Let’s build responsible lineups today, you guys. Plenty of appealing pitching matchups on Friday’s slate. We urge you to view the weather reports and double-check lineups before finalizing selections, as always.
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Matt Adams, 1B, at Mil (Garza), $3200 at FanDuel: Milwaukee starter Matt Garza enters this game with a WHIP of 1.80, an ERA of 5.40, and as many walks as strikeouts on the year (9). So this seems like a decent day to stack a few Cards. Adams has absolutely worn out Garza in prior meetings: 7-for-12, 2 doubles, HR, 4 RBIs. At this price, he’s among Friday’s most appealing plays.
Gerrit Cole, SP, at Ari (Collmenter), $8700: Cole is clearly pitching well (2-0, 1.00 WHIP), he’s piling up strikeouts (10.6 K/9), and he’s facing a not-so-intimidating lineup. The Bucs are a big favorite here (-140), and it’s only Josh Collmenter. I’m in.
Neil Walker, 2B, at Ari (Collmenter), $3100: Walker has enjoyed his limited experience facing Collmenter (4-for-8, HR), plus he’s on a modest six-game hitting streak. He’s a bargain here, in a hitter-friendly park.
Shane Greene, SP, vs. Cle (Salazar), $8700 : OK, so the opposing starter is a problem. Salazar was tremendous in his last turn, striking out 10 over 6.0 innings. But Greene’s next poor outing with be his first of 2015. He’s earned wins in each of his three starts, pitching efficiently (and thus deep into games), and run support shouldn’t be an issue in Detroit. Collectively, Cleveland hitters are 2-for-17 against Greene, with one of the two hits belonging to Nick Swisher (DL).
Jhonny Peralta, SS, at Mil (Garza), $2800: Among the many Cardinals who’ve battered Garza over the years, we find Peralta (14-for-34, 2 doubles, HR). I’ll be starting St. Louis’ presumptive 3-4-5 hitters in more than one lineup on Friday.
Scott Kazmir, SP, vs. Hou (Keuchel), $9700: If you’re thinking this seems a little pricey for Kazmir … well, yeah, I hear you. He’s Friday’s fifth most expensive starter. But he’s at home, he’s been terrific in the early weeks (0.79 WHIP), and he’s facing an Astros lineup that leads the majors in total team strikeouts (143). It’s a nice spot for a hot pitcher.
Matt Holliday, OF, at Mil (Garza), $2500: Nope, I’m still not finished picking on Garza. Holliday is 11-for-28 lifetime against the right-hander, plus he’s been raking to start the year (.383/.492/.404). If you want a bonus member of the Cards’ lineup, take a long look at Jon Jay ($2300) on Friday — he’s 9-for-16 versus Garza with three extra-base hits.
Brandon Belt, 1B, at Col (Butler), $3400: Because we should always be looking for bargain hitters at Coors Field. LHBs have tormented Butler thus far in his MLB career (.340/.444/.660 in 63 PAs), so no one should be surprised if Belt, Aoki ($3600) and others post useful stats in this one.
Carlos Gonzalez, OF, vs. SF (Heston), $3500: Sure, I’ll take a dirt-cheap Gonzalez, at home facing a soft-throwing right-hander. Yes, please. CarGo is off to a brutally slow start, sure, but he’s had zero luck on balls-in-play (sub-.200 BABIP). Heston has been excellent to start the season, but he’s getting his first taste of Coors Field.
Denard Span, OF, at Mia (Latos), $3000: If you want to load up on Nats on Friday, I get it. Washington gets to hack away at the 2015 version of Mat Latos, who enters the day with a record of 0-3 and a WHIP of 2.38. Span is leading off, and he’s hit safely in every game since returning from injury.
