This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
Ten games are featured in FanDuel's Friday main slate, getting underway at 7:05 p.m. ET. All 20 pitchers appear to be confirmed, so we shouldn't be in for any surprises. Just two arms are priced in the five figures with four more checking in at the $9K tier, seemingly telling us we don't need to pay up but could gain an advantage if one of the elite starters has a monster day. Nine starters are left-handed, so we can target that on both sides. Run lines again remain low as scoring is down, with Royals-Mariners and Cubs-Reds our highest points totals at just 9.0 runs.
Rain looks like a concern in Kansas City, which is a shame given that higher run total. I'll omit that game here from consideration, but the weather should be monitored. If they play, we could get some low roster percentages. Wind looks to be a factor Friday, with it reportedly blowing out in New York, Cincinnati, Chicago and Los Angeles, the first three potentially at 10 miles per hour (MPH) or greater. We'll look to those games for some potential big power.
Pitching
Garrett Crochet, CWS vs. BOS ($10,900): Friday appears to be an instance where if I'm paying up for a starter, I'm paying all the way up. Crochet is rolling, winning four of his last six, earning five quality starts with a 39 fantasy point floor. And the matchup seems to be perfect. Boston is a heavy left-handed hitting club that strikes out 28.3 percent of the time off southpaws and are fresh off allowing Max Fried a career-high 13 strikeouts. Pair that with Crochet's 12 strikeouts per nine, and there's the makings for a big-time return. Crochet hasn't allowed more than two earned runs since April 24, creating a nice floor.
Framber Valdez, HOU at LAA ($7,900): Valdez hasn't been the ace many expected him to be in season-long formats, but he hasn't been bad enough to draw a sub-$8K price tag, has he? The strikeouts are down, but he's got an impressive 64.6 percent ground ball rate, which can negate the potential winds here, and his 3.95 ERA is real given a 3.94 FIP. Further, would it surprise you to hear he has four quality starts in his last five outings? That's not something we find at this price. Los Angeles has been surprisingly solid against lefties, ranking third with a .341 wOBA while only striking out at a 20.5 percent mark, so this isn't a slam dunk. Further, we have ample familiarity with the divisional opponent, and it's not favorable for Valdez. Current Angels are 36-for-102 (.353) with seven homers and a 1.027 OPS, though a 28.4 percent strikeout rate. Perhaps this is too obvious given the name/price comparison, but it's a shot I'm willing to take.
Logan Allen, CLE at MIA ($6,500): To be fair, there are a plethora of solid yet unspectacular pitching options Friday, so this portion of the column could have included three or four more. But Allen looks like a nice, cheap GPP target. He was torched in his last start at Colorado, perhaps a forgivable offense given the ballpark, but not so much the opposing offense. Before that, however, he averaged 40.3 fantasy points in three starts. That would flirt with a 6x return if he's able to bounce back. Miami doesn't strike out much at 20.5 percent, but that's not Allen's forte. The Marlins rank last off lefties with a .262 wOBA, 68 wRC+ and .092 ISO. Allen is capable of some clean innings Friday.
Top Targets
Griffin Canning is allowing a .399 wOBA and .935 OPS to lefties. Without knowing Kyle Tucker's availability, this is a spot where I'm building around Yordan Alvarez ($3,700), who is 4-for-9 with two homers off the Angels' starter. Stacking Tucker and Alex Bregman, should they both play, would be another nice option.
I'm not buying what Cody Poteet is selling, or throwing in this instance. If the winds are indeed blowing out in Yankee Stadium, his 1.64 HR/9 could be a problem, though he does tend to keep the ball on the ground. Shohei Ohtani ($4,300) isn't priced to the max so he seems like an obvious choice, boasting a .456 wOBA, 203 wRC+ and .342 ISO off righties. But Freddie Freeman ($3,800) is appealing as well, sitting at .418/177/.231, and he's now homered twice in the last four.
Bargain Bats
I don't want to ignore Elly De La Cruz at home with wind, but we know he's a better hitter from the left side, and is 0-for-6 off Cubs starter Justin Steele. But this still seems like an offense to invest in with Steele having a 4.42 FIP and slightly higher fly ball rate (42.1 percent) to ground ball rate (40.2 percent). Spencer Steer ($3,500) offers position flexibility, has a .370 wOBA, 136 wRC+ and .246 ISO off left-handers, and is 5-for-9 with a 1.556 OPS off Steele. Jonathan India ($2,900) merits consideration too. He sits at .374/138/.115, has hits in seven of his last eight, and has taken Steele deep once in 13 at-bats.
Colorado's Austin Gomber hasn't been awful, but perhaps some regression is due with a 3.06 ERA backed by a 5.03 FIP. The Cardinals don't have positive splits off lefties, but I'm willing to take Masyn Winn ($3,100) as a one-off. He could hit leadoff, has an okay .344 wOBA, 126 wRC+ and .231 ISO, and is 10-for-25 over his last seven games.
Strictly a BvP play to round out lineups, and they play the same position(s) making both hard to fit in, but Luis Arraez ($3,200) and Jake Cronenworth ($3,100) are a combined 9-for-16 off Diamondbacks starter Brandon Pfaadt.
Stack to Consider
Blue Jays vs. Hogan Harris (A's): Vladimir Guerrero ($3,400), Danny Jansen ($2,900), Justin Turner ($2,700)
The Blue Jays managed six runs Thursday when facing a lefty, and will get a second-straight crack at one Friday. This trio gives us Toronto's best three options off lefties. Turner leads the way with a .402 wOBA, 165 wRC+ and .209 ISO. After some questionable playing time over the past few weeks, Turner is 6-for-11 over the last three games. Jansen and Guerrero have an identical .364 wOBA and 140 wRC+, though minimal power at .077 and .156 ISOs, respectively. It's not a traditional stack, where if the Jays line up similarly to yesterday, it's a 2-3-6 lineup combo. And there's minimal power upside, but given the price points, a few hits, runs and RBI across this group can still return favorably.
I've hinted at a few mini-stacks throughout this column. I find stacking especially difficult Friday and don't want to force another suggestion. Truth be told, I don't hate the Athletics against Chris Bassitt, who rarely has clean outings (just two, but against the White Sox.) My best recommendation for a build is the three top bats, some Reds shares, see what you can afford on the mound thereafter and fill in holes as needed.
