This article is part of our DraftKings MLB series.
Thursday left you with limited options for your MLB DFS lineups, but Friday has you covered. There are 12 games included on the DFS docket, with the first pitch at 7:05 p.m. ET. Of course, that means instead of having to make the best of limited choices, you might feel like there is an overwhelming assortment of options Friday. Fret not, for that is why I am here. These are my MLB DFS lineup recommendations.
Pitching
Kevin Gausman, TOR at SEA ($9,000): Gausman had a 3.83 ERA last season, which is okay if not remarkable, and he has a 3.83 ERA this year as well. However, all in all, he's been a bit better than in 2024. Gausman's strikeouts are a bit up and his walks and home runs are a bit down, leaving him with a 3.44 FIP. Seattle has been unexpectedly good offensively to start this season, but it has a pitcher-friendly ballpark, so I'll still roster Gausman.
Jose Quintana, MIL at TAM ($8,700): Quintana's last start went poorly, but it was against the Cubs, who have been baseball's best offense to start 2025. Prior to that, the veteran journeyman was crushing it. Over his first four starts of the season he had an 1.14 ERA. Now, Quintana is not that good, but he had a 3.39 ERA over the prior three seasons. Tampa is in the bottom 10 in runs scored, and Quintana is a lefty, so he can handle a lot of Tampa's lineup.
Nick Martinez, CIN at HOU ($7,800): Martinez has mostly pitched out of the bullpen in his career, but he's been starting this season for the Reds. His first few starts were a little dicey, but over his last three starts he has a 2.04 ERA. The Astros are below average in terms of runs scored, and they have a .679 OPS for good measure.
Top Targets
By his lofty standards, Mookie Betts ($5,600) is having a slow start to this season. However, he has an .895 OPS since joining the Dodgers, and since 2023 he has a .950 OPS against lefties. Betts has been fine, but he will soon enough be fine by his standards as well. Eduardo Rodriguez has not been fine. Since joining the Diamondbacks he has a 5.42 ERA and he's allowed 15 home runs in 17 starts.
Over the last two weeks Juan Soto ($5,200) has an 1.070 OPS. It's a nice reminder that, oh yeah, he's one of the best hitters in the world and was going to find his form with the Mets eventually. In his worst season he had an .853 OPS with 27 home runs and that was the year he split between the Nationals and Padres. Jameson Taillon is excellent at preventing walks, and walking is one of Soto's strengths, but the slugger should be fine. Since joining the Cubs the righty pitcher has a 4.85 ERA and 1.6 HR/9 rate on the road.
Bargain Bats
Though he may end up more around the 20 home runs he hit in 2022 as opposed to the 31 he hit last season, Josh Naylor ($4,500) has been a success in his first year with the Diamondbacks. In addition to his nine doubles, he's been part of MLB's uptick in base stealing, as he already has swiped six bags. I know Roki Sasaki was a star in Japan, and he's only made seven MLB starts. For now, though, the dude just isn't cutting it. Sasaki has a 5.40 FIP and, most alarmingly, has issued 5.93 walks per nine innings.
It's fun that Mickey Moniak ($3,300) has four triples already. The guy is fundamentally flawed as a hitter, and he has never learned to take a walk and will never live up to being the first-overall pick, but he's viable against righties. Getting to play his home games at Coors Field now also helps Moniak have some actual upside. Randy Vasquez has a delightful stat line through seven starts this season. He's only allowed 0.28 home runs per nine innings, but he also has managed a mere 3.62 strikeouts per nine while issuing a whopping 6.68 walks per nine. All that has yielded a 5.10 FIP for the righty.
Stacks to Consider
Padres at Rockies (Antonio Senzatela): Manny Machado ($5,700), Gavin Sheets ($4,700), Elias Diaz ($4,000)
With the Rockies' rotation, every single time I am making DFS lineup recommendations and the Rockies are at home I will be stacking against them. Why get cute? Since 2023, Senzatela has an 8.34 ERA at home, not to mention a 2.8 HR/9 rate. I have two righties in this stack, even though Senzatela is right handed. One, it's Coors Field. I don't have to focus so strongly on lefty/righty matchups when the park is so helpful. Two, over the last three seasons righties have hit .346 against Senzatela. Granted, lefties have hit .358, but the main takeaway is that anybody can hit against Senzatela.
I don't know if Machado has full on changed his approach or just has had his season play out like this over a sample size of 36 games, but it's working. Though he only has three home runs, Machado has averaged .306 with 12 doubles and seven stolen bases. I have mentioned this in the past, but Coors Field's outfield is conducive to doubles when the ball stays in the park. I didn't expect Sheets to emerge as a DH candidate for the Padres, at least when a righty is on the mound. And yet, here we are. The former White Sox player has averaged .278 with four home runs, but he also has an .834 OPS versus righties. Diaz is a good choice for catcher. The former Rockie his 14 home runs and 25 doubles in 2023, his last full season with the team. That season he also had a .755 OPS at home.
Yankees at Athletics (Osvaldo Bido): Aaron Judge ($6,400), Cody Bellinger ($4,400), Paul Goldschmidt ($4,100)
There was a thought, a safe presumption even, that the Athletics' interim ballpark in Sacramento would play better for hitters than the ballpark in Oakland did. Bido may be the canary in the coalmine on that front. Last year, he had a 3.38 ERA at home and a 3.47 ERA on the road. This season, his road ERA is 3.48, but his home ERA is 6.32. Also, in terms of his 4.71 ERA, Bido has faced the Rockies, the Rangers, the Marlins, and the White Sox twice. In order to balance out recommending Judge, I went down the list a bit for my other two Yankees. With Bido on the mound, you should still be fine.
Judge is the best hitter in baseball, he has an 1.241 OPS this season, he has a career 1.019 OPS, and he's thrown in two triples to go with his 12 home runs for fun. Once you recognize that the opposing pitcher is below average, or even average, you don't need the hard sell on Judge. Injuries have played a role in Bellinger's slow start as a Yankee, but he has five home runs and four stolen bases. Three of his homers have come in his last eight games, though, so perhaps he is rounding into form. I went with a second righty in Goldschmidt, because righties have batted .329 against Bido this season. He has an .855 OPS with the Yankees, and while he's been much better against righties, he's also been much better on the road. Goldschmidt has an 1.002 OPS in away games.
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