This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
12 games are featured in FanDuel's Friday main contest, with a traditional 7:05 p.m. EDT first pitch. Two games come with double-digit run totals and two more sit at 9.5, so scoring shouldn't be scarce across the slate. That's further backed by having just three double-digit pitchers to sort though. Seven more are in the $9,000 tier, forcing us to rely on the matchup perhaps over the arm talent.
Overall, Friday looks like a pretty calm night weather wise, so we should be full systems go across the slate.
Pitching
Bobby Miller, LAD at KC ($9,800): Both of the slates top two arms in Shane McClanahan and James Paxton left their last starts with injuries, so it's difficult to feel great about their chances to work deep Friday. By all means, roll them out as a lower used option, they should be in solid spots. But for a pretty solid discount, I'll target Miller for upside in a plus matchup. He needs a solid outing to maintain a rotation spot, and the Royals offer him just that opportunity. Kansas City ranks 28th with a .290 wOBA and 80 wRC+ off righties, striking out 24.8 percent of the time.
Alex Cobb, SF at NYM ($9,300): There are a lot of decent options in this $9,000 range Friday, but in an effort to be a touch different, lets consider Cobb. It's fair to wonder how long he'll work in his first game back from the IL, and that can cap his ceiling. But the floor appears solid. He's allowed more than three runs in just one start, carries a 3.09 ERA that's supported by a 3.25 xFIP, and has at least five strikeouts in four straight starts. And does anyone fear the Mets at this point? They come in with a 23.0 percent strikeout rate, .303 wOBA and 94 wRC+ across the last 30 days.
Osvaldo Bido, PIT vs. MIL ($7,800): Personally, I like both side of this pitching matchup, and if you're not feeling Cobb above, Freddy Peralta is a fine alternative. But for some savings on the mound Friday, Bido is my choice. He's allowed six runs in his three starts, carrying a 3.45 ERA and 3.75 xFIP into Friday, earning a 25.4 percent K rate in the process. Milwaukee is just a bad offense, striking out 26.6 perent of the time while posting an 80 wRC+ over the last 30 days, with a 25.1 percent K rate off righties overall.
Top Targets
Atlanta is clicking on all cylinders, so it seems like we should have a piece of their lineup nightly, the question just becomes which one. For Friday, I'm content to take Ronald Acuna ($4,500) and move on. He has made at least 9.2 FDP in every game since June 11, and is known to crush the Marlins, having a .433 wOBA, 171 wRC+, .322 ISO, 1.051 OPS and 48.6 percent hard hit rate in 78 career games against them.
White Sox bats are going to be an obviously targeted stacking option against Luis Medina, who has a 6.84 ERA and 6.03 FIP. He's been vicitimized by righties often, allowing a .409 wOBA and .977 OPS. I'll trust that over Luis Robert's ($3,900) better splits off lefties for Friday. Robert has just a .342 wOBA off righties, but that's second on the team. But he's hit safely in seven of his last eight, scoring eight times, driving in seven thanks to five homers in that stretch.
Bargain Bats
Everything says we should be stacking Tiger bats against Austin Gomber in Coors Field. But do we really trust them? Gomber has an 8.72 home ERA (6.87 FIP), allowing a .479 wOBA and 1.157 OPS to lefties, and .426/1.010 to righties. I think the right choice is perhaps a mini stack and not being too heavily invested in a questionable lineup. Spencer Torkelson ($3,100) has three homers in his last two games and has a .242 ISO off lefties to go with a 136 wRC+. Matt Vierling ($3,100) doesn't have ideal numbers off lefties, but is hot with eight hits and six runs in his last seven, and can offer a decent 1-2 punch here.
The Giants offense is an interesting one to consider Friday against Carlos Carrasco. He's got an 8.20 home ERA (7.61 FIP), and is allowing a .446 wOBA and 1.077 OPS to righties. The Giants best options off right-handed arms are all left-handed however. LaMonte Wade ($3,200) likely should be the preferred target (.396 wOBA, 153 wRC+), but if we trust Carrasco's splits, J.D. Davis ($2,900) is in a revenge spot after the Mets let him go during the offseason, and has been driving in runs regularly.
Stacks to Consider
Yankees vs. Matthew Liberatore: Harrison Bader ($3,100), Giancarlo Stanton ($2,900), Josh Donaldson ($2,700)
GPPs only here as there are a lot of trends on both sides that make this high risk, high reward. Liberatore has been far better at home than on the road, but is still allowing a targetable .388 wOBA and .894 OPS to righties overall. Bader is a solid stand alone option, posting a .590 wOBA, 292 wRC+ and .600 ISO off of southpaws in a minimal 28 plate appearances. The other two are where this gets dicey. Donaldson is hitting just .139, but did use the Oakland series to right things some, homering twice and driving in five. He has a .385 wOBA, 150 wRC+ and .526 ISO off lefties in a smaller 19 plate appearances. Stanton too hasn't had much opportuniy off lefties, but his .350 ISO offers hope of a big fly. He's quietly hit in four of his last five, driving in six in that span.
Rangers vs. Ronel Blanco: Corey Seager ($4,200), Nathaniel Lowe ($3,100), Ezequiel Duran ($3,000)
Blanco comes in with a 5.63 road ERA (7.03 FIP), and is a fly ball guy, allowing 48.1 percent of batted balls to be lifted. He's had a hard time keeping them in the park as well, surrendering over two homers per nine. Seager seems like a nice building block, sporting a .442 wOBA, 189 wRC+ and .292 ISO off righties. We can get a tad creative/less traditional in our other piece, though chasing power atop the Rangers lineup certainly wouldn't be wrong. Lowe is second among Texas regulars with a .368 wOBA and gives us a second bat in the early/middle part of this lineup. Duran is the wildcard as a rightie here. He just continues to hit, having multiple knocks in five straight and seven of his last eight, including three straight games with a long ball.
