a 4x return. Washington continues to put balls in play, striking out only 18.4 percent of the time off righties, but with just an 87 wRC+ and .124 ISO, Musgrove should limit damage. That's further boltered by the Nats being a collective 7-of-34 (.206) with a .500 OPS off him overall. Anything less than a quality start would disappoint, with a win also probable.
Brayan Bello, BOS at CWS ($8,700): Bello is another nice option Friday who is on a nice run. He's turned in three straight quality starts, and has five in his last seven, striking out five or more five times. Chicago is more potent off lefties, and have a decent 23.2 percent strikeout rate to go with just a .290 wOBA, 82 wRC+ and .151 ISO off right-handed arms.
Top Targets
We'll have to watch the forecast, but Corey Seager ($4,500) is an ideal building block Friday. He continues to rake, boasting a .466 wOBA 205 wRC+ and .322 ISO off righties in a matchup against Clarke Schmidt, who is allowing a .391 wOBA to lefties.
Jose Ramirez ($4,100) has enjoyed a fine June, where he has a .419 wOBA, 173 wRC+ and .299 ISO, collecting 26 hits (five homers), 15 runs and 16 RBI in 18 games. A matchup with Wade Miley isn't a deterrent.
Bargain Bats
The Angels are going to be an obvious target in Coors Field Friday, and I'm not going to talk you out of them. But will mention that Rockies' starter Kyle Freeland is surprisngly better at home, and this lineup doesn't have ideal splits on lefties. Pair that with the exorbanent prices of Shohei Ohtani ($5,000) and Mike Trout ($4,400), it may be best to look elsewhere. If you really trust the splits and want a share, perhaps Chad Wallace ($2,700) gets the start behind the dish. he has an unsustainable .524 wOBA, 244 wRC+ and .500 ISO of southpaws in 31 plate appearances.
Staying in Coors Field, Randal Grichuk ($3,400) could offer some value as most Colorado bats are bad off lefties as well. He sits with an okay .371 wOBA, 120 wRC+ and .234 ISO.
Arizona's Zach Davies has dramatically better road splits, with a 2.31 ERA and 3.10 FIP against 9.90/4.62 at home. So we can't just stack against the slate's cheapest pitcher. Still, there looks to be value in LaMonte Wade ($3,100), who likely returns to the top of the order and has a nice .396 wOBA and 152 wRC+ off righties, while also having eight hits in his last six games.
Stacks to Consider
Padres vs. Patrick Corbin: Fernando Tatis ($4,300), Xander Bogaerts ($3,000), Manny Machado ($2,900)
Corbin has done an okay job of limiting implosion, but he still boasts a 1.58 WHIP, 4.89 ERA and 4.91 FIP overall, all of which are worse on the road. He's not going to shut this lineup down. Tatis and Machado have tremendous stand alone appeal, and Machado's low cost make Tatis easier to fit into your lineups. Corbin is allowing a .403 wOBA and .942 OPS to righties on the road to boot. Tatis has a massive .469 wOBA, 203 wRC+ and .404 ISO off lefties, and is 4-for-7 off of Corbin. Machado seems to be getting his power going with three homers in his last nine games, raising his ISO to .206 to go with a nice .436 wOBA and 181 wRC+, and he's 7-or-18 with a 1.011 OPS off Corbin. The final piece is interchangeable given your lineup needs and budget. I'll take Bogaerts atop the order to hopefully get on and let these big bats bring him around, though Trent Grisham ($2,600) has been surprisingly good off lefties to date, and could provide similar opportunities for Tatis and Machado to help him after the first time through the lineup.
Blue Jays vs. James Kaprielian: Bo Bichette ($3,200), George Springer ($2,900), Brandon Belt ($2,500)
It's not a DFS column if bats against Oakland aren't mentioned. Kaprielian has allowed one run in two of his last three starts, but still has a 7.27 road ERA and 6.56 FIP, surrendering a .397 wOBA and .890 OPS to righties, and .387/.894 OPS to lefties, opening up this entire lineup. And the Jays are priced super low. Belt has a team-best .369 wOBA off righties. Bichette sits at .359, and has an eight-game hitting streak coming in to Friday, though we'll need to make sure he plays after missing Wednesday due to a thumb issue. Springer is as streaky as they come, but looks to be in the midst of a good one, with a five-game hitting streak where he's collected eight hits, four RBI and two steals. One caveat; the Jays overall are just 3-for-21 off Kaprielian overall.
