Check out all of our starting pitcher rankings and other lineup selection tools here to help you make smart fantasy baseball lineup decisions. MLB betting tips for each day's slate of games will also be added in the morning. MLB game odds are provided by ESPN BET
, and all fantasy advice is geared toward ESPN 10-team leagues with standard scoring.
Note: All information is accurate as of the time of publication. For updates, including what you might have missed from last night, as well as any breaking news that might impact today's MLB slate, be sure to check out the latest fantasy baseball news.
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Pitchers to stream on Friday
Philadelphia Phillies LHP Ranger Suarez opened the season on the 15-day IL with a back injury. He debuted in early May and he was roughed up for seven earned runs on seven hits in just 3 2/3 innings. The southpaw righted the ship in his second outing, hurling seven scoreless stanzas on the road against the Cleveland Guardians. His third start is a juicy home start on Friday against the vulnerable Pittsburgh Pirates. Splits facing left-handers can be misleading, but in this case, Suarez holds the edge over a lineup with the seventh-lowest wOBA and third-highest strikeout rate against southpaws, especially if Oneil Cruz remains sidelined.
A start in South Beach could be exactly what Tampa Bays RHP Taj Bradley needs to get on a roll. He's experiencing command and control issues. In each of his first two seasons, 65% of Bradley's pitches were strikes. He's at 62% this year but is facing a Miami Marlins club sporting the second-lowest walk rate and ninth-poorest home run rate in the league.
It happened, so it can't be ignored, but take away the outing where he allowed seven runs in five frames to the Chicago Cubs and Dustin May would have a 2.86 ERA and 1.04 WHIP. On Friday, the Los Angeles Dodgers RHP has another opportunity to chip away at his 4.08 ERA in a home date against a Los Angeles Angels lineup fanning at the highest clip against right-handers.
Pitchers to avoid on Friday
As alluded to earlier, far fewer pitches are thrown by southpaws, so splits against lefty pitching are noisy. On Friday, New York Yankees LHP Carlos Rodon takes the hill in the Bronx in the first game of a weekend set with their crosstown rivals. The New York Mets tote the fourth-best wOBA, the second-highest home run rate and the fifth-lowest strikeout rate with a left-hander toeing the rubber. Rodon is enjoying an excellent season, but in leagues with weekly start limits, the safe play is avoiding him.
Hitters to stream on Friday
The Kansas City Royals are one of the best teams at putting the ball in play. On Friday, they square off with St. Louis Cardinals RHP Andre Pallante, who has racked up only 28 strikeouts in 43 1/3 innings. Kauffman Stadium crushes power, but the highest outfield acreage in the league favors players making contact. Look for Royals hitters to be productive, most notably Vinnie Pasquantino, Jonathan India and Michael Massey.
Betting tips
Best/worst pitcher/hitter matchups and betting projections are generated by THE BAT X, a system created by Derek Carty using advanced methods like those used in MLB front offices, accounting for a variety of factors including player talent, ballparks, bullpens, weather, umpires, defense, catcher pitch-framing, and lots more. Betting projections for every player, team, and game can be found at EV Analytics.
Note: Expected Value is a measure of how good a bet is, factoring the probability that it will win versus the odds the book is providing. If you were to wager $1.00 100 times on a bet with an Expected Value of $25, you would win some and you would lose some, but in the end you would expect to come away with $25 in profit on your $100 investment.
Because odds typically do not get set until the previous day's games are completed, betting tips will be added in the morning.