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We have a full slate of games this Friday evening, with the Reds, Marlins, Mariners, and Tigers as the only teams unavailable for bigger contests. There are still 13 other games to work with for your DFS lineups though. If you’re unfamiliar with OwnersBox, they offer a unique roster format that includes one pitcher, four IF, three OF, and one Super Flex (OF, IF, and P).
Starting Pitchers
A pair of expensive aces lies at the top of the board in Spencer Strider ($12,200 DK, $12,000 OB) and Gerrit Cole ($12,000, $11,700 OB). As phenomenal as they both are, their prices make it hard to pay up for with the matchups they draw on Friday. Taking a shot on Corbin Burnes ($9,200 DK, $9,600 OB) at a lesser number seems like it would be worth the gamble though.
The 2021 NL Cy Young winner hasn’t been his prototypical dominant self so far, but a date with the Kansas City Royals could cure his recent woes. K.C. has the t5th worst wRC+ (82) and 7th highest K% (24.5%) when facing righties. There aren’t very many other strong top-tier options at pitcher, but there are a couple of intriguing lower-priced looks worth considering.
J.P. France ($7,600 DK, $7,800 OB) and Michael Kopech ($7,5o0 DK, $7,400 OB) both square off against each other and make for decent plays at their prices. Over the last 30 days, both the White Sox and Astros have been horrific at the plate. They are 27th and 28th in wRC+ when facing right-handed pitching over this span. Kopech is obviously very risky to play with that 5.55 xFIP of his, but the Astros have been even worst if you zone in over the last two weeks with a 42 wRC+ against RHP. France only has one career start, but it was a solid one against the Mariners in his debut last week where he fired five scoreless innings with five strikeouts.
Tyler Anderson ($5,500 DK, $6,400) might be the best value on the board of them all though. He’s been dreadful this year, but that’s why we’re getting this sort of discount. He faces off against Cleveland who has the 2nd worst wRC+ (71) against lefties. Anderson faced the worst LHP-hitting team, the Brewers, two starts back and shoved. He finished with seven punchouts while allowing just one run and five hits in 6 2/3 innings pitched. He’ll be a tremendous value if he posts a similar line to that.
Bats
The Giants have yet to list who they will throw tomorrow at the time of this writing, but regardless of who is throwing, the Diamondbacks have been one of the hottest teams at the plate. Over the last two weeks, they are t2nd for the best wRC+ (132) led by Cristian Walker ($4,300 DK, $4,300 OB) and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. ($4,000 DK, $4,300 OB). Gabriel Moreno ($3,100 DK, $3,400 OB) makes for a great play at Catcher in DraftKings too.
As mentioned in last week’s Friday article, the Boston Red Sox have also been crushing as of late and are tied with Arizona with the 2nd best wRC+ over the last 14 days. They face off against Adam Wainwright who looked anything but sharp in his first start of the year last week against the Tigers. Justin Turner ($3,400 DK, $4,500 OB) has the most experience versus Waino with 14 plate appearances and a .459 xwOBA to back them up. There are a plethora of options in that lineup worth stacking with.
The last hitter I’ll mention is Harrison Bader, who has been hotter than anyone else since coming off of the IL. He went 0-2 last night, but prior to that, he was 12-21 over his last six games with two triples, three home runs, seven runs, and 11 RBIs. The Rays will have Trevor Kelley start it off tomorrow, so look for Bader and the Yankees to find success in what should be a bullpen game for the Rays.
Design by J.R. Caines (@JRCainesDesign on Twitter and @caines_design on Instagram)00