This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
A loaded 12-game slate awaits Friday evening's main slate at FanDuel, starting at 7:05 p.m. ET. All 24 arms appear confirmed, with only six "pay-up" options at $9,000 or greater. Eight of our starters are left-handed, so we should see some positive options for and against southpaws. Four games have a run expectancy of 9.0 or 9.5, lead by Yankees-Red Sox, while four sit at 7.5 or 7.0, low-lighted by Mariners-White Sox.
Weather looks calm throughout. There's seemingly no threat of rain and mostly single-digit winds across the diamond. Perhaps there can be a minor wind boost in Anaheim and San Francisco, though neither are overly hitter-friendly parks.
Pitching
Freddy Peralta, MIL vs. MIA ($9,900): There's nothing wrong with Sonny Gray against Washington, but for me, the pay-up choice is between Peralta and George Kirby, with Peralta winning out thanks to the reduced cost. Miami has the slate's lowest expected run total at 2.6 runs and the Brewers are massive favorites (-220). Peralta's game logs have been a bit of a roller coaster, which isn't ideal for cash lineups, but that's seemingly mitigated by the opponent. He faced Miami back in May and hurled seven innings of one-run ball, striking out seven, en route to 43 fantasy points. That should be the expectation Friday.
MacKenzie Gore, WSH at STL ($8,300): The betting odds aren't in our favor here as the Cardinals are favorites (-166) and have an expected run total of 4.7, seemingly in line with Gore's fading form. He's allowed 18 runs over his last five starts, spanning just 20.2 innings, so there's a clear risk. But St. Louis is just as bad against lefties, sitting with a weak .276 wOBA and 79 wRC+. The matchup suggests Gore can rediscover his early season success and match his adversary in Gray at a far cheaper cost. We'll need that as strikeout upside is unlikely.
Kyle Harrison, SF vs. COL ($7,900): This seems a toss-up between Harrison and Nestor Cortes for the low spot I'm willing to target on the bump. Cortes has solid results against Boston, and we know their left-handed lineup is targetable for a same-handed pitcher, coming with a 28.8 percent strikeout rate. But I find Harrison to have more stability in a pitcher-friendly park against a bad offense. Colorado comes with a 25.4 percent strikeout rate off lefties, with a .314 wOBA and 87 wRC+, both lower numbers than the Red Sox. He just faced Colorado, throwing five one-hit shutout frames in Coors Field. This current Rockies roster is hitting just .189 with a .540 OPS against him, though only a 19.6 percent K rate.
Top Targets
San Diego's Adam Mazur hasn't shown capable of getting big league hitters out, allowing 13 runs and 20 hits across his last 13.2 innings. He's also surrendering a .438 wOBA and 1.034 OPS to lefties. Building around Gunnar Henderson ($4,400) feels obvious as a result, but don't sleep on a surging Anthony Santander ($3,700), who is riding an 11-game hitting streak where he's homered five times.
Francisco Lindor ($4,100) is riding a 10-game hitting streak and has five homers in his last four games. He's just 7-for-47 off Braves starter Charlie Morton, a large enough sample to scare us, but he has homered twice.
Pirates starter Luis Ortiz doesn't have targetable splits, but his 2.57 ERA comes with a 4.28 xFIP, so regression is likely. Ketel Marte ($3,900) has homered in three straight and has six multi-hit games over his last eight.
Vladimir Guerrero ($3,600) has a seven-game hitting streak where he's amassed 12 hits and five homers. He's 3-for-4 off Rangers starter Andrew Heaney with a homer and boasts a team-best 139 wRC+ off lefties.
Bargain Bats
Oakland remains my favorite spot to look for bargains/overlooked options. Angels starter Carson Fulmer has been better at home and doesn't have targetable splits, but the A's are too hot to ignore. Lawrence Butler's ($3,400) price is climbing but it's not unreasonable given his form, with a ridiculous 18 hits in his last eight games. Max Schuemann ($2,900) gives us three-position eligibility and has 12 hits in his last eight, though less extra-base potential.
We'll want some shares of the Royal's offense against Kyle Hendricks. Bobby Witt is obvious but he's also expensive. Hendricks is allowing a .390 wOBA to lefties, so Vinnie Pasquantino ($3,100) fits into lineups more easily and has 10 hits in his last five games. Any of Michael Massey ($3,000), Kyle Isbel ($2,800) or Adam Frazier ($2,700) can also be considered, with the latter attractive if he leads off.
Oakland's Mitch Spence has faced the Angels three times this season, allowing 19 hits and nine runs across 16.0 innings. Los Angeles doesn't have a bat priced above Logan O'Hoppe ($3,000), who is 4-for-8 off Spence. This game has a 9.0 run total, so it makes sense to target both sides on the cheap end. Willie Calhoun ($2,500) is 3-for-9 with two doubles off Spence, while Jo Adell ($2,800) is 3-for-6.
As a random one-off, Boston's Rob Refsnyder ($2,800) is 6-for-13 with a 1.077 OPS off Cortes and figures to be the lone righty atop the Red Sox order.
Stacks to Consider
Rangers vs. Yusei Kikuchi (Blue Jays): Marcus Semien ($3,400), Josh Smith ($3,100), Wyatt Langford ($3,000)
This game comes with a reasonable 8.5 run total, Both teams are expected to flirt with 4+ runs, so I'm comfortable targeting the Rangers' successful options off lefties for a bit of a discount. Semien's .376 wOBA and 144 wRC+ are the lowest of this trio. Smith sits at .378/145 and Langford at .400/160 with a .271 ISO, giving us some power upside. Thanks to some recent lineup shifts, this likely gives us a 1-3-4 order stack at a reasonable price.
Mariners vs. Drew Thorpe (White Sox): Cal Raleigh ($2,900), Victor Robles ($2,600), Mitch Haniger ($2,500)
Thorpe enters Friday with a 3.03 ERA, but an unsustainable .164 BABIP and 5.18 xFIP, so regression seemingly is coming. The Mariners should flirt with five runs here and don't have a bat priced above Raleigh, so this stack is a bargain if the stars align, which we'll need given the Mariners' offensive struggles to date. Raleigh and Haniger give this trio some thump, while Robles looks rejuvenated in his new surroundings, collecting 11 hits over his last eight games while stealing six bases. It's a GPP, low-usage stack that comes with ample bust potential, but we've touched on the more obvious spots in this column above, so this can be how we differentiate.
