This article is part of our FantasyScore MLB series.
Another Friday, another full slate of games to choose from for FantasyScore contests. Make sure to checkout their Baseball HQ Freeroll GPP contest, too.
Need a hand with some of the basic strategies for daily baseball? Michael Rathburn has covered the importance of splits, weather and more already. It is worth the read, even if it is a refresher.
Unique to FantasyScore, players will notice cushy hitter pricing which allows for more fantasy points and lineup options. Cap manipulation takes a backseat to assembling the right combination of players. Obviously, you're still going to have to budget, but a few savvy selections will open the door to roster plenty of star bats.
FantasyScore Settings
Lineup Composition
1 Catcher
1 First Baseman
1 Second Baseman
1 Third Baseman
1 Shortstop
3 Outfielders
2 Pitchers
Pitcher Scoring
4 pts per Win
-1 pt per Earned Run
1 pt per Strike Out
1 pt per Inning (0.33 pts per out for fractional innings)
Hitter Scoring
1 pt per Single
2 pts per Double
3 pts per Triple
4 pts per Home Run
1 pt per Run Batted In
1 pt per Run Scored
1 pt per Walk
1 pt per Hit By Pitch
2 pt per Stolen Base
-1 pt per Caught Stealing
Lineup Configuration Notes
There are five undisputed No. 1 starters taking the hill Friday, and making room to fit one -- at least -- into your lineup is encouraged. Additionally, taking a few calculated risks with your bats to provide cap relief can enable you to have two excellent arms in your lineup. Pitchers return the most fantasy points, after all.
Arms to Target
Spending the Max
Through 13.2 innings, Max Scherzer ($9,200, 18.4 percent of cap) has 16 strikeouts and a 0.66 ERA with an average of 14.33 FantasyScore points per outing. Yet he still hasn't registered a win. Expect that to change Friday. Philadelphia enters with an unintimidating lineup, and the Nationals are heavy favorites. A 20-point return is well within reach for Scherzer.
Middle (priced) Management
Michael Wacha, STL ($6,100, 12.2 percent of cap) - Wacha has thrived at Busch Stadium over his short career, with a 7-1 record, 2.31 ERA, 0.99 WHIP and a 8.3 K/9 through 101.1 innings. Cincinnati has averaged just three runs per game over their last five outings, going 1-4 over that span, which includes a loss to Wacha last Saturday.
James Shields, SD, ($7,000, 14.0 percent of cap) - Two quality starts deep with the Friars, Shields visits the inconsistent Cubs on Friday. Priced well below the top options, he has pitched like a top-tier starter thus far with a 2.08 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 10.4 K/9. You know what you're getting with Shields, too, as he has allowed more than three earned runs in just one of his last 18 starts.
Budget Plays
Jeff Locke, PIT ($3,000, 6.0 percent of cap) - While strictly in the high-risk, high-reward category, Locke's smoke-and-mirrors routine could reward Friday. Milwaukee will be without Carlos Gomez (hamstring), while Jonathan Lucroy (4-for-27) and Ryan Braun (6-for-23) are both struggling mightily, combining for just one extra-base hit this season.
J.A. Happ, SEA ($3,700, 7.4 percent of cap) - With the Rangers currently sporting a .186/.270/.319 slash line against left-handed pitchers, Happ certainly has the handedness advantage on his side. Plus, aside from Adrian Beltre, which Rangers scare you from the right side of the plate? Granted, Happ is risky, but it is also built into his cap hit. Texas has also struck out the eighth-most times so far this season.
Bats to Target
Spending Up
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B, LAD ($5,600, 11.2 percent of cap) - After a bombing start, Gonzalez has now gone six games without a home run. However, he has registered a hit in every game this season, and he has a double in each of the past four games. Opposing pitcher Kyle Kendrick instills no fear, either.
Robinson Cano, 2B, SEA ($5,900, 11.8 percent of cap - Cano is beginning to heat up, going 4-for-9 over his past two games, and Friday he receives a date with Yovani Gallardo, who has allowed left-handed batters to go 10-for-24 with two home runs so far this season. Cano owns righties (.527 SLG, .380 wOBA), so this matchup is worth exploiting.
Ian Desmond, SS, WAS ($5,800, 11.6 percent of cap) - Currently riding a three-game hitting streak and recently promoted to second in the batting order, Desmond is a nice target Friday.
Value Hunt
Brian McCann, C, NYY, ($4,200, 8.4 percent of cap) - McCann has struggled to kick-start his season, but he'll draw a favorable pitching matchup to do so Friday. Nate Karns has just 36.2 innings of work at the highest level, and though it is a small sample size, he has allowed a .841 OPS to left-handed batters. McCann is a nice calculated risk.
Manny Machado, 3B, BAL, ($4,000, 8.0 percent of cap) - The third basemen has a four-game hitting streak with three runs, a home run and two RBI. In his current form, the price is right for a nice profit.
Cap Relief
Lucas Duda, 1B, NYM, ($3,200, 6.2 percent of cap) - With a 1.162 OPS over the last five games and a right-handed pitcher on the bump, Duda is very much in play - and at an affordable price.
Steven Souza, OF, TB, ($3,100, 6.2 percent of cap) - Currently raking, Souza has averaged 7.0 FantasyScore points per game over his past four outings, and he has settled into the two-hole in the batting order. Adam Warren will be making just his fifth career start, too.
Wil Myers, OF, SD ($2,900, 5.8 percent of cap) - Consider it a neutral matchup against opposing pitcher Jason Hammel, but Myers is thriving atop the Padres' lineup. Over his past six games, he has five doubles and gone 9-for-22. He opens up oodles of cap space, too.
