This article is part of our DraftKings MLB series.
We're nearing the quarter mark of the MLB season. In the blink of an eye nearly a fourth of the games have been played. There are 12 MLB games taking place Friday night starting at 7:05 p.m. ET or later. Here are my recommendations to help with your DFS decisions.
Pitching
Nestor Cortes, NYY vs. CWS ($10,600): If Cortes' 2.90 ERA in 2021 didn't grab your attention, he should have it this season. Through seven starts he has a 1.35 ERA and has struck out 11.02 batters per nine innings. Instead of running away with the AL Central, the White Sox are off to a slow start and are even in the bottom six in runs scored.
Tarik Skubal, DET at CLE ($9,500): You have to worry about offensive support with Skubal, but the guy has been a whole new pitcher on the mound. Given his track record as a vaunted prospect, it could be legitimate. He has a 2.08 FIP and has struck out 10.21 batters per nine innings. The Guardians are middle-of-the-pack in runs scored, but only Jose Ramirez really concerns me, and he's injured right now.
Chase Silseth, LAA vs. OAK ($7,800): Silseth got a chance to make his first MLB start and pitched six innings of shutout baseball. His opponent? These same Athletics, the team with the lowest OPS in the majors. Hey, if you want to make it easy on a rookie, having him face Oakland is a smart way to do it.
Top Targets
It would be nice to see Jose Altuve ($5,400) get back to being the guy who is a career .307 hitter, but it's not like we have much to complain about. He's slugged .571 with eight home runs, and he has a 1.231 OPS at home. Martin Perez has undeniably impressive numbers, but I just can't believe in them. He has a career 4.61 ERA. The southpaw has not allowed a home run yet this season, and he's allowed at least 1.12 home runs per nine innings in each of his last five campaigns. Perez isn't going to sustain this.
Another cold stretch has tanked Christian Yelich's ($5,200) average, but he has five home runs and five stolen bases. He also has an .811 OPS against righties. Erick Fedde has a 4.32 FIP in 2022, and a career 5.08 FIP. That makes it easier for Yelich to look like his former MVP-winning self.
Bargain Bats
Kyle Farmer ($4,200) is healthy, which unfortunately can't be said about a lot of Reds players. Last year he hit .263 with 16 home runs, and since 2020 he has a .790 OPS against lefties. Hyun Jin Ryu has a 9.00 ERA, and while that is in only three starts, he has allowed a home run in each of them. Plus, last season he had a 4.37 ERA.
If there is a righty on the mound, you can count on Ji-Man Choi ($3,800) being in the lineup. Since 2020 he has an .812 OPS against righties. He's also slashed .279/.388/.441 this season. In his first season as a starter, Tyler Wells has a 4.18 ERA, and he's allowed lefties to hit .326 against him in 2022.
Stacks to Consider
Yankees vs. Dallas Keuchel ($6,000): Giancarlo Stanton ($5,700), Josh Donaldson ($4,600), DJ LeMahieu ($4,500)
At this point, Keuchel may simply not be a viable MLB starter. He had a 5.22 FIP last year and has a 5.09 FIP this season. The lefty strikes out fewer than six batters per game and gets batted around by both righties and lefties. There is a lot of activity when Keuchel is on the mound, which is good for fantasy players and neutral viewers, but not for the White Sox.
I'm not surprised Stanton has 11 home runs and has slugged .563. That fact he also has a .296 average this season is a pleasant bonus, though. It took Donaldson a moment to get settled with his new team, but the veteran bat has rounded into form. Over the last three weeks he has a .948 OPS. In the last two weeks he has a 1.050 OPS, but I wanted to look at the bigger picture for a better sample size. LeMahieu is batting atop the Yankees lineup, and he has a career .299 average and .356 OBP. At home this year he has an .891 OPS as well.
Blue Jays vs. Luis Castillo ($7,300): Vladimir Guerrero ($5,500), Bo Bichette ($5,300), Teoscar Hernandez ($4,900)
Castillo has only made two starts this season, but his 5.59 ERA is not encouraging. Especially after he had a 3.98 ERA last season. The Blue Jays haven't quite lived up to the "best offense in baseball" upside they had, but there are bats that make for an enticing stack in a matchup like this.
Guerrero has a hit in 15-straight games, but obviously with him it's all about the power. He had 48 home runs last year and has seven this season. That goes with a .470 slugging percentage. Bichette has four home runs and four stolen bases, and over the last three weeks he's hit .276. That's getting him closer to his career .293 average. Hernandez has only played in 16 games this season, so I am not necessarily looking at his numbers in 2022. Last year he hit 32 home runs and 12 stolen bases, and over his previous two seasons he posted an .882 OPS.
Mets vs. German Marquez ($6,200): Pete Alonso ($5,400), Brandon Nimmo ($4,700), Mark Canha ($3,500)
Well, a team is paying a trip to Coors Field, and connecting those dots is pretty simple. Marquez has a 6.16 ERA and has allowed 1.66 home runs per nine innings. He's also only allowed lefties to hit .271 against him since 2020, though I only have one lefty in this stack.
Alonso is not a lefty, but why wouldn't I want his power at Coors? He's slugged .537 in his career and has 10 home runs in 2022. Alonso has one of the best power bats in the majors. Nimmo is the lefty I've stacked, and he's slashed .287/.391/.457. Also, for when the bullpen inevitably comes into play, you can't shut down Nimmo with a southpaw. Since 2020 he has an .823 OPS against his fellow lefties. Canha has 17 home runs and 12 stolen bases in 2021. This year he has a .294 average and a .376 OBP.
