It’s time for another MLB DFS extravaganza, this time on a Friday night. A lot of people had tremendous success padding their wallets playing my DFS lineup for Taco Tuesday. Why deviate from what got us to the here and now? We are going to play the late slate again like we did on Tuesday and hope for similar results. Let’s keep this run going.
The Friday Night Fracas slate starts at 9:40 p.m. EDT and features four games with some big names and sneaky plays. I’m using the same formula as always, so let’s enter some contests and keep building that account.
All prices listed are from DraftKings.
Arms
Yu Darvish – vs. San Francisco ($9,500)
Darvish is off to a hot start, logging 31 2/3 innings and carrying a 2-1 record with a 2.27 ERA. He has 37 strikeouts and just eight walks in five trips to the hill. He’s coming off a seven inning, four-hit, one-run performance where he fanned nine Dodgers. The 34-year-old’s velocity has dropped significantly on his fastball, but he’s been making up for it with an unbelievable spin rate which has confounded hitters that even make contact. Darvish will face off with Logan Webb, who had not previously gone more than 5 1/3 innings until last Sunday. On that day, his sinker was working, and he pitched seven innings of shutout ball against Miami. San Diego is not Miami. Darvish should get the W tonight and hit double-digit strikeouts.
Andrew Heaney – at Seattle ($6,800)
We go bargain shopping here so as not to break the bank before we load up on hitters. Heaney currently carries a 4.35 ERA (though with a tidy 0.92 WHIP) and has improved in each of his four starts after a disastrous first outing. From there, things got better, culminating in last Friday’s 6 1/3 innings with 10 strikeouts. Like Darvish, he has plenty of spin on his four-seam fastball, which is largely why he is near the top of the league in chase rate and strikeout percentage. The Mariners started the season on fire but have come back to earth, sitting at 14-12. There should be plenty of punchout opportunities for Heaney here, though you cannot expect him to pitch any further than part of the sixth, even after a week off. He still represents a great buy for the price.
Bats
Mike Trout, OF – at Seattle ($6,000)
We’ve got a late slate with the best player on the planet taking the field, so we might as well get him into our lineups. For those of you interested in a chuckle, note that Trout is currently sitting on 69 at bats with a .420 average. IYKYK. His launch angle is inexplicably way down this season, which would explain the ridiculous average; he is simply not making fly ball outs. On top of that, he’s still managed to clock six dingers thus far. The 1.306 OPS leads baseball by a healthy margin over second-place Ronald Acuna, though with 29 hits, the zero stolen bases is surprising. Regardless, there’s no reason to leave Trout out of a four-game slate lineup. If you don’t use him, you’re missing stats your competitors will all get.
Trevor Story, SS – at Arizona ($5,000)
Story started showing signs of life after a slow start during a seven-game stretch where he went 10-24 with two bombs, 9 RBI, 6 runs scored and a stolen base. We are only a few days removed from that performance, and I expect him to pick back up where he left off when Madison Bumgarner takes the bump. The pitcher brings in a 2-2 record with an eyesore of an ERA sitting at 6.31. He is averaging about five innings per start and five strikeouts per start, as well. Those are not good numbers, and Story is just one player that could take advantage. In truth, I wanted to use Fernando Tatis Jr. in this spot. However, the way the money was spread out, the extra savings of $900 was imperative.
Trey Mancini, 1B ($4,500) and Austin Hays, OF ($2,900) – at Oakland
This is less about the hitters (although Hays is an unbelievable bargain) and more about the pitcher. Mike Fiers is due to make his first start of 2021. In 2020, Fiers was 6-3 but posted a 4.58 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP. Not only that, but he also fanned just 37 batters in 11 starts. That’s… not a lot. Lastly, since the start of 2018 Fiers has allowed the fourth-most longballs over the fence in the majors.
Enter Mancini and Hays. Mancini has 5 dongs on the season and 17 RBI. The .247 average isn’t anything to get excited about, but if he launches one out of the park, we’re good. Hays missed the majority of April with a strained hamstring but is finding his stroke. He has 10 hits since his return, including walloping two homers on Sunday, both off of Jesus Luzardo. The wind will be blowing out tonight, so get a couple Orioles into the lineup.
Carson Kelly, C – vs. Colorado ($4,500)
My affinity for Kelly is well documented, and I was rewarded again on Taco Tuesday’s slate with a great line. Prior to the game, I suggested in my picks that Arizona would eventually have to move him up from the seventh spot in their lineup. They did, to fifth. He responded by going 2-for-3 with a two-run moonshot with the boomstick. He’ll be hitting fifth again tonight and is easily the backstop with the most upside available on the slate. Kelly is up to six home runs on the season with an OPS of 1.242. He’ll be batting against righty Jon Gray to start. Gray is having a good season thus far, but there’s nothing that particularly blows guys away. He’s just kind of average at everything, including innings. Gray is averaging under 6 innings per start. Even if Kelly can’t get to Gray, he’ll get some licks in against the bullpen, as well. Kelly gets the pick for home run call of the night.
Rounding out the lineup
Manny Machado, SS – vs. SF ($5,000)
Yonathan Daza, OF – at ARI ($2,600)
David Fletcher, 2B – at SEA ($3,100)
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