- Friday's slate may get underway with a 2:20 p.m. ET Wrigley Field matinee, but those looking for spot starters have a few more hours to decide. However, don't wait too long as three of the projected starters in the 6:40 ET blocks are in play as streamers. Alex Cobb's luck could be changing as he's coming off his first quality start of the season despite ERA estimators all around 2.50 and a dominant 28.7% strikeout rate. Cobb (29% rostered in ESPN leagues) takes the hill in South Beach for the San Francisco Giants against a Miami Marlins club fresh off taking advantage of the thin air in Coors Field. The other contest kicking off the evening slate features Josiah Gray (25%) and the Washington Nationals visiting the Cincinnati Reds where Mike Minor (6%) will make his Reds debut. Great American Ballpark is a hitter's haven, but the Reds against righties and the Nationals facing lefties are among the least productive lineups in the respective scenarios.
- Another trio of pitchers stand out as steaming candidates, with Yusei Kikuchi(52%) leading the pack. In his past five starts since he stopped throwing his cutter, Kikuchi has fanned batters at a 28.7% clip while allowing just one homer in 26⅔ innings. He's in a great spot at home with the Toronto Blue Jays hosting the injury-riddled Minnesota Twins. Next up is JT Brubaker (4%) who enjoys a home date with the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Pittsburgh Pirates righthander's walks are high, but he's sporting a 23.5% strikeout rate against an offense fanning 25% of the time with a righty on the hill. Lastly, Dane Dunning(10%) is coming off two subpar outings, but just prior he teased his potential with a four-game stretch registering a 3.20 ERA and .91 WHIP. The Texas Rangers will host the Seattle Mariners, who tote a below-average offense against righties.
- Lost in the hubbub of fewer homers is that May's leaguewide 21.8% strikeout rate checks in as the lowest monthly mark since July of 2018. This affects fantasy team management as well as DFS and betting, especially strikeout props. While one month's worth of data isn't sufficient to declare MLB hitters are adjusting to the deadened baseball, but it's trending that way. This makes focusing on more dominant pitchers necessary in traditional fantasy, especially those in leagues with innings caps. Fewer strikeouts push even more focus to innings in fantasy points leagues as well as in DFS scoring. We'll continue to check in on this trend throughout the season to gain an edge.
- Along those lines, high strikeout relievers can be useful when a fantasy team is up against a weekly innings cap. Here are the middle relievers with a strikeout rate eclipsing 30% and also readily available in most fantasy leagues: Devin Williams (31%), A.J. Minter (7%), Jhoan Duran (23%), Jason Adam (1%), Eli Morgan (<1%), Michael King (30%), Jalen Beeks (1%), Bryan Abreu (<1%), Robert Suarez (5%), Brock Burke (4%), Alexis Diaz (4%), Scott Effross (<1%), Zach Jackson (1%), Evan Phillips (<1%) and Drew Smith (4%).
- Shifting to hitting, here are some batters in favorable spots on Friday's slate, all available in at least half of ESPN leagues: Cesar Hernandez (15%), Ramon Laureano(8%), Christopher Morel (12%), Kole Calhoun (26%), MJ Melendez (10%), Maikel Franco (6%) and especially Brendan Rodgers (46%) as the Colorado Rockies have another home series over the weekend.
What you need to know for Friday's MLB Games
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