This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Baseball series.
Friday is shaping up to be busy across baseball with 17 games on the schedule. There will be 12 games that make up the main slate on Yahoo, which leaves us with plenty of options to consider. Here are some players who could be primed to take advantage of favorable matchups.
Pitchers
The Diamondbacks might have found their ace of the future in Zac Gallen ($38). He was impressive across 15 starts last season and has carried over that success into 2020, recording a 2.25 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP through six starts. Although his 3.71 FIP isn't as impressive, he's only allowed a 31.9 percent hard-hit rate while recording a 29.4 percent strikeout rate. Look for him to keep things rolling against the Giants, who he shut down in his last outing when he allowed one run and recorded six strikeouts over six innings.
It's usually not a bad idea to use pitchers against the Pirates. The have the worst OPS (.612) in baseball and are averaging only four runs per game. Looking to take advantage of this favorable matchup will be Corbin Burnes ($36), who actually also faced them in his last start. While he wasn't overly impressive, he did record seven strikeouts across 5.1 innings while allowing three runs. Add in his career 28.4 percent strikeout rate and Burnes could be set up for a productive evening.
Top Targets
Manny Machado ($25) might be the hottest hitter in baseball right now. He's currently on a nine-game hitting streak in which he has hit 19-for-36 (.528) with six home runs, four doubles and a triple. He only has three strikeouts during that stretch, as well. With left-hander Kyle Freeland ($34) on the mound for the Rockies at Coors Field, Machado is in a favorable position to extend his recent run of success given his career 126 wRC+ versus southpaws.
It's been a rough season for the Mariners in terms of wins and losses, but they have to be ecstatic about the play of Kyle Lewis ($21). He was a strikeout machine across his 18 games with the team last season, posting a 38.7 percent strikeout rate compared to just a four percent walk rate. However, he's approved in both areas this season with a 24.6 percent strikeout rate and a 14.5 percent walk rate. The end result has been a .424 wOBA. This could be a favorable spot to deploy him against Andrew Heaney ($37), who has a 1.36 WHIP across his first six starts.
Bargain Bats
It's been a rough season for Anthony Rizzo ($12), which is the reason why his salary is this low. His strikeout rate of 19 percent is high by his standards and he's batting only .216 after hitting at least .273 in each of the last six seasons. He has seen a bit of bad luck, though, since his .230 BABIP is 58 points below his career mark. This might the time to take a chance on him with Tyler Mahle ($32) starting for the Reds since Mahle has allowed a career .379 wOBA to left-handed hitters.
The Padres are probably going to be a popular team to stack for this slate since they are playing at Coors Field. With the lefty Freeland on the mound for the Rockies, expect Ty France ($13) to be in the lineup. He checks in at a much more reasonable salary than many of his teammates and has performed well this season based on his .351 wOBA and 123 wRC+. He does strike out a lot, but that might not be a problem against Freeland since he doesn't record many strikeouts.
Stacks to Consider
Nationals vs. Martin Perez, Red Sox: Juan Soto ($28), Trea Turner ($23), Howie Kendrick ($16)
With their game being postponed Thursday, the Red Sox will push Chris Mazza back to Saturday and start Perez as regularly scheduled Friday. While Perez has done a good job of limiting home runs, his 4.56 FIP and 11.7 percent walk rate don't exactly instill confidence. Kendrick stands out with a lefty on the mound given that he had a .400 wOBA against them last season.
Dodgers vs. Mike Minor ($29), Rangers: Mookie Betts ($27), Justin Turner ($18), A.J. Pollock ($18)
Minor hasn't been able to replicate his success from last season, posting a 6.75 ERA and a 5.30 FIP through six starts this year. One glaring difference has been his hard-hit rate allowed, which is 40.7 percent this season compared to 30.4 percent in 2019. This is a tough matchup for him to try and get back on track with how well the Dodgers have played. Turner should always be in play in DFS when a lefty is on the mound since he's recorded at least a .385 wOBA against them in each of the last three seasons.
White Sox vs. Danny Duffy ($30), Royals: Tim Anderson ($25), Jose Abreu ($24), Luis Robert ($18)
Duffy is running into a hot lineup here with the White Sox averaging seven runs over their last 10 games. Abreu has been one of the driving forces behind their production, hitting 19-for-40 with nine home runs and three doubles during that stretch. Anderson hasn't been far behind him, hitting 15-for-42 with four home runs, two doubles and three steals across those same 10 contests.
