…What are you looking up here for?
All the player suggestions and stats for tonight’s 12-game featured MLB slate are a little lower. Keep scrolling, you weirdo.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $200K Relay Throw [$50K to 1st]
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PITCHER
Stud
Logan Webb, San Francisco Giants vs. Cincinnati Reds, $8,500 – This seems cheap for Webb, right? While his last two outings haven’t been amazing, Webb’s been one of baseball’s best pitchers the past four seasons, sporting a 3.10 ERA and a 3.00 FIP dating back to the beginning of 2021. The RHP also owns a 2.29 ERA and a 2.58 FIP when taking the mound at the pitcher-friendly Oracle Park within that same span of time. I’ll take my chances with the 27-year-old in this matchup with the struggling Reds. Cincinnati enters play on Friday in possession of baseball’s lowest batting average (.211) and its third-highest strikeout rate (26.0%).
Value
Robert Gasser, Milwaukee Brewers vs. St. Louis Cardinals, $5,000 – Gasser won’t be the most exciting pitching prospect to debut this week — that’ll be on Saturday — yet the left-hander does possess some interesting Triple-A statistics. There, Gasser’s pitched 173.2 innings across parts of three seasons, striking out 11.1 opponents per nine. He doesn’t have an overpowering fastball, but his slider and cutter can rack up some whiffs. Still, the biggest reason for Gasser’s viability is his bargain basement price and his matchup. The Cardinals can not hit southpaws. In fact, St. Louis comes into this tilt slashing an anemic .184/.272/.299 within the split so far in 2024. Woof.
INFIELD
Stud
Marcus Semien, Texas Rangers at Colorado Rockies, $5,800 – Semien is red-hot at the moment. Like, he’s scalding the baseball. For the season, the veteran is sporting a .373 expected wOBA, a mark that’s higher than both 2021 and 2019 — seasons where he ended up top-three on the AL MVP ballot. Semien’s been especially good at hitting left-handed pitching in 2024, slashing .340/.365/.560 with a 159 wRC+ in his 52 plate appearances. Austin Gomber ($5,300) is a lefty. This game is at Coors. What more could you ask for?
Stud
Vinnie Pasquantino, Kansas City Royals at Los Angeles Angels, $4,500 – After a slow start to the season, Pasquantino is heating up in May. In fact, the first baseman is hitting .429 with a 203 wRC+ in the month. Really, there’s a case to be made that Pasquantino was just getting unlucky in April, too. For 2024 as a whole, he owns a .384 expected wOBA and has walked more than he’s struck out. Those are some pretty good indicators of future success. Tonight, Pasquantino and the Royals will face the floundering Griffin Canning ($5,600). LHBs are crushing Canning to the tune of 2.08 home runs per nine.
Value
Willi Castro, Minnesota Twins at Toronto Blue Jays, $3,900 – Few teams have hit left-handed pitching as well as the Twins in 2024 and Castro is a huge reason why. The switch-hitter has been a beast batting from the right-side, slashing .480/.519/.760 with a 264 wRC+. It’s only a 27 plate appearance sample, and Yusei Kikuchi ($9,600) has been fantastic, but if Castro’s in the three-spot in Minnesota’s lineup with a price tag below $4K, you have to take a shot.
Value
Connor Wong, Boston Red Sox vs. Washington Nationals, $3,600 – When the Red Sox faced a southpaw on Wednesday, Wong was suddenly bumped up to the two-spot in the team’s lineup. It’s not hard to see why, either, as the backstop owns a 166 wRC+ so far in 2024. While much of that success seems unstable according to the advanced numbers, I wouldn’t anticipate seeing the start of any regression on Friday. Not with Patrick Corbin ($6,200) on the mound for the Nationals. The LHP has been cooked for years and has registered a 6.10 xERA over his first seven starts.
OUTFIELD
Stud
Tyler O’Neill, Boston Red Sox vs. Washington Nationals, $6,100 – Obviously, we’re stacking against Corbin. O’Neill has been one of the best hitters in baseball to begin 2024 and much of that damage has come off of left-handed pitching. The veteran outfielder is slashing .321/.513/.643 with a 211 wRC+ within the split this season and, if you need a larger sample, O’Neill sports a career 133 wRC+ versus LHPs. The Red Sox own this slate’s second-highest implied team total. Get a few in your lineups.
Stud
Marcell Ozuna, Atlanta Braves at New York Mets, $5,500 – Ozuna is another bat that is an absolute force against LHPs. In 43 plate appearances within the split in 2024, Ozuna has managed a .306 ISO and a 231 wRC+. In general, Ozuna comes into Friday’s action with a .700 slugging percentage in May, so it may not matter at all who’s pitching for the Mets. He’s just that locked in. However, it’s probably worth noting that Ozuna is 11-for-24 (.458) with a 1.185 OPS off Jose Quintana ($7,600) in his career.
Value
Gavin Sheets, Chicago White Sox vs. Cleveland Guardians, $3,400 – I’m pretty confident saying this is the first White Sox I’ve written up this season. Sheets has settled in the two-spot in Chicago’s order against RHPs, as he’s slashing .284/.398/.484 with a 153 wRC+ within the split. He’ll get a superb matchup this evening in the form of Carlos Carrasco ($6,300), who is currently surrendering a massive .434 wOBA to opposing LHBs. Heck, this might even be a sneaky opportunity to stack some White Sox bats. At the very least, they’re all cheap.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $200K Relay Throw [$50K to 1st]
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and customer (my username is theglt13) 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.
