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Friday nights are always momentous in baseball with a bulk of new series getting started, and this week is certainly no different. We have a number of viable bats in good matchups to choose from across the salary scale, including some that have gotten off to less-than-ideal starts this season but certainly have the talent to turn things around.
There’s no Coors Field on this slate, but two of the top three stadiums in ESPN’s Park Factor – Great American Ballpark and TD Ballpark in Dunedin – will be hosting. There also happens to be a number of pitchers taking the hill that have had significant trouble with left-handed hitters, which has certainly helped to inform many of my selections for today’s article.
I'll be providing you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for the FanDuel main slate on 4/30/2021. Be sure to also check out all the MLB player news, including late scratches, and the projected and confirmed daily MLB lineups for each DFS slate. You can also read more DFS advice and lineup picks for sites like DraftKings, and other sports.
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FanDuel DFS Pitchers
Cash Game/GPP Anchor Play:
Gerrit Cole – NYY vs. DET ($12,200)
Cole is usually a quintessential example of getting what you pay for, as the right-hander has rewarded those who’ve taken the plunge on him by scoring 47 to 70 FD points in his last four starts. While the salary is astronomical Friday, it’s commensurate to a matchup that could yield Cole his best fantasy output of the season yet. The Tigers scored all of one run during 14 total innings of a twin bill against the White Sox on Thursday and then had to travel to New York. They check in with a 27.1 percent strikeout rate, .215 average, -7.1 wRAA and .293 wOBA against righties for the season, and it's also worth noting Cole has held current Detroit bats to a collective .142/.254/.297 line in 63 career encounters.
Potential Alternate Play
Brady Singer – KC at MIN ($8,400)
Singer got his season off to a rough start by allowing six runs (five ER) to the Rangers, but he’s subsequently given up just one earned run in the 18 innings covering his next three starts. The talented right-hander is allowing just a .281 wOBA to lefty hitters and a .220 figure to righty bats, and his xERA (2.91) is actually lower than his actual and still impressive 2.95 figure. Singer’s 28.4 strikeout rate is also a career high, and he’s seen a welcome drop in barrel percentage from his rookie-season mark of 4.5 percent to an even tinier 1.8 percent. The Twins, despite some big names in their lineup, check in with an MLB-low .263 wOBA versus righties at home, along with a -8.5 wRAA. In turn, Singer generated a 1.29 ERA and 0.43 WHIP over his one road start, while the Royals bullpen that could help preserve a win has a 2.29 ERA and has allowed a .164 average and .257 wOBA to the 142 batters its relievers have faced on the road.
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FanDuel DFS Infielders
Joey Votto – 1B, CIN vs. CHC ($2,700)
Votto boasts multiple metrics that are just screaming imminent breakout – a .294 xBA, .596 xSLG and .397 xwOBA, along with a 26.8 percent line-drive rate and 42.3 percent hard-contact rate. Moreover, he’s sporting career highs in average exit velocity (92.2 mph), barrel percentage (12.7) and hard-hit percentage (46.5) according to Statcast. Despite those figures, Votto is being held back by a .239 BABIP, but he is thriving against right-handed pitching at home. Votto owns a .423 wOBA and .225 ISO over 44 plate appearances in that split, while Cubs starter Jake Arrieta sports a notably higher xERA (4.08) than ERA (2.57) and has given up a .308 average, .871 OPS and .359 wOBA to the 30 left-handed hitters he’s faced on the road thus far. Then, when Arrieta exits, Votto could also benefit from facing a Cubs bullpen that’s given up a .367 wOBA to the 99 left-handed hitters its relievers have faced the last two weeks.
Jake Cronenworth– 2B, SDP vs. SF ($2,900)
Cronenworth sports a solid .260 average and .345 OBP, and he’s shown above-average plate discipline with a 9.9 percent walk rate and 16.2 percent strikeout rate. He isn’t quite squaring up on the ball as consistently as last season, but he does have eight XBH, including a pair of homers, and owns a .783 OPS and .333 wOBA against right-handed pitching. He’s also generated an impressive 23.6 percent line-drive rate and 38.2 percent hard-contact rate versus righties, while Giants starter Logan Webb has surrendered a .417/.488/.667 slash and .492 wOBA to the first 41 left-handed hitters he’s faced this season. The numbers are even higher across the board when he faces them on the road, and when Webb exits, Cronenworth will get a crack at a Giants bullpen that’s allowed a .330 wOBA to 62 left-handed bats in the last two weeks.
Kris Bryant – 3B, CHI at CIN ($3,800)
Bryant has eviscerated left-handed pitching for a .400 average, 1.455 OPS and .597 wOBA through 22 plate appearances against southpaws thus far, and he owns a 1.001 OPS and .417 wOBA over his much larger career sample against lefties. Bryant has enjoyed plenty of career success against Reds left-hander Wade Miley as well, and the veteran has been a bit fortunate with a .190 BABIP against him and a middling 6.5 K/9. Miley is also allowing a career-high 7.7 percent barrel rate and has given up .334 wOBA to righty bats in his career, and Bryant boasts a career-high .372 wOBA against Miley’s trademark cutter, including a .493 wOBA versus the pitch in 2020.
Bo Bichette – SS, TOR vs. ATL ($3,700)
Bichette draws a tantalizing matchup versus veteran southpaw Drew Smyly, who’s opened the season giving up a 7.20 ERA, 3.6 HR/9 and career-high 15.6 percent barrel rate and 57.8 percent hard-hit rate per Statcast. Smyly is also yielding an .826 OPS and .346 wOBA to right-handed hitters, along with a .377 wOBA on his trademark four-seam fastball. In turn, Bichette has a .358 wOBA and .200 ISO in a modest 17-plate-appearance sample against lefties this season, and a .343 average, .976 OPS and .404 wOBA across his 111 PAs career PAs versus southpaws. Bichette is struggling versus the four-seam thus far this season, but he still owns a .373 career wOBA against the pitch and has most recently flashed his upside with three double-digit FD-point tallies in his last six games.
FanDuel DFS Outfielders
David Peralta – OF, ARI vs. COL ($3,200)
Peralta faces a right-hander he knows extremely well in Jon Gray, who he’s touched up for a 1.113 OPS in 32 career plate appearances. The veteran outfielder is now slashing .286/.350/.505 after a 3-for-5, two-RBI night against the Rockies on Thursday, and he was already sporting a .967 OPS and .416 wOBA against right-handed pitching at home before that performance. Gray has been impressive to start the season, but he has allowed a .343 wOBA, a 1.5 HR/9, and a 5.88 xFIP to the 57 left-handed hitters he’s faced thus far, while Colorado’s bullpen has given up a 5.48 ERA and .409 wOBA to lefty bats in its own right this season.
Dominic Smith - OF, NYM at PHI ($2,800)
Smith has started off the season significantly underperforming in almost every category, but the below-the-surface numbers and his prior body of work both point to the likelihood of an imminent breakout. The gap between Smith’s batting average (.203) and xBA (.319) is double-take-worthy, as is that between his slugging percentage (.328) and xSLG (.631) and wOBA (.239) and xwOBA (.391). Smith’s barrel percentage (13.0) is also just below last year’s career-high 13.3 percent figure, and he’s been held back by a .222 BABIP against righties on the road despite a stellar 26.3 percent line-drive rate and 42.1 percent hard-contact rate versus that handedness when traveling. Then, Phillies starter Chase Anderson has opened the season pitching to a 6.48 ERA and 5.67 FIP while allowing a career-high 41.5 percent hard-hit rate per Statcast. To top it off, most of Anderson’s issues have come against lefty bats, which have gotten to him for an .890 OPS, .385 wOBA and 2.8 HR/9 in a 44-batter sample.
Shohei Ohtani – OF, LAA at SEA ($4,000)
Ohtani boasts a .404 wOBA and .352 ISO, elite numbers largely made possible by his 16.7 percent launch angle and sky-high 24.6 percent barrel rate. The two-way star has tagged righties for a .306 average, .994 OPS and .421 wOBA thus far, along with a 31.8 percent line-drive rate and 43.2 percent hard-contact rate. Mariners starter Chris Flexen has a 4.11 xERA that’s notably higher than his 2.74 figure, and he’s given up a .326/.362/.419 slash and .339 wOBA to the 47 left-handed hitters he’s faced. Flexen has done a good job limiting hard contact overall by lefties, but he’s giving up a massive .494 wOBA on his most frequently utilized pitch, the four-seam fastball; meanwhile, Ohtani is battering that pitch for a .557 wOBA.
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