Adam Zibuda What is up everyone, happy Friday! Check out the FanDuel MLB 5/7 breakdown below.
As usual, I will be going over 3 pitchers and 3 teams that we should be looking to stack in our FanDuel lineups. We have a huge 14 game slate as is typical on a Friday, with only the Pirates and Cubs playing before lock. Let’s get into the picks!
The Aces
A. With no real weather concerns to worry about, we can target pitchers from any game that we want, although we may see a potential late start in Baltimore. This is surprisingly a slate that lacks any huge amount of top-tier arms, despite 28 teams on the docket. I will be keeping a close eye on that weather in Baltimore, as one of my favorite options on FanDuel is Eduardo Rodriguez ($8,700).
E-Rod owns the lowest SIERA on the entire day of 2.97, which is surprising given that Carlos Rodon is also taking the mound tonight. Rodriguez also sports a 28% strikeout rate, and we know that this Baltimore offense is not a team that we should be scared of. While the Orioles did handle the Red Sox on Opening Day in Fenway (Which I may still be salty about), the Sox should roll in this one. Rodriguez has limited free passes to an almost non-existent amount, and should be in line for the easy win.
B. My second ace for Friday night is the aforementioned Carlos Rodon ($11,200). While he is significantly more expensive than my SP1, he also has higher strikeout upside for tournaments. I wrote up Rodon in the matchup where he recently threw a near perfect game, although he was scratched and I ended up getting off of him for that next start, which was a tough pill to swallow.
Nevertheless, Rodon finds himself in a solid position yet again as he owns the highest strikeout rate on the day of 32.3%. Trevor Rogers and his 31.9% K rate does not trail him by much though. The Royals are a potent offense that can certainly put some runs on the board, but Rodon has limited hard contact to a rate of 29.6% over the previous two seasons so he should be able to keep the damage to a minimum.
C. My final arm for Friday night is James Taillon ($7,100). As usual, I will be looking to save some salary cap with my third option so that we can mix in some of those expensive stacks. The Washington Nationals have really been struggling on the offensive end lately, as they have not been able to scrape together more than three runs in any of their previous four games. Not to mention, quite a few of those games were against extremely hittable starting pitchers.
Taillon should be able to take care of this slumping offense on Friday night with his surprisingly solid 3.21 SIERA and 30.5% strikeout rate. The Yankees are the second largest favorite on the entire day and I expect Taillon to cruise to that six point win bonus on FanDuel.
The Bases
A. The only team that is a larger favorite than the Yankees is also one of my favorites to stack tonight, the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals are massive -220 favorites for Friday as they take swings against Austin Gomber and the Rockies bullpen.
Gomber is a gas can that does not really do anything very well on the pitchers mound. With a 5.14 SIERA, 14% walk rate, and only a 21.9% strikeout rate, the Cards should be able to do damage early and often. The salaries of this stack are also more than reasonable on FanDuel so we should be able to still afford Rodon in some of our stacks.
B. My second team to target on FanDuel is the same team that one of my aces is from, the Chicago White Sox. For context, I love the over in this game sitting at 8.5 runs, and I also love Carlos Rodon, which means I expect this White Sox team to put runs on the board on Friday night.
Any time that Brad Keller is pitching on a slate, I immediately have interest in the bats that he is facing. Keller is just not a good major league pitcher, sporting a 5.02 SIERA and a laughable 15.3% strikeout rate. While he has been able to induce ground balls and limit hard contact at solid rates, targeting fly ball hitters in this White Sox lineup should be a recipe for success tonight.
C. To close things out on this massive Friday FanDuel MLB slate, I will be stacking up my very own Boston Red Sox. It is funny how my aces and bases meshed up so well for this article, but I did not plan it that way. The Red Sox take swings against Matt Harvey tonight, who is a pitcher that is long past his prime.
I am less worried about the weather when it comes to our bats, so we should be comfortable targeting these Red Sox hitters unless the forecast changes significantly before first pitch. Matt Harvey owns a brutal 6.12 ERA, accompanied by only a 16% strikeout rate and a 38% hard contact rate. This Red Sox offense is the best in the majors in my humble opinion, which nobody, including myself, expected going into this season. Target these hot hitters in all formats!
That is it for me today! Please also check out our projection model by clicking here. If you have any questions, I will be in our expert chat in Discord leading up to lock, so feel free to shoot me a DM or @ me in chat!
