Friday night features a fantastic 13-game fantasy baseball slate on DraftKings, which gets underway at 7:05 p.m. ET. There are some weather issues to keep an eye on in several of the East Coast games and some fun regional rivalries in the Midwest as the White Sox host the Cubs and the Royals welcome in the Cardinals. Coors Field is in play out West, where the Braves visit the Rockies, who continue their homestand against the NL East.
With all but four MLB teams in the player pool, there are multiple strategies to consider as you assemble your roster for Friday night. If you need to save some salary to make your strategy work, check out these three options which are very affordable but still bring good upside based on form, matchup and expected opportunity.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $250K Rally Cap [$50K to 1st]
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SP Edward Cabrera, Miami Marlins vs. San Diego Padres, $6,600
Cabrera has had his ups and downs this season, but he brings a great upside against the Padres and comes under $7,000. The 26-year-old righty has a scary 5.96 ERA and 5.14 FIP in his 11 starts this season, but he has found his footing in his last few outings and has continued to offer a high ceiling due to his great strikeout rate. During the season, he has posted a 11.9 K/92 rate with 64 strikeouts in 48 1/3 innings and has at least six strikeouts in each of his last three outings.
In his last four starts, Cabrera has an impressive 2.70 ERA and 4.38 FIP with 22 strikeouts in 20 innings. He earned a season-high 28.3 fantasy points in his most recent outing, allowing only three hits in five shutout innings with eight strikeouts against the Braves. The Padres are a tough matchup and usually don’t strike out much, but Cabrera will get to face them at pitcher-friendly LoanDepot Park, where he has better splits this season. Despite his inconsistency, Cabrera has shown enough upside to be a good play at this price on Friday.
OF Garrett Mitchell, Milwaukee Brewers vs. Cincinnati Reds, $2,800
The Brewers are bashing right now after sweeping the Braves in Atlanta by scoring 34 runs in a three-game set. They’ll come home to face the Reds this weekend as they look to further establish themselves atop the NL Central. Mitchell is a great way to get some exposure to their lineup for under $3,000 and just batted third in the order against the two right-handed pitchers in Atlanta.
The 25-year-old lefty has been limited to just 27 games this year after a fractured finger kept him on the shelf for most of the first half. He has been picking things up lately, with a .387 batting average over his last 11 games, including three doubles, a home run and a 50% hard-hit rate that has led to a .447 wOBA over that span. He and the Brewers will look to stay hot against Reds SP Carson Spiers ($6,900), who has given up a .357 wOBA to left-handed hitters this season.
1B/3B Jonah Bride, Miami Marlins vs. San Diego Padres, $2,600
The Marlins lineup has some great value to offer in addition to Cabrera this Friday night, including Bride, who has looked strong since being called up after the Marlins’ Trade Deadline sell-off. Bride is hitting .268 with three homers, 13 RBI and a .337 wOBA in his time in the MLB after hitting .267 with 11 homers and a .391 wOBA in Triple-A for the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp.
Bride and the Marlins have a good matchup against Padres lefty Martin Perez ($6,200), and Bride has gone 11-for-36 (.306) in his last 10 games with three homers, a .429 wOBA and an average of 9.6 fantasy points per game. He usually hits in the middle of the order against Southpaws and is a solid play under $3,000 at either corner infield spot.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $250K Rally Cap [$50K to 1st]
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is z.thompson) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.
