This weekend starts with a fabulous Friday night of fantasy baseball, as Major League Baseball provides a monster slate of 13 games under the lights. The main contests lock at 7:05 p.m. ET and feature a robust 26-team player pool. There’s just one divisional game on the schedule for Friday night, but there are some more unusual matchups like the Cubs visiting Fenway Park and the Reds rolling into Texas. With no Coors Field on the slate, the highest over/under on DraftKings Sportsbook is shared between that Reds-Rangers matchup and the Dodgers-Blue Jays game in Toronto.
There are a lot of good players in good spots to attack this Friday night, but you may end up short on salary depending on which stars you choose. If you need to mix in a few bargain plays to stretch your cap space, check out these three bargain plays who should be able to return great value at low salaries.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $222K Relay Throw [$50K to 1st]
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SP Jose Butto, New York Mets vs. St. Louis Cardinals, $7,100
Butto has given the Mets’ rotation a nice boost since being called up from Triple-A. In three starts since joining the MLB roster, he allowed three runs on eight hits with 21 strikeouts in his 16 1⁄3 innings. The 26-year-old rookie looked absolutely dominant in his first two starts, earning 19.9 DKFP and 29.1 DKFP in strong outings at home against the Tigers and Royals, respectively. His best start of that stretch was a six-inning, two-hit gem against Kansas City, in which he posted a career-high nine strikeouts. Last time through the rotation, Butto only lasted 4 1⁄3 innings, but it was a tough matchup on the road against the Dodgers. He had to work around five walks but only allowed two runs while still getting six strikeouts. On Friday, Butto should be able to bounce back in a much better matchup against the Cardinals in his return to Citi Field. His 11.6 K/9 rate so far this season shows he has an extremely high ceiling, and his 1.04 WHIP shows that his good ERA hasn’t been fluky. Butto is a great option at just over $7,000 with the realistic possibility of returning 20+ DKFP as a solid SP2.
2B Curtis Mead, Tampa Bay Rays at Chicago White Sox, $2,600
The Rays have been patching together their infield a little bit with Brandon Lowe (oblique) and Jonathan Aranda (finger) sidelined. As a result, 23-year-old Australian Curtis Mead has been getting regular playing time. Mead has started eight straight games for the Rays and has shown good upside. He has a high ceiling coming into Friday’s matchup with White Sox starter Chris Flexen ($5,800), who has given up 14 runs in 19 2⁄3 innings this season. Mead has hit safely in five of his last six starts to raise his average for the season to .231 with a .267 wOBA. He stole a pair of bases and finished with 15 DKFP last Sunday against the Yankees and smashed his first homer of the season on Wednesday on his way to 16 DKFP. He has shown both power and speed potential throughout his rise to the majors and hit .294 with a .392 wOBA in Triple-A last season. In a matchup where the Rays should get plenty of runs, getting Mead at this low salary is a great way to store up salary to spend on stars in other spots of your lineup.
OF Pete Crow-Armstrong, Chicago Cubs at Boston Red Sox, $2,300
Like the Rays in the infield, the Cubs in the outfield have had multiple injuries in the early part of the season. As they roll into Boston for the weekend, they’ll be without Cody Bellinger (rib) and Seiya Suzuki (oblique) against Kutter Crawford ($8,300) on Friday night. The injuries did give the team a chance to call up top prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong, who was ranked as the No. 15 prospect in all of baseball coming into the season by MLB Pipeline. Crow-Armstrong had a 13-game cameo last season with the Cubs but went 0-for-14 with seven strikeouts. He started this season in the minors and hit .203 with a .276 WOBA in his 19 games before being called up and pressed into service. In his first at-bat of 2024, Crow-Armstrong delivered in a big way on Thursday afternoon. Not only did he get his first MLB hit, but that hit was also his first MLB home run, which proved to be the game-winner in Chicago’s 3-1 victory over Houston. Crow-Armstrong has shown good power potential in the minors and also has MLB-ready speed. He stole five bases in his 19 games at Triple-A and two bases in his limited action in the MLB last season. With both power and speed giving him good upside, he should be a good cheap play while filling in a regular role in the Cubs’ outfield for the next few weeks.
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 skill 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.
