Weather permitting, there are 10 games on the slate for MLB DFS purposes on Friday. However, the little weather icons on the 10 matchups in question indicate we might be in the clear Friday night. First pitch is at 7:05 p.m. ET. And now, onto my Friday MLB DFS recommendations!
Pitching
Joe Ryan, MIN vs. CIN ($8,700): Ryan has made four starts, and only one has gone poorly. He has a 2.82 FIP to pair with his 3.80 ERA, and his 3.67 K/BB rate is actually low for him. Elly De La Cruz and Sal Stewart are off to strong starts to the season, so it is a little surprising that the Reds have struggled offensively on the whole. After getting shut out Thursday they remain in the bottom five in runs scored.
Cam Schlittler, NYY vs. KAN ($8,500): On the flip side, the Royals did their level best Thursday to try and get out of the bottom five in runs scored. That's where they finished last season, however. Schlittler has gotten a lot of hype building off of last season, and it feels justified. Look, neither his 0.52 FIP nor his 30.00 K/BB rate are the least bit sustainable in the long run, but clearly the guy has been locked in to kick off 2026.
Aaron Civale, ATH vs. CWS ($7,400): Civale has a 1.72 ERA, but he has also yet to pitch at the Athletics' transitional home in Sacramento. That ballpark played well for hitters in 2025. However, at this salary, I'm willing to see what Civale might do in this matchup. It's early, but I'd say the returns thus far indicate the White Sox are a strong contender for worst offense in MLB.
Top Targets
It's still April and I have already indulged in a fair amount of, "Yordan Alvarez ($6,300), the one viable lefty on the Astros, is the guy for me." However, it's also worked out rather well. He's got a .483 OBP and 13 extra-base hits. Kyle Leahy has moved from the bullpen to be a starter for the first time, and I think all I have to say is that lefties have hit .394 against him thus far, but I will also throw in that he has a 5.14 ERA.
In terms of Diamondbacks getting on track, Ketel Marte ($5,100) has hit three home runs in his last five games. The switch-hitting second baseman posted an .887 OPS over the three seasons prior to this one, so I think everything will turn out just fine. I don't think everything will turn out fine for the lefty Eric Lauer. He has a 7.82 ERA through three starts, a reminder that in 2023 he posted a 6.56 ERA. Yes, that was a few years ago, but it is recent enough to be considered precedent to some degree.
Bargain Bats
People felt better about Gleyber Torres ($3,900) last season because he had an .897 OPS against lefties…and because he was away from the scrutiny of being a Yankee. After all, in 2024 he had an .811 OPS versus lefties. It's reasonable to wonder a bit about newly minted Boston pitcher Ranger Suarez. He has a 5.02 ERA through three starts, including a 9.00 ERA at home after one start at Fenway. Even last year, a fine season in many ways, saw Suarez allow righties to hit .265 against him.
As I noted earlier, the Athletics are at home this weekend in their hitter-friendly (temporary) ballpark. Last season Jacob Wilson ($3,800) had an .875 OPS there. He hasn't been as good to start this season, but over his last two games he has notched his first homer and his first stolen base. As long as his salary is down in this range, as a shortstop I like him at home in a good matchup. Davis Martin has a 2.50 ERA through three starts, but that's because he didn't allow an earned run at home to the Blue Jays. He has a career 4.20 ERA, so I imagine that number is going to climb.
Stacks to Consider
Dodgers at Rockies (Tomoyuki Sugano): Freddie Freeman ($5,500), Andy Pages ($5,200), Max Muncy ($5,000)
It's the Dodgers at Coors Field. Don't buy into Sugano's 2.16 ERA at all. He has a 5.37 FIP right in line with his 5.35 FIP in his first MLB season. His HR/9 rate is all the way up to 2.16, and he's only pitched at home once. In the long run, this is going to be rough for Sugano.
In his age-36 season, Freeman still knows how to handle himself in the batter's box. He's hit .270 with three homers and six doubles, and he's had at least 35 doubles in each of the last four seasons. Coors is conducive to homers, which Freeman can hit, but it's just as conducive to doubles. Pages has come out of the gate on fire with a 1.148 OPS. As a rookie, he was decidedly better against lefties, but in 2025 he had a .472 slugging percentage against righties. Now, Pages was definitely better at home in 2025, but this is Coors Field. I'll let it slide. Muncy is also typically better at Dodger Stadium, but Coors Field is not your average ballpark. What's more relevant is Muncy is a lefty and Sugano is a righty. In each of the past two seasons Muncy has slugged more than .500 against right-handed pitchers.
Brewers at Marlins (Janson Junk): Brice Turang ($5,500), David Hamilton ($3,700), Garrett Mitchell ($3,500)
Even with Christian Yelich injured, there's an all-lefty stack to be found in Milwaukee. Plus, this is a stack with sufficient upside that will save you some salary. There's a reason why Junk is in his age-30 season and 2025 was his first year as a regular MLB starter. He has a 4.32 ERA through three starts this year, but he has a career 4.81 ERA. Junk's main problem is that he is effectively incapable of getting out lefties. Since 2024 they have hit .328 against him, including .394 this year. Hence, three Brewers southpaws.
Turang's power from last year seems to have stuck around. He has nine extra-base hits through 16 games, and he's also stolen six bases. Turang may not get back to 50 swiped bags, but he might get over 30 for the second time in his career. Hamilton has no power at all. However, he is eligible at third base and at shortstop, and he has a .375 OBP. He's picked up four stolen bases, and he once swiped 33 bags in 98 games with the Red Sox. Mitchell also has speed, and he's also getting on base at an impressive clip. He has a .423 OBP, and he has three doubles and three stolen bases. Last year in limited action he showed no power, but in 2024 he slugged .491 against righties.
Agree with these recommendations? Give them a spin with various combinations of other players in RotoWire's MLB DFS Lineup Optimizer.
