Friday brings us a 13-game main slate with first pitch at 7:05 p.m. ET. Let’s dive right in.
Pitchers
The top-rated pitcher on both sites is Sonny Gray, who has been a consistent starter for the Cincinnati Reds this season. He may not be putting up as sparkling of numbers as the past few years, but he is still recording a decent season.
One benefit of playing Gray is that he is a strong strikeout man — 146 K’s in 126 2/3 innings. He will get a plus match-up tonight in the Washington Nationals, who have the hottest hitter on the planet, Juan Soto, but do not offer much offense outside of him.
Earlier this year, Gray faced the Nationals and recorded six scoreless innings, with five strikeouts. He has given up nine earned runs in his four September starts, but has walked just three batters in that time frame.
At his price point, Gray feels like a great safe option for tonight. He hits for seven ProTrends and the Nationals only have an implied 3.9 runs.
The highest-priced pitching option for the night, is the second-highest rated — Shane Bieber. This will be Bieber’s first start since June 13, after a long stint on the IL.
It has been reported from Cleveland pitching coach Carl Willis that Bieber will be on a pitch count of 50-to-55 pitches. That makes sense as this game means absolutely nothing to the Indians, and they really just need to make sure Bieber is right going forward.
With that being the case, there is no way you can roster Bieber at his price point. Even if he has a successful few innings, there is just no way to hit value here. I would be hoping for competitors to roster him, not realizing the situation he is in. He is a great talent, but the Indians will be cautious with him the rest of the way.
I also do not feel like you are rostering Gerrit Cole tonight. The New York Yankees start a massive series with the Boston Red Sox in Fenway Park and there are a few factors working against Cole tonight.
First, he has not looked right for the past few starts. He left his Sept. 7 start early due to hamstring tightness, pitched okay (by his standards) against the Baltimore Orioles on Sept. 14, and got rag-dolled by the Indians for seven runs on Sunday.
Second, he has not looked great against Boston this year. In three starts, he has combined for 16 innings pitched, nine earned runs, 25 strikeouts and allowed four home runs.
Maybe the playoff atmosphere brings out the best in Cole, or maybe that just makes every at-bat feel like a short movie. This could be one of those weekends with endless five-hour games between these two teams with so much on the line. Again, this could bring out the Houston Astros version of Cole or he could just last five innings again.
Jose Berrios could be worth a look tonight. The Toronto Blue Jays are in the same tension-filled chase as the Yankees and Red Sox, but get the benefit of facing a non-playoff team in the Minnesota Twins. That did not work out for them Thursday night, however.
Berrios has looked strong in the month of September, posting a 3.00 ERA. He has allowed a home run in each of his starts, but has not allowed more than three earned runs in any start.
He just faced the Twins, going 6 2/3 innings, giving up three earned runs, with six strikeouts.
I wouldn’t call him as “safe” as Gray, but could definitely make the case for utilizing him.
Jack Flaherty is a no-go with the 18 MPH winds blowing straight out at Wrigley Field.
I would consider Dylan Cease, too. He has really been cashing in on strikeouts lately, with nine or more K’s in three-of-four starts and double digits four times since the beginning of August.
He just posited a scoreless five innings against the Texas Rangers, and has a better chance at recording a win with Bieber not lasting very long in this contest.
I will say, he did get hit hard by the Indians in his only start against them this season, but that was on June 1.
Hitters
Notable Stack
The top stack of the night is the Los Angeles Dodgers:
- 4. Max Muncy (L)
- 2. Corey Seager (L)
- 1. Mookie Betts (R)
- 3. Trea Turner (R)
This group is projected for 53.9 FanDuel points on a salary of $15,700. This was a little shocking to not see either offense in Coors Field pop up here. The Dodgers have an implied run total of 6.1, as they head to Arizona to face Humberto Castellanos.
The 6.1 runs is actually more than the Colorado Rockies are implied for. Castellanos is looking like a low strikeout guy, and has given up four home runs in his last three starts. That generally bears bad news against the Dodgers. All of these hitters hit for five ProTrends on the night.
Other Hitters
Leody Taveras gets to hit in Camden Yards, at the top of a lineup, and at a cheap price. He is hitting .218 in September, which is his best month on the year. He will also be in his better split, hitting from the right-handed side against Alexander Wells. He makes for a decent punt play, especially on FanDuel.
Daulton Varsho has been an interesting player all season to me. He is enjoying his best month at .279 in September. He has a hit in seven-of-eight games and he provides some pop, too. In that stretch, he has four extra base-hits in that stretch. Tony Gonsolin is not the best pitcher to target against, but does not totally scare me off of Varsho either.
At a cheap price, Max Schrock features prominently in the Lineup Optimizer. He has not shown a lot of pop, but will be able to score a lot of runs with the support that he has at the top of the Reds’ lineup. He hits for five ProTrends tonight and will be in his clearly better split (he really is not allowed to hit against LHP as he is 1-for-6 against them this year). He is a great value play.
Pictured above: Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Sonny Gray.
Photo credit: Dylan Buell/Getty Images.
