With the Mets and Phillies squaring off at 6:05 pm EST, DRAFT will give us three different options to choose from in the time slots department: 6:05 pm EST (15 games), 7:05 pm EST (14 games), and 10:05 pm EST (three games).
Three games have an over/under of at least nine total runs, with the TB/BOS matchup leading the way at 9.5 total projected runs. Two teams are well beyond the heavy favorite (-200 odds, ore greater) line. Both Washington and Cleveland are above -300, according to Vegas.
This article is posted well before lineups are released by the managers. If you have a question, feel free to reach me on Twitter @CharlieSideHstl.
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Pitchers
1. Max Scherzer, WSH (vs. MIA)
2. Noah Syndergaard, NYM (@ PHI)
3. Walker Buehler, LAD (@ SEA)
4. Carlos Carrasco, CLE (vs. BAL)
5. Charlie Morton, HOU (@ OAK)
6. Robbie Ray, ARI (@ SD)
7. Jack Flaherty, STL (vs. MIL)
8. Aaron Nola, PHI (vs. NYM)
9. Joey Lucchesi, SD (vs. ARI)
10. Freddy Peralta, MIL (@ STL)
You know Scherzer is a beast, and Syndergaard plays in an earlier game, so I’ll focus on the other arms. Buehler is the surprise No. 3 pitcher in the rankings on Friday. Buehler has punched out at least six batters in three straight games and at least five whiffs in five consecutive outings. He’s also allowed two earned runs, or less, in four of the past five appearances.
Ray is another pitcher with a high strikeout potential. He’s punched out at least six batters in four consecutive contests. In that span, Ray allowed two earned runs, or less, in three appearances. He’ll get the Padres on Friday. Even though San Diego roughed him up in his lone start against them earlier this season (4.1 IP, 4 ER), the Padres are still 27th in runs scored (472 runs in 123 games) and third in team strikeouts (1,154).
Infielders
1. Jose Ramirez, CLE (vs. BAL)
2. J.D. Martinez, BOS (vs. TB)
3. Francisco Lindor, CLE (vs. BAL)
4. Matt Carpenter, STL (vs. MIL)
5. Nolan Arenado, COL (@ ATL)
6. Trevor Story, COL (@ ATL)
7. Paul Goldschmidt, ARI (@ SD)
8. Freddie Freeman, ATL (vs. COL)
9. Miguel Andujar, NYY (vs. TOR)
10. Javier Baez, CHC (@ PIT)
11. Xander Bogaerts, BOS (vs. TB)
12. Rougned Odor, TEX (vs. LAA)
13. Trea Turner, WSH (vs. MIA)
14. Jurickson Profar, TEX (vs. LAA)
15. Anthony Rizzo, CHC (@ PIT)
16. Mitch Moreland, BOS (vs. TB)
17. Didi Gregorius, NYY (vs. TOR)
18. Manny Machado, LAD (@ SEA)
19. Cody Bellinger, LAD (@ SEA)
20. Max Muncy, LAD (@ SEA)
Cleveland leads the slate with a 6.1 implied run total on Friday night. The Indians didn’t play on Thursday, so Ramirez and Lindor will hopefully benefit from the night off. J-Ram leads the Tribe with a .321 ISO against right-handed pitchers. Lindor is second on the club with a .257 ISO against righties. In the past week, the nod goes to Ramirez. He’s 9-for-24 (.375) with two doubles and three home runs in the past seven days.
With the attention on more popular infielders, Andujar could slip through the cracks on Friday. He’s homered in every other game for the past 10 starts (he would be due to homer on Friday). In the past week, he’s 11-for-28 (.393) with four doubles and four home runs.
Outfielders
1. Mookie Betts, BOS (vs. TB)
2. Mike Trout, LAA (@ TEX)
3. Andrew Benintendi, BOS (vs. TB)
4. Ronald Acuna Jr., ATL (vs. COL)
5. Michael Brantley, CLE (vs. BAL)
6. Bryce Harper, WSH (vs. MIA)
7. Giancarlo Stanton, NYY (vs. TOR)
8. Justin Upton, LAA (@ TEX)
9. Shin-Soo Choo, TEX (vs. LAA)
10. Juan Soto, WSH (vs. MIA)
11. Joey Gallo, TEX (vs. LAA)
12. Christian Yelich, MIL (@ STL)
13. David Peralta, ARI (@ SD)
14. AJ Pollock, ARI (@ SD)
15. Hunter Renfroe, SD (vs. ARI)
16. Charlie Blackmon, COL (@ ATL)
17. Aaron Hicks, NYY (vs. TOR)
18. Mallex Smith, TB (@ BOS)
19. Steve Pearce, BOS (vs. TB)
20. Starling Marte, PIT (vs. CHC)
Even after missing most of Wednesday’s game, Acuna is still tied with the league-lead of 14 hits in the past week. Half of those hits left the yard and he still maintained a .483 AVG in the last seven days. Acuna returned to action on Thursday. He went 1-for-4 and also stole a base. That brings his tally to nine stolen bases on the season, with three of them in the past 10 games.
I ranked Marte low on Friday because he’s day-to-day with an illness. However, if he’s in the starting lineup, boost him towards the top 10 on Friday. In his career, Marte is 8-for-17 (.471) with two extra-base hits (one home run) against Cole Hamels.
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Adam Meyer is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Adam, check out his archive and follow him @CharlieSideHstl.
