We’ve got a 12-game slate for Friday’s MLB action.
Let’s find some studs and values for your MLB DFS lineups on DraftKings. This article was written before lineups were announced.
Make your DraftKings MLB DFS picks here: MLB $125K Bat Flip [$25K to 1st]
PITCHER
Stud
Dylan Cease, Toronto Blue Jays vs. Seattle Mariners ($11,500) — The big bugaboo for Cease is the control, as the walk rate is 11.1%. Walks schmalks. The strikeout rate is a massive 36.1% and the FIP is 2.39 through 144.1 innings. Cease has allowed only nine home runs on the season with an average exit velocity of 86 mph and a barrel rate of 4.6%. He’s put up double-digit FPTS in all but one start with 16 over 20 FPTS, eight of those over 30 FPTS and a high of 50.8 FPTS. The floor/ceiling combo is one of the best in the game. Now he faces a Seattle team that is seventh in strikeouts, 24th in ISO, 28th in wOBA and 16th in wRC+.
Value
Quinn Mathews, St. Louis Cardinals vs. Pittsburgh Pirates ($5,700) — Mathews got obliterated in his last start, allowing seven earned runs on 10 hits in five innings, good for -3.4 FPTS. In his other two starts, he finished with 7.8 and 18 FPTS. He’s the opposite of sexy, but he’s thrown over 90 pitches in every start and been unlucky. The BABIP is .378, strand rate is 63.6% and the 3.66 FIP is much lower than the 6.43 ERA. The average exit velocity is 86.6 mph with a 2.2% barrel rate. Pittsburgh is first in strikeouts, 25th in ISO, 26th in wOBA and 27th in wRC+ against left-handed pitching. The price is too nice.
INFIELD
Stud
Drake Baldwin, Atlanta Braves vs. Colorado Rockies ($4,800) — Baldwin has an average exit velocity of 91.8 mph with a 13% barrel rate and 75.3 mph bat speed. He’s often been batting leadoff and, against right-handed pitching, the ISO is .191 with a 138 wRC+. 14 of the 21 home runs have come off a righty. Now he gets to face Tomoyuki Sugano, who is allowing a 13% barrel rate and 6.55 FIP with a 6.3 K-BB% against lefties. 19 home runs have been served up to lefties. The Rockies also have a poor bullpen.
Value
Drew Romo, Chicago White Sox at Minnesota Twins ($2,200) — Over the last nine games, Romo has produced fantasy goodies in all but one contest, with two of those in double-digits. In 189 plate appearances, he has seven home runs, 17 runs, 16 RBI and a stolen base. He’s only batting .144, but the BABIP is only .147. Against right-handed pitching, six of the seven home runs have been hit. Dean Kremer has a 5.55 FIP and 12.1 K-BB% against lefties, which is 10.3% lower than against righties. Eight home runs have been served up to lefties.
OUTFIELD
Stud
Michael Harris II, Atlanta Braves vs. Colorado Rockies ($4,300) — Yup, we stacking against Sugano and the Rockies bullpen. Harris has 21 home runs, 62 runs, 72 RBI and eight stolen bases in 509 plate appearances. The strikeout rate is only 19.4% , average exit velocity is 90.5 mph, barrel rate is 10.8% and the bat speed is 75 mph. Against right-handed pitching, the ISO is .197 with a 124 wRC+. 13 of the 21 home runs have come off a righty.
Value
Brett Baty, New York Mets vs. Houston Astros ($2,500) — Over the last 10 games, Baty has produced at least 5 FPTS in seven of those contests with three in double-digits and a high of 22 FPTS. He only has eight home runs, 45 runs, 40 RBI and five stolen bases in 403 plate appearances with a 27.3% strikeout rate, .117 ISO and .223 batting average. That said, the average exit velocity is 90 mph, barrel rate is 9.1% and the bat speed is a healthy 75.1 mph. Against right-handed pitching, all eight home runs have been hit. Hunter Brown averages 96.2 mph on the fastball and possesses a 24.1% strikeout rate, but the walk rate is 13.7% and the 4.68 FIP is much higher than the 3.51 ERA. Against lefties, the FIP is 5.35 with a 9 K-BB%.
