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 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.
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.
Francisco Lindor Fantasy Score More Than 7
The NL West's San Diego Padres host the NL East's New York Mets in the first installment of this three-game series.
Right-hander Yu Darvish will take the mound for San Diego, though he's putting together a fade-worthy campaign. Through 14 starts, he is 5-6 with a 4.84 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. Entering this game in particularly poor form, Darvish is 1-2 with a 7.71 ERA and a 1.68 WHIP over his past three outings.
That brings us to Francisco Lindor, who could be a good guy to back against Darvish. Since 2021, Lindor possesses a .243 BA, a .425 SLG and a .755 OPS when facing right-handed pitching.
Lindor ranks in the 74th percentile or higher in Average Exit Velocity, Hard-Hit Rate, xwOBA, xSLG and Barrel%. He has surpassed this figure in three of his past five games and is averaging a whopping 16 fantasy points per game over that stretch.
Kris Bryant Fantasy Score More Than 7.5
In Friday's nightcap, the San Francisco Giants host the Colorado Rockies.
Right-hander Ross Stripling, who is having a tough season, will take the mound for San Francisco. Through 11 appearances, he's 0-2 with a 6.51 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP. Based on his underlying metrics, positive regression is highly unlikely as he ranks in the seventh percentile or lower in xERA/xwOBA, xBA, xSLG and Barrel%.
The first Rockies hitter to back in this contest is Kris Bryant. It's been an up-and-down season, but Bryant has looked much stronger at the dish since returning from injury at the end of June.
Over his past three games, he boasts a .308 BA and a homer. His underlying metrics suggest a stronger second half is likely as Bryant ranks in the 57th percentile or higher in xwOBA, xBA and xSLG.
Jurickson Profar Fantasy Score More Than 7.5
Jurickson Profar, who hits directly ahead of Bryant is the lineup, is also worth backing in this contest. Like Bryant, Profar has had an up-and-down season.
However, this should be a good matchup for the outfielder, especially considering that he's 1-for-2 with a homer and a walk in his career against San Francisco starter Ross Stripling.
Profar enters this game in good form and has exceeded 7.5 fantasy points in three of his past five games. In fact, he's averaging 8.2 fantasy points per game over that stretch. Additionally, Profar boasts a .417 average over his past six games.
