This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
Friday's slate features a full 15-game, 30-team contest -- something I haven't broken down all year. To be frank, the size of this is not my forte, but it offers us a great opportunity to get weird and shoot for the stars in GPPs. Only the Giants don't have a listed pitcher, so let's dive in and find some places to attack.
Pitching
With the depth of this slate, paying up for pitching certainly isn't necessary, but can be a tad contrarian, none moreso than Pablo Lopez ($10,400), who figures to be ignored against Houston. Triston McKenzie ($9,800) has the clear soft matchup against Oakland, but a surging Luis Severino ($10,200) is my preference in this tier, having struck out 18 across his last 13.1 innings, allowing just three hits.
The middle tier is likely where many will dip into, offering a plethora of plus matchups. That seemingly starts with Luis Garcia ($8,900) against Miami, but be a tad careful as the Marlins surprisingly rank third with a .333 wOBA and fan only 21.5 percent of the time against righties. Aaron Ashby ($8,600) has allowed only five runs in three starts while striking out 26 across 17.2 innings, and while the Nationals have only a .300 wOBA and 90 wRC+ against lefties, they also only strike out 17.3 percent of the time. But my preferences here are Jose Berrios ($8,500) and Kyle Gibson ($8,500). Berrios gets light-hitting Detroit, who have a .262 wOBA and 69 wRC+ against righties while fanning 25.0 percent of the time, and he'll surely get ample run support. Gibson gets a Diamondbacks' lineup that isn't much better, fanning 25.1 percent of the time while posting a .308 wOBA and 95 wRC+, and could be without their thump following Christian Walker's injury Friday. This could shape into a pitcher's duel too with Zac Gallen ($9,400) opposing.
On the low end, I'd expect many to target Atlanta's Spencer Strider ($7,200) and his 13.5 K/9 against a Pirates lineup with a 24.9 percent K rate and a meager .290 wOBA and 85 wRC+. But they came with an approach Thursday against Max Fried and battled, and Strider hasn't shown the efficiency to throw 5+ innings. I like the other side of this rookie matchup with Roansy Contreras ($7,500). The Braves offense remains potent, but happy to swing, fanning 26.2 percent of the time. He should have ample success at least once through the lineup before Atlanta adjusts.
Top Targets
Every night is a good night to take at least one of Boston's big three, but with Marco Gonzales and his .459 wOBA and 1.082 OPS allowed to lefties, Rafael Devers ($4,300) gets stand alone value, carrying a .407 wOBA, 168 wRC+ and .220 ISO.
On slates this large, we can usually find big names that are bargains as well. Assuming he's deemed healthy enough to play, Mike Trout ($3,800) seems to fit that bill Friday. He appears out of his 0-for-26 slump, 3-for-4 with a homer in his last two outings. A matchup with Tylor Megill shouldn't scare us.
Freddie Freeman ($3,700) is in the same mold; he's priced down relative to talent and given a lack of power to date, will likely come lowly used. He's earned three multi-hit games in his last five and seems to offer a safe floor.
Bargain Bats
Adam Duvall ($2,800) looks to be righting things of late. He's collected seven hits in his last four games, five going for extra bases, while driving in five and scoring that many as well, offering a cheap in to a surging team even if we're interested in Contreras above.
The Mets' splits are far more favorable against right-handed arms, with one exception; Eduardo Escobar ($3,200), who boasts a .415 wOBA, .317 ISO and a fair 30.6 hard-hit rate against left-handers.
For GPPs, I'd consider a Royals' stack, as there's plenty of appeal to facing Bruce Zimmermann, who is allowing a .373 wOBA to lefties and .374 wOBA to righties, surrendering 31 hits and 20 runs across 20 innings. But loading up on surging yet bad Kansas City bats is obviously risky. Salvador Perez ($3,100) is always an option thanks to strong career splits against lefties, and he's hit safely in five of six. MJ Melendez ($2,600) is a favorite of mine thanks to immense power, and brings a .480 wOBA, 222 wRC+ and .280 ISO into Friday. And Carlos Santana ($2,200) has eight his in his last five games.
There should be no secret that many will be loading up on Blue Jay bats facing Elvin Rodriguez and his .448 wOBA allowed to lefties, and .427 to righties. In multi-entry formats, please have at their top options. But for single-entries, Alejandro Kirk ($2,900) is the play. He's a contact machine, fanning only 8.9 percent of the time, and his short stroke leads to only a 19.2 percent soft contact rate. Hitting in the heart of the order, he's in line to smash at a discount.
Stacks to Consider
Mariners vs. Red Sox (Rich Hill): Julio Rodriguez ($3,500), Eugenio Suarez ($3,400), Ty France ($3,400)
Hill allowed six runs across two innings the last time he saw the Mariners and has now allowed 27 hits in his last 23 innings. The .341 wOBA he's allowing to righties isn't huge, but it is compared to the .204 allowed to same-handed bats. This is a fun stack with France's .370 wOBA and low 10.0 percent K rate offering stability. Rodriguez has a .406 wOBA and 177 wRC+ against lefties while offering speed to boot, and Suarez is soaring, hitting safely in 10 of 11, homering twice.
Guardians vs. Athletics (Paul Blackburn): Jose Ramirez ($4,200), Josh Naylor ($3,100), Oscar Gonzalez ($2,400)
Blackburn's overall body of work is solid, but he's allowed four earned runs in each of his last two outings, spanning just 10.2 frames (12 hits allowed). If we pair that with the Guardians having ample success against righties, we can see a path to production. Ramirez needs no introduction, but he has a.458 wOBA, 208 wRC+, and .373 ISO in this spot. Naylor is a bit streaky, but offers a .407 wOBA, 172 wRC+ and .270 ISO against righties and has hit safely in four of six, driving in five. And Gonzalez gives us some value to afford both Ramirez, and potentially another top bat and big pitcher. He has a .455 wOBA against righties in a limited sample size, and is riding a seven-game hitting streak that has seen him collect 12 total knocks.
