It's a fully-loaded 15-game Friday featuring a jam-packed 13-game main slate for DFS purposes, which means there are plenty of intriguing pitchers and lineup stack options for fantasy managers to consider.
Weather Report
New York is our most likely trouble spot with lingering rain showers in the forecast throughout the evening. There’s a chance Phillies-Mets gets an early postponement, but there’s also a chance the two clubs will wait to see if they can get the game in. We’ll see, but this one looks extremely risky.
Injury Report
Chas McCormick, Astros OF (back)
McCormick is day-to-day with a lower back contusion entering Friday’s series opener against the Diamondbacks.
Nolan Schanuel, Angels 1B (knee)
Schanuel has missed a pair of contests with a left knee contusion and should be considered day-to-day heading into Friday’s series opener against the Athletics.
Yandy Díaz, Rays 1B/3B (hamstring)
Díaz has sat out two straight games with right hamstring tightness. With a playoff spot already locked in, there’s no reason for the Rays to take any chances, but he should be ready to return to action at some point this weekend to get ready for the postseason.
Luis Arraez, Marlins 2B (ankle)
Arraez has missed four straight contests since twisting his left ankle last Saturday on the dugout steps at Loan Depot park. He remains day-to-day for the moment, but fantasy managers shouldn’t count on him being ready for Friday’s critical matchup against the Pirates.
Brandon Nimmo, Mets OF (shoulder)
Nimmo will miss the last couple games of the regular season due to an AC joint injury in his right shoulder.
Paul Goldschmidt, Cardinals 1B (back)
Goldschmidt has sat out a couple games this week due to back tightness.
Top Priced Starting Pitchers (DraftKings)
- Zac Gallen (AZ) vs. HOU: $9,700
- Nathan Eovaldi (TEX) at SEA: $9,300
- Joe Ryan (MIN) at COL: $9,000
- Dylan Cease (CWS) vs. SD: $8,900
- Allan Winans (ATL) vs. WSH: $8,700
- Lance Lynn (LAD) at SF: $8,600
- Hyun Jin Ryu (TOR) vs. TB: $8,500
- J.P. France (HOU) at AZ: $8,300
- Taijuan Walker (PHI) at NYM: $8,100
- Aaron Civale (TB) at TOR: $8,000
With Nathan Eovaldi likely still facing some workload limitations and Joe Ryan in line for a tough matchup in Coors Field’s high-octane offensive environment, Zac Gallen and Dylan Cease are probably the best options for the main slate.
Gallen bounced back from a pair of rough outings by racking up eight strikeouts over six shutout frames against the Yankees in New York. He'll close out an extremely impressive regular season with a tough matchup against the Astros, who are also still fighting to secure a playoff spot.
Meanwhile, Cease will lock horns with the Padres in Chicago and is coming off a dominant outing against the Red Sox where he struck out 11 over seven shutout frames.
It's Cease with a slight edge over Gallen as the top option almost solely because of the matchup. Allan Winans would’ve been a sneaky option for fantasy managers, but he’s one of the top-priced starters Friday, thanks mainly to a tasty home matchup against the Nationals.
Sneaky Option
Nick Martinez, Padres RHP, vs. White Sox: $5,800
Martinez is unlikely to work deep, but he’s pitched brilliantly in the last few weeks. The 33-year-old swingman has a sublime 0.64 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 15/4 K/BB ratio across 14 innings (seven appearances, two starts) in September and finds himself in line for an extremely favorable matchup Friday night against a White Sox’ lineup that has compiled the worst OPS in baseball in September.
There isn’t massive upside, but Martinez should excel into the middle innings in Chicago. I’ll throw out Athletics right-hander Joe Boyle since he’s facing the Angels in his third big league outing. There’s significantly higher strikeout upside, but there’s also significantly more risk, given his limited sample size at the highest level. Still, both Martinez and Boyle make for intriguing low-cost options for fantasy managers.
Stack Attack
Braves vs. Nationals (RHP Trevor Williams)
A great over-the-fence power lineup taking on a starting pitcher that has allowed the fourth-most homers in baseball is a prime stacking opportunity. The usual suspects are all in the mix for the Braves while someone like Eddie Rosario makes sense with a favorable platoon matchup.
- OF Ronald Acuña Jr.: $6,800
- 1B Matt Olson: $6,400
- 2B: Ozzie Albies: $5,600
- 3B: Austin Riley: $5,400
- OF Marcell Ozuna: $4,700
- OF Michael Harris II: 4,500
- SS Orlando Arcia: $4,000
- OF Eddie Rosario: $3,800
Giants vs. Dodgers (RHP Lance Lynn)
Lance Lynn has surrendered more round-trippers than any pitcher in baseball. The Giants might be out of the playoff picture, but they have enough left-handed power bats to do some serious damage. It makes a ton of sense for fantasy managers to build around a couple left-handed bats from this lineup.
- 2B Thairo Estrada: $4,100
- OF Joc Pederson: $3,700
- 1B/3B Wilmer Flores: $3,800
- 1B LaMonte Wade Jr.: $3,400
- OF Mike Yastrzemski: $3,600
- OF Michael Conforto: $3,100