This article is part of our DraftKings MLB series.
Memorial Day weekend is here! Friday evening counts as the weekend! We all agree on this! There are 12 games on the MLB docket starting at 7:05 p.m. ET or later. Here are my recommendations to try and bring you some DFS success Friday.
Pitching
Pablo Lopez, MIN vs. KAN ($9,900): Lopez has consistently been excellent when it comes to his K/BB rate, and this year is no different. He has a 5.44 K/BB rate through eight starts. However, this season everything has clicked and he has a 2.43 FIP. Kansas City is in the bottom five in runs scored, and there's a clear place one can point to in order to explain that. The Royals are last in home runs.
Tyler Mahle, TEX at CWS ($9,600): Mahle's 1.47 ERA definitely turns heads, and I highly doubt it is sustainable. That being said, he has a 3.08 FIP. Yes, that indicates he's been quite lucky, but if Mahle ended the year with a 3.08 ERA, who would complain? The White Sox aren't exactly likely to give Mahle a dose of reality. They have a .618 OPS as a team.
Jackson Jobe, DET vs. CLE ($7,400): Jobe isn't looking like a Rookie of the Year candidate. He's still looking to make it all click. That being said, he has a 4.12 ERA and he has a 4-0 record. Also, Jobe's worst start of the year came at Coors Field, and he has a 2.30 ERA at home. Cleveland is in the bottom 10 in runs scored, so perhaps Jobe can make it click Friday.
Top Targets
Though he's benefited from a recent series at Coors helping his bolster his numbers, Trea Turner ($6,000) has an .862 OPS over the last three weeks. He should also, eventually, hit more home runs, given that he's had more than 20 in each of the last four campaigns. Jeffrey Springs is a lefty, so I turned to Turner in lieu of one of Philly's big left-handed bats. Additionally, Springs looks like a case study in the Athletics' new park, as he has a 2.45 ERA on the road, but a 6.30 ERA at home.
Hey, if Rafael Devers ($5,300) keeps hitting like this, he can complain about being asked to play first base all he wants. He's slashed .287/.409/.521 with 10 homers and 14 doubles. Since 2023 he has a .927 OPS versus righties, and also a .915 OPS at Fenway. Charlie Morton has returned to the Baltimore rotation but only out of desperation. He has a 7.68 ERA over 41.0 innings bouncing between starting and relieving.
Bargain Bats
If you're looking for a catcher – and you need to have one in your lineup, so you are – I like Logan O'Hoppe ($3,900). A catcher who has hit .275 with 14 home runs stands out given the relative offensive level of the position. I don't want it to be the case, but it seems like Sandy Alcantara has lost it post-Tommy John surgery. He missed all of 2024 and here in 2025 he has a 7.99 ERA. Also, his fellow righties have hit .289 against him.
Last season, Alec Burleson ($3,500) hit 21 home runs and had nine stolen bases. This year he has three stolen bases to go with four homers, but his batting average is also up to .291. He still can't hit his fellow lefties, but a righty is in line to start for the Diamondbacks. That would be the scuffling Zac Gallen, who unexpectedly has a 5.14 ERA through 10 starts.
Stacks to Consider
Yankees at Rockies (Chase Dollander): Ben Rice ($5,600), Cody Bellinger ($5,500), Jasson Dominguez ($5,000)
Another series at Coors Field begins! Also, this time the Yankees are the visiting team! Dollander is coming off two of his better starts, but it's probably not a coincidence they were both on the road. The rookie has an 8.66 ERA at home, and he's allowed 3.1 home runs per nine innings at Coors. Since Dollander is a righty, I have three guys who can hit left handed.
Rice isn't inherently in the starting lineup these days, but he's a lefty with power, so I fully expect to see him face Dollander. Also, he has a .922 OPS versus righties and a .982 OPS on the road, so Aaron Boone would be wise to draw Rice into the lineup Friday. Bellinger is rounding into his best form in his first season with the Yankees. He has an 1.063 OPS over the last three weeks, and he's now up to eight home runs and four stolen bases. Dominguez is starting to look like a viable MLB regular, and he is up to a .340 OBP with 15 extra-base hits and four swiped bags. He's a switch hitter, but like many young switch hitters, you kind of wonder why he bothers. Dominguez can't hit lefties at all, but he has a career .915 OPS versus righties.
Diamondbacks at Cardinals (Miles Mikolas): Corbin Carroll ($5,900), Ketel Marte ($5,300), Josh Naylor ($4,300)
Other than the fact he isn't striking anybody out and is wholly mediocre at best, this has been an unusual Mikolas season. He's really keeping the ball in the park, but he's unexpectedly walking a decent amount of batters as well. His struggles at home remain, as he has a 4.70 ERA there. Strangely, while in the past both lefties and righties have hit him well, this year righties have hit only .171 against him. Conversely, lefties have still raked to the tune of a .292 average. I have two lefties and a switch-hitter here, since you literally can't roster both Naylor and Pavin Smith.
Okay, this year Carroll might actually take the NL MVP. He's hit .278 with 15 homers, nine stolen bases and a remarkable six triples through 50 games. That's bolstered by an 1.004 OPS versus righties. Marte missed time, but in 26 contests has slashed .270/.387/.551 with seven home runs. Though he's traditionally hit lefties better, his .855 OPS against righties over the last three seasons more than suffices. Naylor has begun his tenure with Arizona with a .290 average, five homers and an unexpected eight stolen bases. His .897 OPS versus right-handed pitchers is more expected.
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