It's Friday, which means a full slate of evening games for those in daily fantasy baseball contests. Whenever there are this many games, there are plenty of solid hitters available, both of the stud and value variety, so making the right pitcher pick is even more important than usual. Fortunately, it's a fairly deep pitching slate, so you can go with several different strategies when starting your lineup.
Perhaps the biggest decision DFS players will make tonight is whether they think Max Scherzer or Jacob deGrom will get the better of their head-to-head matchup. While both can put up huge numbers, obviously only one can walk away with that all-important win. Carlos Carrasco might be the better high-priced option for this reason alone. Jake Arrieta can also have a big performance, but he has a tough matchup in Boston, if that scares you.
The "second-tier" pitchers are headlined by Marcus Stroman, who has ace potential if you can raise his strikeouts. Almost every pitcher in our top 23 is in play in GPPs, with the latter five largely being strikeout-based, boom-or-bust options. One guy who stands out is Tyler Skaggs, who had a rocky first two starts but has settled down over his last two, allowing just two runs while striking out 13 in 14 innings. Texas is third from the bottom in OPS vs. lefties so far this year, so even in a tough pitching environment, this looks like a nice matchup for Skaggs.
MORE DFS: Friday's lineup | Lineup Builder
Daily Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Pitchers
| Rank | Pitcher | Team | Opp. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Max Scherzer, RHP | WAS | vs. NYM |
| 2 | Carlos Carrasco, RHP | CLE | vs. SEA |
| 3 | Jacob deGrom, RHP | NYM | at WAS |
| 4 | Jake Arrieta, RHP | CHC | at BOS |
| 5 | Marcus Stroman, RHP | TOR | vs. TB |
| 6 | Jameson Taillon, RHP | PIT | at MIA |
| 7 | Jerad Eickhoff, RHP | PHI | at LAD |
| 8 | Lance Lynn, RHP | STL | vs. CIN |
| 9 | Ian Kennedy, RHP | KC | vs. MIN |
| 10 | Kenta Maeda, RHP | LAD | vs. PHI |
| 11 | Tyler Skaggs, LHP | LAA | at TEX |
| 12 | Chase Anderson, RHP | MIL | vs. ATL |
| 13 | Jeff Samardzija, RHP | SF | vs. SD |
| 14 | Drew Pomeranz, LHP | BOS | vs. CHC |
| 15 | Bartolo Colon, RHP | ATL | at MIL |
| 16 | Adam Conley, LHP | MIA | vs. PIT |
| 17 | Charlie Morton, RHP | HOU | vs. OAK |
| 18 | CC Sabathia, LHP | NYY | vs. BAL |
| 19 | Robbie Ray, LHP | ARI | vs. COL |
| 20 | Kyle Freeland, LHP | COL | at ARI |
| 21 | Kevin Gausman, RHP | BAL | at NYY |
| 22 | Jharel Cotton, RHP | OAK | at HOU |
| 23 | Blake Snell, LHP | TB | at TOR |
| 24 | Kyle Gibson, RHP | MIN | at KC |
| 25 | Ariel Miranda, LHP | SEA | at CLE |
| 26 | Tim Adleman, RHP | CIN | at STL |
| 27 | Nick Martinez, RHP | TEX | vs. LAA |
| 28 | Matt Boyd, LHP | DET | vs. CWS |
| 29 | Luis Perdomo, RHP | SD | at SF |
| 30 | Mike Pelfrey, RHP | CWS | at DET |
Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks: Friday, April 28
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With so many options on Friday's full slate, we’ll do our best to provide you with the top point producers and a few value plays for both cash games and tournaments. We are almost a full month into the season, so we’re getting returns from players that we can start to really analyze. Being a Friday, we have some new series, which means, unfortunately, the Nationals are no longer at Coors Field.
Let's talk a little strategy for tonight. The corner infield positions (1B and 3B) are areas to spend tonight. There are plenty of solid options at these positions, and since you only need one, don’t go bargain hunting here. It will set you back. Shortstop appears to be the weakest position, and outside of Buster Posey at catcher, there aren’t too many great options there either. Second base and outfield are right in the middle, so you can do what you’d like there. Bottom line: Spend at 1B and 3B & find the values/punt at SS and C. Fill in with 2B and OF. -- Nick Berns
| Pos | Player | Team | Opp. | FD | DK | Y! | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP | Max Scherzer (R) | Nationals | Mets | $11600 | $12700 | $60 | GO PRO ! |
| SP | GO PRO ! | GO PRO ! | |||||
| SP | Marcus Stroman (R) | Blue Jays | Rays | $9100 | $9100 | $42 | GO PRO ! |
| SP | Jerad Eickhoff (R) | Phillies | @Dodgers | $8000 | $8600 | $40 | GO PRO ! |
| SP | Jeff Samardzija (R) | Giants | Padres | $8700 | $9000 | $38 | GO PRO ! |
| SP | GO PRO ! | GO PRO ! | |||||
| SP | Tyler Skaggs (L) | Angels | @Rangers | $7900 | $7700 | $33 | GO PRO ! |
| SP | Jameson Taillon (R) | Pirates | @Marlins | $8100 | $7400 | $43 | GO PRO ! |
| SP | Charlie Morton (R) | Astros | Athletics | $6300 | $6900 | $29 | GO PRO ! |
| C | Buster Posey (R) | Giants | Padres | $3700 | $3800 | $17 | GO PRO ! |
| C | GO PRO ! | GO PRO ! | |||||
| C | J.T. Realmuto (R) | Marlins | Pirates | $2800 | $3400 | $14 | GO PRO ! |
| C | Geovany Soto (R) | White Sox | @Tigers | $2100 | $2400 | $12 | GO PRO ! |
| 1B | Joey Votto (L) | Reds | @Cardinals | $4200 | $4700 | $23 | GO PRO ! |
| 1B | GO PRO ! | GO PRO ! | |||||
| 1B | Brandon Belt (L) | Giants | Padres | $3200 | $3700 | $20 | GO PRO ! |
| 1B | Justin Smoak (B) | Blue Jays | Rays | $2600 | $2900 | $10 | GO PRO ! |
| 1B | Mark Reynolds (R) | Rockies | @D-backs | $3400 | $3900 | $20 | GO PRO ! |
| 2B | GO PRO ! | GO PRO ! | |||||
| 2B | Brian Dozier (R) | Twins | @Royals | $3800 | $4300 | $18 | GO PRO ! |
| 2B | Brandon Phillips (R) | Braves | @Brewers | $3400 | $3800 | $17 | GO PRO ! |
| 2B | Josh Harrison (R) | Pirates | @Marlins | $3000 | $3400 | $14 | GO PRO ! |
| 3B | Evan Longoria (R) | Rays | @Blue Jays | $3200 | $4100 | $16 | GO PRO ! |
| 3B | Kris Bryant (R) | Cubs | @Red Sox | $4200 | $5200 | $22 | GO PRO ! |
| 3B | GO PRO ! | GO PRO ! | |||||
| 3B | Chase Headley (B) | Yankees | Orioles | $3500 | $3900 | $17 | GO PRO ! |
| 3B | Miguel Sano (R) | Twins | @Royals | $3500 | $4200 | $21 | GO PRO ! |
| SS | Zack Cozart (R) | Reds | @Cardinals | $3400 | $3300 | $19 | GO PRO ! |
| SS | GO PRO ! | GO PRO ! | |||||
| SS | Alcides Escobar (R) | Royals | Twins | $2100 | $3200 | $7 | GO PRO ! |
| SS | Trevor Story (R) | Rockies | @D-backs | $3300 | $4500 | $18 | GO PRO ! |
| OF | Adam Jones (R) | Orioles | @Yankees | $3400 | $4100 | $16 | GO PRO ! |
| OF | GO PRO ! | GO PRO ! | |||||
| OF | A.J. Pollock (R) | D-backs | Rockies | $4200 | $4200 | $21 | GO PRO ! |
| OF | Yasmany Tomás (R) | D-backs | Rockies | $3400 | $4000 | $20 | GO PRO ! |
| OF | Austin Jackson (R) | Indians | Mariners | $2600 | $3200 | $11 | GO PRO ! |
| OF | Avisail García (R) | White Sox | @Tigers | $3800 | $3100 | $18 | GO PRO ! |
| OF | GO PRO ! | GO PRO ! | |||||
| OF | Nick Markakis (L) | Braves | @Brewers | $3100 | $4000 | $14 | GO PRO ! |
Yahoo! DailyMORE: GO PRO with Fantasy Alarm
Daily Fantasy Baseball Value Picks: Friday, April 28
There are a few players that I didn’t do a full write-up on, but like for value plays and may make it into my Optimal Lineups. They include:
C - James McCann (DET) - DK & FD
C - Jeff Mathis (ARZ) - DK / FD / Y!
1B - C.J. Cron (LAA) - FD / Y! (if you must)
2B - Whit Merrifield (KC) - FD
2B - Tyler Saladino (CWS) - FD & Y!
3B - Mike Moustakas (KC) - DK (if you must)
3B - Eduardo Nunez (SF) - FD (if you must)
SS - Tim Beckham (TB) - DK / FD
SS - Tim Anderson (CWS) - FD
OF - Matt Holliday (NYY) - FD
OF - Corey Dickerson (TB) - DK
OF - Carlos Gonzalez (COL) - FD