Major League Baseball has a massive 12-game slate this Friday night to get the weekend off to a great start! With all but six teams in the player pool, there are plenty of options to build your MLB DFS lineup around whatever strategy you want to utilize. If you find yourself short on salary as you round out your roster, check out these salary-stretching options that come at a cheap salary but still bring a high ceiling. In this post, we’ll dive into the bargain bin and find three MLB DFS Bargain Plays for this Friday, 4/25/25.
One key factor to keep a close eye on leading up to game time is the weather. Especially at the start of most of these series, we could be in store for some cancellations this Friday that lead to doubleheaders later in the weekend. On the main slate, the weather in Cleveland is the biggest concern, but St. Louis and Denver could also have some issues depending on how the day plays out.
As you make out your lineup card for Friday’s contests, be sure to check out the full range of MLB DFS coverage from the team at DKNetwork, since bargain values are just one piece of the MLB DFS picture to consider.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $200K Rally Cap [$50K to 1st]
SP Matthew Liberatore, St. Louis Cardinals vs. Milwaukee Brewers, $7,500
As long as the weather stays clear, Liberatore is my favorite bargain pitching option on the MLB DFS slate this Friday. He and the Cardinals host their division rival Brewers, who just lost three of four in San Francisco. The Brewers aren’t an ideal matchup, but they have struggled against lefties like Liberatore at times in the early part of the season. Liberatore has faced the Phillies and Mets in his last two starts and had success, showing he can overcome the matchup.
He was outstanding in his last home start against the Phillies, throwing six shutout innings with seven strikeouts and just three hits allowed on his way to 29.1 fantasy points. For most of his last start, he was just as effective against the Mets, but he ran into trouble in one inning, giving up a pair of runs that resulted in a tough-luck loss. He still had six strikeouts and went a season-high 6 2/3 innings to earn 18.8 fantasy points.
In each of his four starts, Liberatore has earned at least 11 fantasy points, but his strong outings against the Mets and Phillies show he has a much higher ceiling on Friday night and is the strongest play under $8,000 in Friday’s starting pitching market.
3B/SS Brooks Lee, Minnesota Twins vs. Los Angeles Angels, $2,600
The Twins have started to get some reinforcements to their offense with Lee and Luke Keaschall ($3,500) now in the mix and Royce Lewis (hamstring) ready to start a rehab assignment. They’ll also get Pablo Lopez ($8,500) back from the injured list on Friday night to strengthen their rotation.
After I liked him as a preseason sleeper, Lee had to start the season on the injured list with a lumbar strain, but he collected multiple hits in each of his last two games and reached base safely in seven of his 11 plate appearances in the series against the White Sox, earning an average of 7.0 fantasy points per game.
Lee is a cheap option with dual eligibility this Friday as the Twins host Kyle Hendricks ($5,600) and the Angels. The 24-year-old switch-hitter had two hard hits and a barrel on Thursday’s loss to Chicago and seems to be finding his groove at the plate.
OF Drew Waters, Kansas City Royals vs. Houston Astros, $2,600
The Royals have been desperate to get any kind of offense from their outfield this season, and this week, Waters has stepped up and filled in the gap. After being called up from Triple-A two weeks ago, he got off to a slow start, going just 4-for-25 (.160) in his first eight games. He stepped up this week, though, going 7-for-15 (.467) in his last four games with three multi-hit games that earned him double-digit fantasy points.
He had a triple and a home run on Tuesday in the first game of the homestand against the Rockies and went 2-for-3 in the first game of Thursday’s doubleheader sweep. The 26-year-old switch-hitter hit .370 with two homers and three stolen bases in his seven games in Triple-A to start the season, so he does have upside in multiple categories if he continues to get opportunities for Kansas City. Despite his high strikeout rate in the MLB so far, Waters can be a good MLB DFS bargain play in the outfield this Friday.
