Major League Baseball gets the weekend underway with a nice 12-game slate this Friday night on DraftKings. Contests lock at 7:05 p.m. ET when the Orioles and Phillies meet in a matchup featuring the leaders of the AL and NL East divisions. That game is one of five interleague matchups, which are joined on the slate by two divisional matchups. Coors Field is also in play as the Rockies welcome the Pirates for the first game of their weekend series.
With 24 teams filling up the player pool, multiple matchups deserve consideration. Whether you decide to build around a stack or spread your picks around to more teams, you may end up a little squeezed to stay under the salary cap. The three bargain plays in this post can help by balancing out some big spending with their low salaries but still bringing a high ceiling of their own.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $200K Bat Flip [$50K to 1st]
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SP Hunter Brown, Houston Astros vs. Detroit Tigers, $7,200
Brown’s season got off to a rough start, but the 25-year-old righty has been very effective recently. His 5.58 ERA and 1.52 WHIP are still ugly, but he has been much better with a 2.91 ERA and 0.97 WHIP over his last six games. He has earned over 12 DKFP in each of those performances with over 20 DKFP in three of those games, including a matchup in Detroit against the Tigers. He struck out seven in five innings in that game, allowing just one run on one hit to earn 20.3 DKFP in a no-decision. He improved to 2-5 on the season with a win in his most recent outing, which was against the Angels last Saturday. He had a season-high 27.3 DKFP after going six shutout innings with seven strikeouts. He has at least seven strikeouts in three straight games and has totaled 38 strikeouts in 34 innings since turning things around. He’ll look to continue his recent trend against the Tigers, who rank in the top 10 in the MLB in K% and the bottom 10 in team wOBA and wRC+.
OF Austin Slater, San Francisco Giants vs. Los Angeles Angels, $2,700
After missing a month on the concussion IL, Slater is back with the Giants and back in his role as leadoff hitter against lefties. He will likely hit atop the lineup on Friday night against Tyler Anderson ($7,700) and the Angels, and he has gotten off to a fast start since his return. In his four games since being activated, Slater has gone 6-for-13 (.462) with four runs scored, three RBI and a stolen base. He had 20 DKFP in Wednesday’s win over the Astros with three of those hits and a stolen base, showing off his good ceiling. Slater usually doesn’t have great power but does a good job getting on base and being part of San Francisco’s run production when he’s in the lineup. The 31-year-old has been streaky throughout his career and is on enough of a heater coming off IL to be a good value option.
1B Tyler Soderstrom, Oakland Athletics at Minnesota Twins, $2,300
Another hitter suddenly catching fire and worth a look is Tyler Soderstrom, who has homered in three of his last four games and hit safely in seven of his last eight. The 22-year-old lefty hit .245 with seven homers and a .378 wOBA in his 27 games at Triple-A this year before being called up to the MLB, where he has hit .225 with four homers on the year. Soderstrom was ranked as the No. 1 prospect in the Athletics’ system coming into the season by MLB Pipeline in 2022 and 2023. He seems to have taken over as the team’s everyday 1B and will likely get the start Friday against Simeon Woods-Richardson ($7,500), who is another prospect trying to prove he’s ready to be a regular contributor at the MLB level. Since he has so much long-term potential, the A’s will likely give Soderstrom as much playing time as possible this season, and right now he’s proving he can be a great option at 1B with his salary barely over the minimum.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $250K Bat Flip [$50K to 1st]
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is z.thompson) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.
