Happy MLB Friday to you! After yesterday’s condensed main slate, we’re treated to a 12-game entree of Daily Fantasy Baseball. And in contrast to the top-heavy nature of Thursday’s pitching options (we see you, Steven Brault), Friday has no one particular glaring top dog on the pile, with a variety of combos to entertain on two-pitcher sites especially.
With very cost-effective mid-range offerings, we’re able to more comfortably achieve some of the pricier stacking options of interest, as the Los Angeles Dodgers and Colorado Rockies both have opposing pitching options to attack at Coors Field tonight. The following MLB DFS picks for fantasy baseball lineups are based on Awesemo’s MLB Projections for today’s MLB DFS fantasy baseball slate on DraftKings and FanDuel. For more free DraftKings and FanDuel MLB picks and analysis for DFS baseball lineups, check out the Awesemo.com YouTube Channel for today’s MLB Strategy Show, Deeper Dive and Live Before Lock Shows.
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Top MLB DFS Pitching Plays
Tyler Glasnow – Rays at Orioles – DraftKings $9,700, FanDuel $10,100
Just as the Tampa Bay Rays have been quietly dominating the AL East throughout the shortened MLB season, Tyler Glasnow‘s noteworthy 2020 resume has gone every bit as much under the radar. In his fifth season in the majors, Glasnow’s past three seasons with the Tampa Bay Rays have been his best by far (especially 2019), and his 2020 that’s been loaded with strikeout splendor.
Glasnow brings a 1.18 WHIP to the table over his 12 starts this season and includes his best year in the strikeout department to date. The 22-year-old righty ranks third among starting pitchers in strikeout percentage at 37.4% in 2020, which is further embossed by a 14.18 K/9. He’s also stranding batters who get on base 73.1% of the time, as he’s been able to mitigate some damage and stop the bleeding when the opposition gets testy.
While his past couple of starts haven’t been his best by any means, Glasnow’s fantasy output has still been nothing to scoff at, as he’s averaged 26.99 DraftKings Fantasy Points over his past five starts (44.8 FanDuel points). One of those five recent opponents happens to have been Baltimore as well, and his best performance all season: 7.0 innings, 13 strikeouts, five hits, two earned runs and earning the wins (38.15 DraftKings points, 64 FanDuel). Glasnow is also striking out opposing right-handed hitters 37% of the time this season, and he’s slated to face six of them in the Orioles order today.
His price is just right on DraftKings, with FanDuel’s salary tag only $400 higher. Despite a number of options worth considering for the mound on this 12-game slate, Glasnow will likely be among my highest-exposed arms for Friday.
Awesemo’s FanDuel Grades: Points B, Value E
Awesemo’s DraftKings Grades: Points B, Value C
Danny Duffy – Royals at Brewers – DraftKings $7,800, FanDuel $8,300
Following recent disciplinary action which saw him scratched before his last start, Danny Duffy looks to bounce back from his off-the-field struggles with some resurgence in the game he loves. And given his opponent in the Milwaukee Brewers, the opportunity to reach his fantasy ceiling is very much a feasible one.
Duffy’s 2020 season isn’t Cy Young-caliber by any stretch of the award (4.24 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, .214 average), but when it comes to the DFS realm of thought, you could say he’s getting the job done more often than not (depending on his fluctuation in salary on the previous days). He’s striking out batters 23.9% of the time in 2020, with his season strikeout resume against opposing righties just behind that at 23.1%. Duffy’s projected to see eight of them in Milwaukee’s starting order on Friday.
The Brewers haven’t possessed the same brooding presence at the plate as much as in recent years, with several opposing pitchers posting outstanding numbers against them more recently (see Alec Mills‘ no-hitter). To add insult to injury, Milwaukee’s batters are striking out more than any other team in the majors outside of the Tigers this season (26% K strikeout rate).
While Duffy’s power surrendered to right-handed hitters is a bit concerning in this matchup (.220 ISO vs. RHH), the Brewers’ collective .168 ISO sits them 19th in the category, and Duffy’s dealing a manageable 28.6% hard contact against the platoon advantage.
Duffy makes rostering the spend-up bats and stacks more attainable on both sites, while facing a realistic opportunity to exceed value with all things considered.
Awesemo’s FanDuel Grades: Points C, Value D
Awesemo’s DraftKings Grades: Points C, Value C
Zach Plesac – Indians at Tigers – DraftKings $8,500, FanDuel $10,400
We can start off by saying this is much more the reasonable sell over on DraftKings, where Zach Plesac comes in at a drastic $1,900 price cut from that of FanDuel’s lofty offer. The silver lining of which will be the shedding of field ownership between the two sites should you choose to roster Plesac on FanDuel.
With that much said, Plesac comes into Friday’s slate against the Detroit Tigers where Shane Bieber left off yesterday, when he coasted through 7.2 innings with 10 strikeouts, four hits and three earned runs to the delight to fantasy owners on both sites (31.65 DraftKings points, 54 FanDuel). Let’s make this clear: Plesac is not Bieber-level of talented. However, Plesac is having himself one remarkable season regardless of that teammate comparison, which is not at all to be discounted against his opposition at hand on Friday.
The sophomore Indians starting pitcher may not be the strikeout machine that Bieber and Glasnow are, but the sheer numbers and fantasy production are very much worthy of herald. In fact, Plesac is among a top tier of surprise pitchers this season that includes Kenta Maeda and Tony Gonsolin atop the WHIP category, where Plesac accounts for the third best among starting pitchers with a 0.78 WHIP. His strikeout numbers are up from last year (8.6 K/9 to 6.8 in 2019), with a solid 25.5% strikeout rate to show for it.
Facing a Tigers offense will be a welcomed venture for Plesac on a Friday slate where the spend up for him may not appear as sexy without blatant strikeout upside, along with the bottom-barrel options that others may rest their hopes on. However, the opposition couldn’t pave much more of a vaunted scenario for Plesac, as the Tigers are striking out more than any team in MLB at 27.3%. That is in tandem with a below-average .165 ISO to threaten less of the hard hits should they make contact. And making contact they would have to, considering Plesac has only walked an incredible 2% of opposing batters all season.
Awesemo’s FanDuel Grades: Points C, Value E
Awesemo’s DraftKings Grades: Points B, Value C
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