FanDuel is getting a little creative with Friday's main slate. It's a busy 11-game contest that starts at an earlier 6:40 p.m. EDT and does not include the West Coast late games, as the final game on the slate starts at 8:10.
Paul Skenes ($10,600) and Taj Bradley ($10,000) are the two arms priced in five-figures. Given the size of the slate, I don't view paying up for an arm as a necessity, but it's easy to make a case for either. The Mets (-225) are the slate's overwhelming favorite. That game with the Rockies is one of three with a 7.5 run total, with only Pirates - Brewers being lower (7.0). Four games have a slate-high 9.0 run expetancy. Wind does not look like it will impact the slate, but we'll need to monitor rain chances in Cincinnati.
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Pitching
Framber Valdez, DET at CIN ($8,800): I believe Freddy Peralta ($8,600) will be the clear and obvious mid-range target, and the appeal is obvious getting the Rockies on the road. Feel free to deploy him for cash games, but for GPPs, we likely need a different, lower rostered option. In this tier, it comes down to Valdez or Brandon Woodruff ($9,100) for me. Valdez has more consistent overall fantasy scoring, and Cincinnati's 26.9 perent whiff rate against lefties elevates his inconsistent strikeout totals. Rain is a worry, as is Great American Ballpark, but Valdez has always been a heavy ground ball guy, even though that mark is a career-low 53.6 percent currently. Gavin Williams ($9,500) and Nathan Eovaldi ($8,700) also offer appeal in this range.
Yusei Kikuchi, LAA at KC ($7,700): Loyal readers know I'm targeting bats against Kikuchi most nights out. This has nothing to do with his dominant outing last time against the Padres and everything to do with the matchup. The Royals simply aren't hitting, entering Friday with a .273 wOBA, 67 wRC+ and .095 ISO. Pair that with Kikuchi allowing a .233 average, .681 OPS and a 26.3 percent K rate across 99 plate appearances against Kansas City, and there's obvious potential.
Brandon Young, BAL vs. BOS ($5,800): I struggled to find a third name to highlight here, and think the four names mentioned in the $8,000-$9,500 range are where we should be living. But if you're in on a complete punt play, Young carries upside. He worked five clean innings in a spot start, earning 27.0 FDP. Sure, that came against the White Sox and he only fanned two, but his strikeout stuff was there after being optioned back to Triple-A. The Red Sox have only a 22.6 percent strikeout rate, but a terrible .276 wOBA, 68 wRC+ and .102 ISO off righties.
Top Targets
Colorado's Michael Lorenzen is allowing a massive .524 wOBA and 1.223 OPS to lefties. Juan Soto ($4,000) has just one hit in two games since returning, but seems poised for a big nigh Friday.
Nothing suggests a vintage Max Scherzer performance is pending, he's allowed 13 runs in 16.1 frames and currently sits north of 2.0 HR/9 for the second straight season. Jose Ramirez ($3,900) is just 2-for-11 off him, but is hitting .311 with five homers in his last 14 days and seems like a stable lineup builder.
We know the Angels have incredible splits against lefties, but the last time I went to that stack they let us down. Set and forget Mike Trout ($4,100) and his .467 wOBA and .421 ISO and move on.
Bargain Bats
I can't see stacking Nationals - White Sox here, but the game has a 9.0 run total and two pretty bad pitchers in Miles Mikolas and Erick Fedde (likely bulk relief). Mikolas has allowed six homers in 19.2 innings and is targetable from both sides of the plate. Colson Montgomery ($3,100) feels like the right blend of power and price. I like Daylen Lile ($2,900) as a one-off Nats pick. He hits low enough in the order to not likely face the lefty opener and has five hits in his last four.
Michael Harris ($2,900) is scortching, hitting .565 with four homers over the last seven games, but he's uncertain to play after an early exit Thursday. Andrew Painter is also allowing a .394 wOBA to righties as opposed to a .292 to lefties. Atlanta is getting production from all over so it's not an ideal stacking spot. Still, Ronald Acuna ($3,000) and Austin Riley ($2,900) are priced too low for the favorable matchup.
Carson Benge ($2,600) or Brett Baty ($2,500) are cheap lefties to target against Lorenzen.
Jake Burger ($3,000) has owned Luis Severino, going 7-for-19 (.368) with four homers.
Stacks to Consider
Orioles vs. Brayan Bello (Red Sox): Gunnar Henderson ($3,600), Pete Alonso ($2,900), Samuel Basallo ($2,700)
Bello's been worse at home, but the 5.56 road ERA, 5.00 xFIP and pathetic 3.2 K/9 won't scare us off Baltimore here. Bello has been hit harder by lefties at home and righties on the road, which doesn't offer a ton of confident targets, or it opens up the entire lineup. We're absolutely going to have to see the lineup card before confirming the stack. Henderson makes ample sense as a safe piece, while Alonso looks to be warming up and priced too low. Basallo offers a second power option for cheap to target the .426 wOBA overall Bellow is allowing to opposite-handed bats.
Yankees vs. Lance McCullers (Astros): Ben Rice ($4,500), Cody Bellinger ($3,400), Jazz Chisholm ($2,700)
Rice's price will make this stack challenging to fit in, and I've made a concession on lineup order here to use a cheaper option in Chizholm. McCullers doesn't have immediately targetable splits to lefties, and there's no BvP history here; we're simply targeting an arm that is capable of imploding in any given inning. Rice has a ridiculous .494 wOBA, 220 wRC+ and .412 ISO. Bellinger sits at .408/162/.179, so less power potential. Chizholm has power/speed upside and while he's yet to get going this season, he has four hits in three days, including his first homer last time out. It's a likely non-traditional 2-4-6 lineup stack that can all benefit from the other power options throughout the Yankees lineup.
