It’s Friday — Friday. You got to get down on Friday.
You also need to read this article about my top three MLB DFS picks for Friday’s 12-game featured slate on DraftKings. Rebecca Black didn’t mention that part in the song, but it still counts.
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: MLB $200K Hidden Ball Trick [$50K to 1st]
SP Max Meyer, Miami Marlins at Chicago White Sox, $10,200
I have a feeling that Meyer is going to get overlooked on this slate.
Not only is this a shocking sticker price for a man with a career 5.12 ERA, but Meyer has struggled in his last two outings, surrendering five earned runs in each start. Add in the fact that Hunter Brown ($11,000) is only $800 more expensive, and it feels like the factors are stacked against Meyer this evening.
However, we’re still talking about a pitcher that is less than three weeks removed from a 14-strikeout, 42.5 FPTS performance against the Reds. Meyer didn’t strikeout a single opponent in his last appearance, yet his 28.1% strikeout rate remains elite. That contest was against the Athletics, who sport the league’s fourth-lowest strikeout rate (19.5%). On Friday, Meyer and the Marlins will square-off with the White Sox, who possess MLB’s fourth-highest strikeout rate (23.6%) and the American League’s lowest wRC+ (76). Needless to say, this is a completely different animal. At what should be a low ownership, I’ll take my chances with Meyer’s lofty upside.
OF Fernando Tatis Jr., San Diego Padres at Colorado Rockies, $6,500
He’s so, so expensive, yet I’ll be unable to avoid getting Tatis into a few lineups on Friday. Through 152 plate appearances in 2025, Tatis is slashing .319/.388/.548 with eight home runs, eight stolen bases and a 163 wRC+ that ranks ninth among qualified hitters. He’s also in possession of 96th percentile marks in both expected wOBA (.420) and expected slugging percentage (.601). In layman’s terms: He’s very good.
Still, this isn’t really about Tatis. It’s about Antonio Senzatela ($5,000) and Coors Field. Senzatela might just be the worst current starter that’s taking the mound every fifth day, as evidenced by a ghastly 7.01 xERA. RHBs have been particularly destructive against the Rockies’ RHP in 2025, clubbing an absurd 4.11 home runs per nine with a .477 wOBA. Somehow, in 15 career at-bats, Tatis only has one extra-base hit off Senzatela. That changes tonight.
2B Jackson Holliday, Baltimore Orioles at Los Angeles Angels, $3,600
I have no idea how the only pitcher that has stopped the red-hot Tigers in the past two weeks was Kyle Hendricks ($5,800), but whatever witchcraft the veteran RHP used last weekend has surely run dry. Hendricks is doing his usual thing so far in 2025, eating innings and pitching to a 5.28 ERA and a 5.55 FIP. The 35-year-old comes into Friday’s action with a third percentile strikeout rate (12.9%) and a fourth percentile whiff rate (16.7%). In other words, the Orioles are going to be drowning in batted ball events at Angel Stadium.
Meanwhile, let’s sing the praises of Holliday a little bit. It’s been lost in Baltimore’s hellish start to 2025, but the former No. 1 prospect in baseball has been solid in his sophomore campaign — especially against RHPs. In 88 plate appearances in the split this season, Holliday is slashing .272/.330/.457 with a 127 wRC+. He’s too cheap for his talent level and this matchup.
