We have a stacked 16-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 pay out up to 10x your entry.
You can do a Flex Play or a Power Play. A Flex Play provides lesser odds, but you can win money even if you don’t nail every pick. A Power Play is all-or-nothing.
Here’s how I would approach Friday's MLB slate for PrizePicks.
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 Hitter Fantasy Score More Than 7.5
Left-hander Carlos Rodon takes the mound for the New York Yankees against the Houston Astros and should be a good fade candidate.
Rondon has suffered through an injury-riddled campaign and has made just eight starts. However, when he's been healthy, he's struggled. Through those eight outings, the left-hander is 1-4 with a 5.97 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP.
He faced Houston once over that stretch and got shelled, allowing five runs over 2 2/3 innings.
The first Astros hitter to back is Jose Altuve, who recorded 12 fantasy points in that game. Injuries have also shortened Altuve's season, but he has thrived when healthy. Altuve has posted a .313 BA, a .512 SLG and a .916 OPS.
Entering this contest in good form, the second baseman has surpassed this figure in three of his past five games, averaging 14.8 fantasy points per game over that stretch. That success is likely to continue against Rodon, a pitcher whom Altuve boasts a .304 BA, a .478 SLG and a .376 wOBA against through 26 career plate appearances.
Yordan Alvarez Hitter Fantasy Score More Than 7.5
The other Astros hitter to back is Yordan Alvarez.
Houston's superstar boasts a .292 BA, a .572 SLG and a .969 OPS with 23 homers. Like Altuve, Alvarez surpassed this number in that aforementioned outing against Rodon, when he homered against the left-hander in third inning.
In fact, through 10 career plate appearances against Rodon, Alvarez owns a .333 BA, a .667 SLG and a .445 wOBA.
He should be able to keep it rolling as Alvarez has surpassed this number in four of his past five games, averaging 18 fantasy points per game over that span.
Aaron Judge Hitter Fantasy Score Less Than 7.5
We are also going to fade Aaron Judge in this game.
Yes, Judge is obviously one of the league's premier hitters, but he draws a tough matchup in right-hander Justin Verlander.
Through 21 starts, Verlander is 10-6 with a 3.07 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. His underlying metrics are also strong as the right-hander ranks in the 70th percentile or higher in xERA, xBA and Barrel%.
Through 35 career plate appearances against Verlander, Judge possesses a fade-worthy .118 BA, a .294 SLG and a .180 wOBA. Finally, Judge enters this contest in poor form and has failed to surpass this figure in four of his past five games. He's averaging just 5.4 fantasy points per game over that stretch.
