There will be a lot of football this weekend, but Friday is relatively football free and an ideal day for some MLB action. We have 11 games on the DFS docket, with the first pitch at 1:05 p.m. ET. And now, onto the MLB DFS lineup recommendations!
Pitching
Joe Ryan, MIN at KAN ($9,300): All it took was one strong start from Ryan for me to not worry about the two rough starts before that. This is because he's had an excellent season all in all. Ryan has a 3.08 ERA with a 5.80 K/9 rate on the campaign. Even though the Royals have been better as of late, they are still 28th in runs scored, so they can't be that much better.
Tyler Glasnow, LAD at BAL ($8,900): Since returning from his latest lengthy injury, Glasnow has a 3.02 ERA in nine starts. Now, he does have a 5.68 ERA on the road, but he had a disastrous start in early April against the Phillies, and when you've only made five road starts that will skew things. Glasnow is a lefty with a career 11.39 K/9 rate. The Orioles are an average offense reliant on lefties, so Glasnow should be able to neutralize the guys he needs to neutralize to succeed.
Ian Seymour, TAM vs. CLE ($7,800): Seymour was pitching reasonably well out of the bullpen, but his last two outings have been starts. In both he has gone five innings and struck out eight batters, and he allowed a single earned run across those two starts. One of those starts was against these same Guardians. The Guardians are 27th in runs scored and last in OBP, so Seymour could handle them again.
Top Targets
I wish Max Muncy were healthy, because he's primed to bop one out of the park, but Freddie Freeman ($5,000) is no slouch as a hitter. He's just more inclined to hit .300 and rack up 35 to 40 doubles with 20ish homers as opposed to swinging for the fences. The reason for my desire for left-handed power is because Dean Kremer has a career 4.34 ERA and 1.29 HR/9 rate, and since 2023 lefties have hit 14 more homers than righties against Kremer is roughly the same number of at-bats.
Shout out to Trevor Story ($4,900), who has put years of injury-laden campaigns behind him to have a fine 2025. Sure, his profile is not without limitations, but he's a shortstop who is going to have 25 homers, 25 doubles and 25 stolen bases. Story also has an .878 OPS over the last three weeks. Since joining the Diamondbacks, Eduardo Rodriguez has a 5.68 ERA at home, and righties have hit over .280 against him.
Bargain Bats
I've been Jung Hoo Lee-ing ($3,700) like crazy recently, but why not? He's a fine mid-salaried outfielder whenever a righty who is not an above-average pitcher is on the mound. Lee doesn't hit enough homers to deliver with the best lefty hitters, but he's notched 30 doubles and 10 triples. It's fitting for this matchup, because Michael McGreevy doesn't allow many home runs, but that's one of his few positive traits at this time. He has a 5.31 ERA at home, and lefties have hit .303 against him.
The Diamondbacks are finding spots for Blaze Alexander ($3,300), which speaks to their belief in him (and also their youth movement). You can roster him at third or in the outfield on DraftKings, but he's also been playing at second base. Alexander had an .892 OPS at Triple-A, and while he's had ups and downs in MLB, he has seven homers, 10 doubles and three stolen bases in 54 games. Payton Tolle, a lefty, has made one MLB start. He allowed two runs in 5.1 innings, but it was against the Pirates. Maybe he has a bright future but he also was in High-A when this season started. Alexander is no cagey veteran but he's further ahead on his developmental curve.
Stacks to Consider
Padres at Rockies (Kyle Freeland): Fernando Tatis ($6,200), Manny Machado ($5,900), Ramon Laureano ($5,300)
It appears Freeland's ERA is going to increase for the fourth season in a row, and he's all but locked into his third season in a row with an ERA over 5.00. Of course, it doesn't help that he pitches his home games at Coors Field. Not that Freeland is without fault. Since 2023 he has a 5.15 ERA on the road, and also in that same time frame righties have hit .302 against him. The Padres lack for many notable righty bats, but they do have these three, so it's all good.
Tatis has gotten on base at a .368 clip, and his 19 home runs are paired with 27 stolen bases. He's also hit 27 doubles, and Coors Field is also kind to picking up those. Machado has been cold, but he has 22 home runs and 32 doubles on the year, and he's hit .283 as well. He's slugged .503 against lefties, so perhaps facing Freeland at Coors is just what he needs. Laureano has been crushing the ball since joining the Padres. He's posted a .322/.376/.574 slash line in 31 games. Additionally, since 2023 he's slugged .506 against southpaws.
Athletics at Angels (Jose Soriano): Shea Langeliers ($5,300), Brent Rooker ($4,800), Jacob Wilson ($4,200)
Unfortunately for Soriano, and the Angels, he's at home Friday. By that I mean he has a 2.47 ERA on the road but a 5.11 ERA at home. This is not anomalous either, as last year he had a 2.74 ERA on the road and a 4.50 ERA at home. The guy doesn't like Anaheim (and neither do the Angels, who refuse to admit they are in Anaheim). Now, in his career, Soriano has had so-called reverse splits, which is to say he's good against lefties but struggles against his fellow righties. Right-handed hitters have batted .262 against Soriano, so this is a three-righty stack.
Langeliers is a catcher who is going to hit 30 homers, which makes him quite productive for his position. Also, while many Athletics have greatly benefited from the ballpark in Sacramento, Langeliers has a .947 OPS on the road. Rooker is probably gunning for three more homers so that he can get to 30 for the third season in a row. However, he's also three doubles away from hitting 40 of those for the first time. Wilson has been his all-star-worthy self again since returning from injury. Through 11 games since returning he has a .915 OPS. While he has shown more power against lefties, he's still averaged .311 against righties.
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