We have a stacked 15-game slate of baseball on Friday, which means there are plenty of entries to sift through on PrizePicks.
A quick refresher if you aren’t familiar with PrizePicks: you can combine up to five different player squares to payout up to 10x your entry.
You can do a Flex Play or a Power Play. A Flex Play gives you lesser odds, but you can win money if you do not nail every pick. A Power Play is all-or-nothing.
Here’s how I would approach Friday's MLB slate.
What is PrizePicks? A daily fantasy operator — meaning they’re available in more states (30) than sports betting is! — PrizePicks offers a unique opportunity for action on player picks in which you combine two or more entries together.
Michael Wacha More Than 5 Strikeouts
The San Diego Padres host the Milwaukee Brewers in the second installment of this four-game series between two National League clubs.
Slated to take the mound for San Diego is right-hander Michael Wacha, who should be a good candidate to back in the strikeout department.
To start 2023, Wacha is 2-0 with a 3.00 ERA and 1.00 WHIP. In his most recent outing against the powerhouse Atlanta Braves, Wacha tossed a gem as he allowed zero runs on just two hits through six innings while striking out 10.
Currently, he ranks in the 63rd percentile or higher in K% and Whiff%. There is little reason to believe the right-hander will not continue to rack up the strikeouts against Milwaukee.
This season, the Brewers rank just 21st in the league in K%. Through 49 career plate appearances against Wacha, this current Milwaukee roster possesses a 24.5 K% and 22.2 Whiff%.
A former pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, facing the Brewers is a familiar task for Wacha. He has now recorded at least five strikeouts in nine of his past 11 starts against them.
Eric Lauer More Than 4 Strikeouts
We are also going to look at Milwaukee's projected starting pitcher, left-hander Eric Lauer, to go over his strikeout prop.
Despite getting shelled in his last outing and allowing six runs on seven hits through just four innings pitched, Lauer still racked up four strikeouts.
Prior to that outing, the left hander collected six against the Chicago Cubs in his season debut. While Lauer is not the most strikeout-savvy pitcher, four is too low of a total to pass up.
This season, the Padres rank in the bottom-half of the league in K%.
Finally, Lauer has recorded four or more strikeouts in each of his two career starts against San Diego.
Marcus Semien Fantasy Score More Than 7
A three-game AL West divisional series is set to get underway on Friday evening with the third-place Houston Astros hosting the second-place Texas Rangers.
Slated to take the mound for Houston in this contest is right-hander Luis Garcia, who could be a good fade candidate.
Through two starts this season, Garcia is 0-1 with a 7.00 ERA and 2.00 WHIP. While it is far too early in the campaign to get concerned with back-to-back poor starts, Garcia's underlying metrics are at the point where he is officially on fade watch.
Currently, he ranks in the 13th percentile or lower in xERA/xwOBA, xBA, xSLG and Fastball Velocity.
The first Texas hitter to back in this contest is 2B Marcus Semien, who hits in the leadoff spot for the Rangers.
Since 2021, Semien's splits take approximately a 5% jump when facing right-handed pitching, producing a .257 BA, .491 SLG and .804 OPS over that stretch.
While the beginning of 2023 has not been too kind to Semien, he will get plenty of at-bats in this contest at the leadoff spot to help him get over this number, which is certainly possible given how Garcia's year has gone thus far.
Nathaniel Lowe Fantasy Score More Than 6.5
In a play with some solid correlation, we are going to take the player projected to bat two spots behind Semien in the batting order to record more than 6.5 fantasy points.
Once again bolstering the middle of the Rangers' lineup, Nathaniel Lowe is off to yet another good start in 2023.
Through 12 games, he possesses a .260 BA, .480 SLG and .782 OPS while adding two home runs and 10 RBIs.
Lowe will get the favorable left-handed hitter versus right-handed pitcher matchup in this contest, which should favor a guy who boasts a .274 BA and .803 OPS against right-handers since 2021.
A disciplined hitter at the dish, Lowe does a tremendous job of working counts and putting the ball in play.
Considering Garcia's form to start 2023, it is worth taking a chance on these two Rangers and stacking them to produce some offense in the one and three spots in the batting order.
