After a pair of early games on Friday, there are 13 Major League Baseball games on the featured slate on DraftKings, which gets underway at 7:05 p.m. ET. Five of the 13 games are divisional matchups, including one at Coors Field, and six of the games are interleague contests, including the latest contest in the Show Me Series.
As always when playing DFS fantasy baseball, be sure to monitor any updates leading up to the first pitch. You can monitor all the latest injury, weather and lineup news by installing the DK Live app and following DraftKings Network on X (@DKNetwork). I’m also on X (@ZT_Sports), where you can keep up with all my picks as the regular season races play out and we get geared up for what should be an outstanding postseason.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $222K Relay Throw [$50K to 1st]
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PITCHER
Stud
Blake Snell, San Diego Padres at Arizona Diamondbacks ($10,600) – Snell has been outstanding over the past several months. In his past 14 starts, he went 7-2 with a 1.04 ERA, 2.61 FIP and 1.15 WHIP. Snell has been a strikeout machine with 116 strikeouts in 79 innings over those 14 starts and has averaged 26.0 DKFP per start.
He pitched well enough to help his team beat the Dodgers and Rangers in his two most recent outings, and he’ll be in for another tough matchup against the Diamondbacks. However, it does help that he’s a lefty since Arizona’s lineup is overstocked with left-handed hitters. Snell has pitched very well on the road this season with a slightly lower WHIP and ERA than at home. He has struggled a little bit with his walk rate over his past few outings, but if he can improve his efficiency he brings a very high ceiling due to his strikeout potential in the desert.
Other Options – Corbin Burnes ($11,200), Justin Verlander ($9,400)
Value
Joan Adon, Washington Nationals vs. Oakland Athletics ($6,600) – The Athletics have been one of the best matchups to attack with opposing starting pitchers all season. They have scored the fewest runs of any team in the majors by almost 50 runs and have an MLB-low .291 team wOBA. Whoever faces them has a high floor since they don’t score many runs but also has a high ceiling since they rank fifth in the majors in K%.
Adon comes into this great matchup after looking sharp in his first start of the season last Saturday against the Cincinnati Reds. He earned 23.7 DKFP in six strong innings with seven strikeouts, no walks and three runs allowed. All three of those runs came in his last inning after he started the game by recording 17 straight outs. Adon had 80 strikeouts in 87 2⁄3 innings at Triple-A this season and went 2-2 with a 3.40 ERA and 4.90 FIP over his past eight games with the Rochester Red Wings. The 24-year-old earned a second turn in the rotation with that outing against the Reds and will look to take advantage of this matchup with the A’s to return great value and continue to establish himself as a Major League-ready option.
Other Options – Kyle Gibson ($7,700), Christopher Sanchez ($7,200)
INFIELD
Stud
Freddie Freeman, Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Colorado Rockies ($6,200) – Freeman has hit safely in 17 of his past 19 games and gone 36-for-77 (.468) in those 19 contests with 23 runs scored, 17 RBI, nine doubles, seven home runs and a .558 wOBA. He produced double-digit DKFP in 14 of those contests and averaged 15.2 DKFP per game. Freeman should be set up to stay hot as the Dodgers roll into Coors Field for the weekend. He went 1-for-2 with two walks and 9.0 DKFP in the series opener on Thursday and will face lefty Austin Gomber ($5,700) on Friday. While it is a lefty-vs-lefty matchup, Gomber has actually been hit well by left-handed hitters, allowing a .368 batting average and .459 wOBA to lefties this season. Freeman also has strong numbers in his splits vs. left-handed pitchers with a .355 batting average and .474 wOBA. At first glance, it looks like you might have to avoid Freeman due to the matchup, but a deeper look shows he’s still an exceptional play and should continue to smash in this spot.
Stud
Jose Altuve, Houston Astros vs. Los Angeles Angels ($5,400) – Altuve has also been heating up over the past few weeks and has been in peak form during his current 12-game hitting streak. He went 21-for-50 (.420) in those 12 games with three doubles, three home runs, a .490 wOBA and six stolen bases. He averaged 15.1 DKFP over those 12 games and posted over 20 DKFP with multiple hits in each of his two most recent contests. On Friday, he’ll face lefty Reid Detmers ($8,400), who he has gone 3-for-10 with a home run against in the past. He and Freeman are both elite run-production plays at the top of lineups that should continue to score plenty of runs in their push to the playoffs.
Other Options – Ha-Seong Kim ($5,000), Jeimer Candelario ($4,400), C.J. Abrams ($4,400)
Value
Mike Moustakas, Los Angeles Angels at Houston Astros ($3,300) – Moustakas struggled with the Rockies at the start of the season and battled multiple injuries, but the veteran has found some pop in his bat since being traded to the Angels. The Moose hit .350 (21-for-60) over his 15 most recent games with six doubles, two home runs and a .382 wOBA. He averaged 8.9 DKFP per game over that span and can be a solid option at either 1B or 3B if you need to save some salary but still are searching for a middle-of-the-order bat with upside.
Value
Pablo Reyes, Boston Red Sox vs. Detroit Tigers ($2,600) – Reyes is a Chaim Bloom special that the Red Sox acquired in May, and he has been the middle infielder the team opted to keep while moving on from Christian Arroyo and Yu Chang in the past couple of weeks. Reyes is very strong in his splits vs. left-handed pitchers and hit leadoff on Thursday against a lefty while Jarren Duran ($4,500) dropped to seventh. Since the Red Sox face another lefty in Tyler Skubal ($7,500), Reyes could be in the leadoff spot again on Friday. He went 2-for-4 with a double and 10 DKFP on Thursday and has posted a .330 batting average with a home run and two stolen bases in his 36 games this year. He has gone 12-for-26 (.462) against lefties with four doubles and a .463 wOBA. If he is leading off against Skubal, he’s a cheap way to fill either middle infield spot and still have a good shot at strong production.
Other Options – Christian Encarnacion-Strand ($3,600), Michael Massey ($3,000), Brendan Rodgers ($2,500)
OUTFIELD
Stud
Mookie Betts, Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Colorado Rockies ($6,500) – Betts is another great play from the Dodgers and makes a great stack with Freeman if you can find a way to afford their hefty salaries. Betts went 19-for-60 (.317) over his past 15 games with 10 extra-base hits including four homers and an average of 11.5 DKFP per game. He also added a stolen base and scored 16 runs in those 15 games as he continues to lead off for the Dodgers. Eleven of Mookie’s 31 homers have come against left-handed pitchers like Gomber, and he has a .436 wOBA in the split.
Nick Castellanos, Philadelphia Phillies vs. Minnesota Twins ($4,800) – Castellanos has been a streaky performer throughout his career and is catching fire right now for the Phillies. During his current 11-game hitting streak, he has gone 14-for-48 (.292) and six of those hits have been home runs to give him 20 long balls on the season. Castellanos has been especially effective against lefties all year with a .312 batting average and .381 wOBA. He also has done most of his damage at home, where he has a .270 ISO and .393wOBA. In this home matchup against Dallas Keuchel ($5,200), Castellanos brings a high ceiling for a player under $5K.
Other Options – Julio Rodriguez ($5,500), Cody Bellinger ($5,300), George Springer ($5,000)
Value
MJ Melendez, Kansas City Royals vs. St. Louis Cardinals ($3,300) – Melendez has four homers in his past five games and has hit safely in six straight starts. He went 9-for-23 (.391) over those six games with those four homers and a .586 wOBA. Melendez and the Royals come home to host the Cardinals in an in-state matchup, and they’ll open the series in a favorable matchup against Adam Wainwright ($5,500), who has given up seven homers and a .483 wOBA this season to lefties like Melendez.
Value
Lawrence Butler, Oakland Athletics vs. Washington Nationals ($2,000) – Butler is expected to make his MLB debut on Friday against Adon, and he’ll likely be one of several prospects the A’s give significant playing time the rest of the season. Butler was just ranked the No. 5 prospect in the system by MLB Pipeline and brings an intriguing fantasy blend of power and speed. Butler started the year at Double-A and hit .285 with 13 stolen bases and 10 home runs in 67 games. He has played 22 games since being promoted to Triple-A, with eight stolen bases, five home runs and a .280 batting average. The lefty had a wOBA over .360 at each stop and has been rising as a prospect since breaking through in the Arizona Fall League last year. At the minimum salary, he is a great way to build around big bats but still keep a high ceiling due to his high ceiling.
Other Options – Ian Happ ($3,800), Jordan Walker ($3,000), Johan Rojas ($2,500)
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $222K Relay Throw [$50K to 1st]
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is z.thompson) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skills and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.
