With just two weekends left in the MLB regular season, teams are within 10 games of the finish line of the 162-game marathon season. This final stretch still leaves plenty to be decided in the playoff race and individual awards. On Friday night, DraftKings has an excellent 11-game featured slate that starts at 7:05 p.m. ET to get the busy weekend of baseball action underway. The matchups include four divisional games and important contests for the AL East, West and Wild Card and the fascinating NL Wild Card scramble.
As always when playing DFS fantasy baseball, you’ll want to keep up with the latest news about lineups, injuries, and weather issues. Be sure to install the DK Live app and follow DraftKings Network on X (@DKNetwork). I’m also on X (@ZT_Sports), where you can keep up with all my picks as the regular season races play out and we get geared up for what should be an outstanding postseason.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $200K Relay Throw [$50K to 1st]
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PITCHER
Stud
Framber Valdez, Houston Astros vs. Kansas City Royals ($10,200) – Valdes faces the Royals for a second straight start after a strong outing in Kansas City Sunday afternoon. He picked up his 12th win of the season in that start with seven innings, five strikeouts and just one unearned run on his way to 26.2 DKFP. Valdez has gone at least seven innings in four of his five most recent starts and produced at least 19.8 DKFP in each of those five outings.
On the season, Valdez has a 3.20 ERA, 3.47 FIP and 8.73 K/9 rate. He has been efficient and effective and while eating an impressive 188 2⁄3 innings in his 29 starts. While his strikeout rate isn’t elite, he has been consistently effective enough to still be a great play in this favorable matchup against the Royals, who have hit just .248 with a .306 team wOBA against lefties this season. Valdez has also been much more effective at home than on the road, so this should be another good tune-up for him. His Astros definitely have something to play for since they enter the weekend with just a half-game lead over the Rangers and Mariners for the AL West division lead.
Other Options – Pablo Lopez ($10,700), Chris Sale ($9,200)
Value
Sawyer Gipson-Long, Detroit Tigers at Oakland Athletics ($7,700) – Acquired from the Twins in the Michael Fulmer trade last season, Gipson-Long has shot through the Tigers’ minor league system and looked outstanding in his two MLB starts coming to the wire. The 25-year-old righty brings a great strikeout ceiling and gets an awesome matchup against the Athletics. In his eight games in Triple-A, Gipson-Long had an ugly 5.45 ERA but produced 50 strikeouts in just 34 2⁄3 innings. He actually had several strong outings for the Toledo Mud Hens but a couple of bad outings skew his overall numbers.
His two starts in the majors have been nothing short of impressive. He had 11 strikeouts in five innings last Saturday in Anaheim, producing 28.3 DKFP in a no-decision. He also had a strong debut at home against the White Sox with five strikeouts in five innings and 18.9 DKFP. He should be set up for another good start as he faces the A’s, who have scored the fewest runs in the majors over the past 30 days while hitting just .221 as a team with a .294 team wOBA. Over that span, Oakland also has the fourth-highest K%, so there should be plenty of strikeout opportunities for Gipson-Long to hit his ceiling again on Friday.
Other Option – Cole Ragans ($7,800), Brandon Pfaadt ($6,800)
INFIELD
Stud
Bobby Witt Jr., Kansas City Royals at Houston Astros ($5,900) – The 23-year-old Witt has had an outstanding season and is on his way to career highs across the board. He has been especially aggressive on the basepaths over the past 10 games with nine stolen bases to bring his total to 48 on the season. He averaged 14.5 DKFP per contest over those 10 games while going 15-for-38 (.395) with two doubles, a home run and a .403 wOBA. He has hit .301 on the season against lefties like Valdez with eight of his 29 homers and a .364 wOBA. I usually try to avoid having my biggest bats and stud starting pitchers go head-to-head, but I’m making an exception on Friday since Witt has been so productive lately while the rest of the Royals’ lineup still sets up fine for Framber.
Stud
Ozzie Albies, Atlanta Braves at Washington Nationals ($5,800) – Albies has been very productive for the Braves since returning from the IL at the end of August, and he has caught fire over his 12 most recent contests. In those 12 games, he hit a scorching .364 (20-for-55) with six doubles, three home runs and a .428 wOBA while also adding two stolen bases. He has double-digit DKFP in nine of his past 10 games and an average of 13.5 DKFP per game over that span after going off for 38 DKFP on Thursday in the series opener in Washington. He is always a great play to consider when the Braves take on a lefty since he has posted a .387 batting average with a .430 wOBA and 172 wRC+ in the split this season. He also is an especially strong play Friday against Patrick Corbin ($6,500) since he is 13-for-30 (.433) with three home runs in his career against the Nationals’ probable starting pitcher.
Other Options – Adley Rutschman ($5,100), Xander Bogaerts ($4,800), Josh Jung ($4,600)
Value
LaMonte Wade Jr., San Francisco Giants at Los Angeles Dodgers ($3,200) – Wade isn’t a prototypical power 1B play, but he comes at a great discount and usually hits leadoff for the Giants against right-handed pitchers. He is on track for season highs in batting average and wOBA and is finishing the season strong for the Giants as they try to stay in the playoff hunt. He went 13-for-33 (.394) with two home runs and a triple boosting him to a .440 wOBA over that stretch. The Giants should be poised to put some runs on the board against their division rivals on Friday since they’ll face Gavin Stone ($7,000), who has a 9.45 ERA and 6.37 FIP over his 26 2⁄3 innings in the majors.
Value
Mark Vientos, New York Mets at Philadelphia Phillies ($2,700) – Vientos has been a power prospect that demanded attention over the past few seasons but had struggled to translate his minor league success to major league production in his first few trips to the big leagues. He has found his stride recently, though, and brings a great ceiling for a player under $3K. The 23-year-old righty hit four homers over his past 10 games while going 13-for-39 (.333) with a .416 wOBA and 55.2% hard-hit rate. He has averaged 10.2 DKFP per game over that stretch with at least 14 DKFP in three of his five most recent contests.
Other Options – Orlando Arcia ($3,700), Nolan Schanuel ($3,300), Ande Ibanez ($2,800)
OUTFIELD
Stud
Ronald Acuña Jr., Atlanta Braves at Washington Nationals ($6,800) – In that favorable spot against Corbin, Acuña will look to continue his truly historic season. On Thursday, he reached 100 RBI to go with his 68 stolen bases and 39 home runs. He has a good shot at being the first player to ever reach 70 stolen bases and 40 home runs in a season. He has also posted a strong .335 batting average and .425 wOBA and a remarkable 169 wRC+. Acuña is showing no signs of slowing down either with a .386 batting average, seven homers, five stolen bases and an average of 17.3 DKFP over his past 13 games. The Braves are in too good a spot against Corbin to not at least consider stacking Atlanta’s bats.
Stud
Corbin Carroll, Arizona Diamondbacks at New York Yankees ($5,600) – While he hasn’t ascended to Acuña’s level, Carroll is on his way to a strong rookie season with a similar multifaceted skillset that provides power and speed upside. Carroll produced 25 homers and 50 steals to go with his .286 batting average and .373 wOBA. He’s had some hot and cold stretches throughout the season but has been on fire lately with six multi-hit games in his 12 most recent contests. Over that span, he went 18-for-53 (.340) with a home run, nine stolen bases and an average of 11.7 DKFP per contest. He and the Dbacks will take on former teammate Luke Weaver ($6,700) in a very favorable matchup at Yankee Stadium Friday night.
Other Options – Mookie Betts ($6,600), J.D. Martinez ($5,000), Nick Castellanos ($4,600)
Value
Evan Carter, Texas Rangers vs. Seattle Mariners ($3,400) – The Rangers and Mariners go head-to-head in Arlington in the marquee series of the weekend. The two teams are tied 1⁄2 game behind the Astros for the AL West lead and share the third and final Wild Card spot as well. The 21-year-old has given the Rangers a nice boost since being called up 13 games ago. He went 11-for-35 (.314) in those contests with two homers and two stolen bases to average 8.6 DKFP per contest. He and the Rangers’ other lefties are on the strong side of the splits against Bryce Miller ($8,100), who has held righties to a .237 wOBA but has let lefties post a .366 wOBA including nine homers.
Value
Jo Adell, Los Angeles Angels at Minnesota Twins ($2,600) – The Angels have had a disastrous season, but Adell is looking to finish strong and prove he’s ready for an everyday role next year. Adell missed two months with an oblique issue and has gone 3-for-12 (.250) with a home run since rejoining the Halos this week. In Triple-A this season, he had 24 homers and nine stolen bases in 74 games with a .273 batting average and .404 wOBA. He definitely has the upside to return good value like he did on Thursday with a home run and 23 DKFP.
Other Options – Cedanne Rafaela ($3,600), Chris Taylor ($3,400), Richie Palacios ($2,800)
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $20K Relay Throw [$5K 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 skills 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.
