We have a stacked 15-game MLB slate 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.
Jose Altuve, Astros, Fantasy Score More Than 7.5
Astros vs. Athletics, 9:40 p.m. ET
The first installment of this three-game AL West series is set to get underway on Friday evening with the last-place Oakland Athletics hosting the second-place Houston Astros. Slated to take the mound for Oakland is right-hander James Kaprielian, who should be a good fade candidate in this contest.
Through eight starts this season, Kaprielian is 0-4 with a troubling 8.68 ERA and 1.86 WHIP. His underlying metrics suggest that positive regression is unlikely for the right-hander.
Currently, he ranks in the 15th percentile or lower in Average Exit Velocity, xERA/xwOBA, xSLG and BB%. The first Houston hitter to back in this game is Jose Altuve.
While it has been a bit of a slow start for Altuve after missing the first 45 games with a thumb injury, this could be the matchup where he kicks things into gear. While it is a small sample size, Altuve boasts a .500 BA, .500 SLG and .493 wOBA through five career plate appearances against Kaprielian.
When facing right-handed pitching since 2021, he possesses a .282 BA, .495 SLG and .852 OPS.
Yordan Alvarez, Astros, Fantasy Score More Than 8.5
Astros vs. Athletics, 9:40 p.m. ET
The other Astros hitter to back in this contest is Yordan Alvarez, who is putting together yet another monster season in 2023. Through 43 games, he boasts a .297 BA, .600 SLG and 1.003 OPS while adding 12 homers.
Based on his underlying metrics, regression is unlikely as he ranks in the 95th percentile or higher in Average Exit Velocity, HardHit%, xwOBA, xSLG and Barrel%. Entering this contest in particularly good form, Alvarez has surpassed this number in seven of his past 10 games.
When facing right-handed pitching since 2021, he possesses a .284 BA, .574 SLG and .955 OPS.
Christian Walker, Diamondbacks, Fantasy Score Less Than 7
Red Sox vs. Diamondbacks, 9:40 p.m. ET
The first installment of this three-game series gets underway with the NL West's Arizona Diamondbacks hosting the AL East's Boston Red Sox. Slated to take the mound for Boston is left-hander Chris Sale, who could be a good candidate to back in this contest.
Through nine starts this year, Sale is 4-2 with a 5.01 ERA and 1.17 WHIP. However, those surface-level stats do not tell the whole story as Sale has looked very sharp over the the past month.
Over his past four starts, he is 3-0 with a 2.30 ERA and 0.81 WHIP. This recent up-tick in production is likely to stay, based on his underlying metrics.
Currently, Sale ranks in the 72nd percentile or higher in HardHit%, xBA, K% and Chase Rate. The first Arizona hitter to fade in this game is Christian Walker.
While Walker has put together a solid campaign, he does not enter this game in the best form as he has failed to surpass this number in five of his past six games. Additionally, he does not typically fare as well when playing at Chase Field.
Since 2021, his splits take an approximately 10% dip when playing at home to a .230 BA, .412 SLG and .729 OPS.
Ketel Marte Fantasy Score Less than 7.5
Red Sox vs. Diamondbacks, 9:40 p.m. ET
The other D'backs hitter to fade in this contest is Ketel Marte. While Marte has put together a good season and enters this game amid a five-game hit streak, now could be the time to sell high.
Through six career plate appearances against Sale, Marte is just 1-for-6 with a single. It should not be too surprising that this matchup has been difficult for Marte considering that chasing pitches is typically his biggest weakness, which also happens to be one of Sale's greatest strengths.
Currently, Marte ranks in the 46th percentile in Chase Rate.
