Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks: Top DraftKings Lineup For Friday's Primetime Slate

Major League Baseball action returns Friday with 12 games in the featured daily fantasy slot. The top matchup of the day between the San Diego Padres and Houston Astros kicks off at 8:10 p.m. EST.

Using a standard DraftKings DKNG lineup with a $50,000 salary cap, here is a lineup to target for Friday night.

Starting pitcher- Gerrit Cole, New York Yankees vs. Detroit Tigers ($11,200)

Cole is the top starter of the day and enters a favorable matchup against the Detroit Tigers. On the season, he holds a 1.98 ERA with 92 strikeouts, good for third in baseball. The Tigers are second in the league in strikeouts, giving Cole the chance to miss plenty of bats tonight.

Starting pitcher- Casey Mize, Detroit Tigers vs. New York Yankees ($6,700)

Cole’s opponent tonight, Mize enters the matchup with five consecutive starts of six-plus innings and is starting to live up to his billing as a top prospect. In his past four outings, Mize has given up two or fewer runs in each. Tonight’s game looks to be a pitchers duel and a low-scoring affair.

C- Eric Hasse, Detroit Tigers vs. New York Yankees ($3,100)

 More often than not in daily fantasy, punting the catcher position in favor of better options elsewhere is the optimal strategy. Hasse is seeing regular playing time in Detroit due to his positional flexibility and has been a solid contributor. For the position, his statistics are better than most other players at this salary level.

1B- Yuli Gurriel, Houston Astros vs. San Diego Padres ($4,900)

Gurriel started off the season red-hot but has cooled off over the past six games, going just 3/22. He is bound to break out of this slump and a matchup against Dimelson Lamet, who is on a severe pitch limit due to injury, will give Houston opportunities to get runners on base throughout the game against the bullpen.

2B- Keston Hiura, Milwaukee Brewers vs. Washington Nationals ($2,900)\

Hiura is the biggest value pick in this lineup. Since returning to the big leagues from a demotion to Triple-A, he is just 1/12. This pick is betting more on the past than the present, but with high-value players in the lineup, Hiura could pay off with a breakout game against the Nationals.

SS- Isaiah Kiner-Falefa, Texas Rangers vs. Seattle Mariners ($4,000)

Kiner-Falefa is one of the breakout players of the season, batting .288 with 10 stolen bases. While he only has five home runs, his ability to get on base and steal bags offers good value among the lower tiers of shortstops.

3B- Rafael Devers, Boston Red Sox vs. Miami Marlins ($4,600)

Devers has RBIs in five straight games, including three against the Braves two nights ago. With 14 home runs and 43 RBIs to go with a .352 OBP, Devers is among the top offensive producers in Major League Baseball this season. Against right-handed starters, Devers is batting .293 with considerably more power.

OF- JD Martinez, Boston Red Sox vs. Miami Marlins ($5,800)

The second Red Sox player in the lineup, Martinez has rebounded from a poor 2020 season. He is actually performing better against right-handed pitching, batting .341 with a 1.060 OPS, among the best marks in the league. Marlins starter Cody Poteet has made only three starts this season, making him a bit of an unknown against a strong Red Sox lineup.

OF- Andrew Benintendi, Kansas City Royals vs. Minnesota Twins ($3,400)

Benintendi is batting .285 on the season with six stolen bases. While he doesn't "wow" in any singular statistical category, Benintendi has the ability to do a little bit of anything in any game. At this salary, his matchup against the struggling Twins pitching staff is enough to pull the trigger.

OF- Adolis Garcia, Texas Rangers vs. Seattle Mariners ($3,500)

Garcia continues to remain undervalued given his incredible production. With 16 home runs and a strong batting average, the only thing keeping him from the top category of daily fantasy targets is his lack of name recognition. As long as he continues to hold a lower salary, he's a player to target game in and game out.