Major League Baseball has a massive 13-game slate on Friday night that includes all but four of the teams in the league, giving fantasy managers plenty of options when filling out Friday’s lineup card. The slate is stacked with plenty of star power both on the mound and at the plate, but if you go with multiple big names, you may have to find some bargains to balance out your salary cap space. In this post, I’ll highlight my top three bargain plays for Friday night, who come extremely cheap but still have great upside.
As always, be sure to double-check weather conditions and lineups before the first pitch. The forecast looks relatively cooperative at this point, but the summer heat can make the chances of rain fluctuate throughout the day. Tampa’s the main place to watch for an untimely shower that could disrupt things. When playing values, it’s also especially important to check starting lineups to ensure your players are getting the start and hitting in good spots in the batting order.
Check out the full range of MLB coverage from the team at DKNetwork, since these bargains 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 Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Washington Nationals, $7,200
The three-time NL Cy Young winner and 10-time All-Star has been very solid in his six starts this season. He is 2-0 with a 3.25 ERA, 3.64 FIP and 1.30 WHIP in 27 2/3 innings. He picked up his two wins in his last two starts, allowing just one run across 12 innings with 12 strikeouts and just one walk. He earned 23.7 fantasy points on the road against the Cardinals and 27.4 fantasy points at home against the Giants in those two outings.
Even though he isn’t racking up strikeouts at the same rate as he was earlier in his career, the 37-year-old is still effective enough to be a great bargain option as he starts at home against the Nats. He has a great lineup behind him and has historically been excellent when pitching at home.
Washington’s offense has been slightly below league average this season. The Nats have scored the fifth-fewest runs in the majors over the last two weeks, averaging just 2.9 runs per game with a .285 wOBA that is the third-lowest in the majors over that span. Kershaw will duel another power-lefty in MacKenzie Gore ($9,800) in one of the most interesting matchups on the board, but I think he’ll end up being a strong value play at his salary based on how good he’s looked since working his way back from his latest injuries.
1B/OF Spencer Steer, Cincinnati Reds at St. Louis Cardinals, $3,000
Steer and the Reds are in St. Louis for an NL Central matchup this weekend, and they’ll start by taking on Andre Pallante ($6,600). Pallante started the season strong but has allowed 20 runs in 26 innings over his last five starts with a 6.23 ERA, 4.14 FIP and 41.2% hard-hit rate against. Righties like Steer have hit .298 against Pallante with a .375 wOBA and six home runs.
Steer has played 67 games for the Reds this year and has had several hot and cold streaks. Overall, he’s hitting only .230 with six homers and a .286 wOBA, but he has been in a good groove lately with 14 hits in his 15 games since June 1 while hitting .264 (14-for-53) with three doubles, two homers, a 36.1% hard-hit rate, and a .315 wOBA.
On Thursday, Steer picked up two hits for a second straight game and had 10 fantasy points in the Reds’ loss to the Twins. He has at least seven fantasy points in four of his last five games, and he can slide into your lineup at either 1B or one of your outfield spots, depending on the rest of your roster options.
2B/3B Brooks Lee, Minnesota Twins vs. Milwaukee Brewers, $2,700
Lee went 1-for-5 with a double, a walk and nine fantasy points against Steer and the Reds on Thursday night, and on Friday, he and the Twins are home to host the Brewers for the weekend. The switch-hitting infielder has also found a nice rhythm after a slower start. He has hit safely in each of his last 18 games with a plate appearance, going 24-for-71 (.338) with three doubles, three homers, 11 RBI, one stolen base, and a 41.2% hard-hit rate. He has at least one hard-hit batted ball event in 11 of his last 12 games with an at-bat, and he continues to make solid contact on a regular basis from the bottom third of the order.
On the season, Lee has been better at home than on the road and better against righties than lefties. He’ll be on the strong side of both of those splits against impressive rookie Jacob Misiorowski ($9,000) on Friday. Lee doesn’t have quite the power upside of Steer, but he consistently hits for average and brings a high floor along with a decent ceiling to this matchup on Friday night against the Brew Crew. He also has good positional flexibility and can fit at either 2B or 3B in your roster builds.
