On Friday night, Major League Baseball starts off the weekend with a massive 12-game slate that begins at 7:05 p.m. ET. Some of the highlights on the slate at the Yankees at Coors Field, five divisional matchups and Philadelphia visiting the Athletics. Lots of strong pay-up plays are on the board who bring lots of upside, but you may need to balance their salaries out with some cheaper plays. To help you find the top affordable options, I’ve spotlighted my top three MLB DFS Bargain Plays for Friday, 5/23/25 in this post.
As always for MLB DFS, be sure to double-check weather conditions and lineups before game time. Rain is in the forecast for Pittsburgh, New York, Boston, and possibly St. Louis. It’s also always important to check back once lineups are released to be sure that the value plays are starting and in good lineup spots.
As you make out your lineup card for this Monday night, be sure to check out the full range of MLB coverage from the team at DKNetwork, since these bargain values are just one piece of the MLB DFS picture to consider.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $200K Hidden Ball Trick [$50K to 1st]
SP Jackson Jobe, Detroit Tigers vs. Cleveland Guardians, $7,400
Jobe has been impressive in his last two starts for the Tigers, as the 22-year-old righty settles into a good groove at the major league level. He got back-to-back wins against the Red Sox and Blue Jays, picking up double-digit whiffs in each outing, resulting in seven strikeouts and five strikeouts in those two games. He went 5 2/3 innings against Boston and earned 23.4 fantasy points. Jobe followed that up with six innings against Toronto for 18.7 fantasy points.
The top prospect has electric stuff and is figuring out how to effectively use it, although walks have still been an issue. His strikeout potential still gives him a high enough ceiling to make him a good play on Friday night, though, pitching at the spacious Comerica Park.
The Guardians scored seven runs and took the first game of the series for their second straight win. Before that, though, they had dropped five straight. Over the last two weeks, the Guardians rank in the lower third of the league in runs scored, ISO, and wOBA while hitting only .219 as a team. They are a slightly better-than-average matchup for Jobe as he looks to continue to build on his recent success.
SS Chase Meidroth, Chicago White Sox vs. Texas Rangers, $3,200
Meidroth has been very productive for MLB DFS from the leadoff spot for the White Sox since returning from injury. He doesn’t have huge power upside, but he makes consistent contact and does enough to be a solid value option at shortstop that can complement your big bats with his high floor. He’s also gotten much more aggressive on the base paths lately, further boosting his upside.
Meidroth comes into the weekend series against the visiting Rangers riding a nine-game hitting streak. He averaged 11.9 fantasy points per game over that nine-game stretch, going 15-for-36 (.417) with three doubles, a home run, and five stolen bases in those nine games. The White Sox lineup as a whole against Tyler Mahle ($9,600) and the Rangers isn’t in a great spot, but Meidroth has enough upside to be an individual play that saves salary while still bringing potential.
3B Addison Barger, Toronto Blue Jays, $2,900
My colleague, Garion Thorne, and I have been on Barger a lot over the last week. His power upside is hard to pass up under $3,000. He’s hitting .267 on the season with two homers and a .335 wOBA, but those numbers don’t tell the whole story. The 25-year-old righty has a 58.2% hard-hit rate, 13.4% barrel rate, and an average exit velocity of 95.2 miles per hour. If he had enough at-bats to qualify, that average exit velo would rank fourth in the majors behind only Shohei Ohtani, Oneil Cruz, and Aaron Judge. His hard-hit rate would also rank in the top 10.
Barger’s bashing is starting to result in fantasy production as well. He’s averaging 9.75 fantasy points per game over his last 12 games. During that stretch, he is 16-for-45 (.356) with six doubles, two homers, eight RBI, and a .437 wOBA. He has a remarkable 70.6% hard-hit rate during that span and continues to tee off and make great contact. Even his outs are loud outs, giving him the potential to go off for a big game as he and the Jays take on Drew Rasmussen ($8,300) at hitter-friendly George M. Steinbrenner Field.
