This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Baseball series.
It is with relief that I tell you only one of the 15 MLB games Friday night is under threat of rain. Of course, now that I've written that I'm sure it will change, but it seems like weather isn't going to wreak havoc on your daily fantasy lineup. Plus, every game is a night outing (the first half of a Kansas City-Detroit doubleheader isn't included for fantasy purposes), so you'll have plenty of time to make your picks while keeping your eyes on the weather. Here are my recommendations.
STARTING PITCHER
Dylan Bundy, BAL vs. CLE ($44): Bundy's problem in his career has not been skill, but staying healthy. Well he's fit now, and he has a 1.40 ERA and 1.09 WHIP through four starts. Cleveland is off to a slow start offensively, as they had a league-low batting average of .208 heading into Thursday. They'll turn it around eventually, but Bundy should be able to take care of them Friday.
Andrew Heaney, LAA vs. SFG ($32): The Giants are in the bottom five in runs scored this year after finishing next-to-last in 2017. Heaney has only made one start, and while he has a 5.40 ERA his 1.00 FIP tells a different story. Plus, he struck out seven batters in five innings. He's never quite put it all together, and hasn't pitched more than 100 innings since 2015, but this is a great matchup and a chance for Heaney to get a home start.
CATCHER
Francisco Cervelli, PIT at PHI ($13): Cervelli has never had an issue getting on base. He has a .359 OBP in his career, and over the last three seasons he's averaged an OBP of .363. Ben Lively had a 5.02 FIP last season, and in his career he's allowed 1.30 home runs per nine innings.
FIRST BASE
Joey Gallo, TEX vs. SEA ($18): Power is the name of the game with Gallo. He had 41 homers in 145 games last year and already has six in 20 games this season. Felix Hernandez is not the pitcher he used to be, to say the least. He had a 5.06 FIP last year and allowed 17 homers in 86.7 innings. This year his FIP is up to 6.25 and he's already given up five long balls in four starts.
SECOND BASE
Jose Altuve, HOU at CWS ($19): Altuve is off to a "slow" start, mostly because his slugging percentage is down and he hasn't hit a homer yet. Considering that he's averaged a .510 slugging percentage over his last three seasons, that should change soon. White Sox starter James Shields could definitely help Altuve on that front. Last year, his first full season with the White Sox, he had a 5.88 FIP and gave up 2.08 home runs per nine innings.
THIRD BASE
Miguel Andujar, NYY vs. TOR ($14): Toronto starter Marco Estrada is in line to pitch even though he's been dealing with a back issue. That could end up coming back to bite the 34-year-old. He's also coming off a poor season, as in 2017 he had a 4.98 ERA and allowed 1.50 homers per nine innings. We don't know much about Andujar yet, but the 23-year-old has hit well in the minors. At this price, and in this matchup, it's worth taking a gamble on his promise.
SHORTSTOP
Freddy Galvis, SDP at ARI ($13): Galvis is off to a good start with his new team, as he has a .268/.373/.352 slash line through 2 games. Okay, so the slugging percentage isn't great, but having Petco Park for a home could be partially responsible. This game will be in Arizona, where the ball tends to fly off the bat better. Matt Koch has been called up from AAA for this start. The 27-year-old has only started two games in the majors, and none since 2016.
OUTFIELD
J.D. Martinez, BOS at OAK ($24): Martinez turned up the power last year, picking up 45 dingers. He already has four this year, all off righties. In his career, Martinez has largely hit righties better as well. Oakland's Kendall Gravemen is a righty, and he's also off to a terrible start to the season. In four starts he has a 9.87 ERA and allowed six homers in 17.3 innings.
David Peralta, ARI vs. SDP ($20) Peralta has a career slash line of .295/.348/.471, and he's another one of those players who puts up numbers when he can stay healthy. He's also off to a hot start as he was averaging 8.7 fantasy points per game heading into Thursday. Tyson Ross is off to a decent start to the season, but he's done most of that at home. His road start was much worse, and he had a 8.87 ERA away from home last year.
Lorenzo Cain, MIL vs. MIA ($16): Cain has notched at least stolen based in three of his last four seasons and he also hit 15 homers last year. His first season with the Brewers seems to be going well thus far too. Miami's Trevor Richards has a 4.70 ERA and 1.37 WHIP in three start, but in his one road start he allowed three runs in only four innings.
