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.
Yordan Alvarez Fantasy Score More Than 7
Right-hander Zac Gallen takes the mound for the Arizona Diamondbacks and could be a good fade candidate against the Houston Astros.
Yes, Gallen had been in the NL Cy Young conversation throughout most of the campaign, but he has been incredibly inconsistent over the second-half of the season. While he has two shutouts over his past six starts, the right-hander has surrendered four or more runs in each of the other four outings.
This weaker second-half was predictable given Gallen's poor underlying metrics, ranking in the 49th percentile or lower in xERA, xBA, average exit velocity, Barrel% and Hard-Hit%. The first Houston hitter to back is Yordan Alvarez, who has put together yet another tremendous campaign.
Through 111 games, he boasts a .293 BA, .591 SLG and 1.000 OPS. Entering this contest in good form, Alvarez has recorded at least seven fantasy points in four of his past fives games, averaging 13.4 points over that stretch.
Thriving against right-handed pitching, Alvarez's splits jump by roughly 17% this year when doing so.
Jose Altuve Fantasy Score More Than 7
In a play with some solid correlation, we are also going to back the guy who hits just a few spots above Alvarez in the batting order – Jose Altuve.
Like Alvarez, Altuve enters this matchup in good form as he has recorded at least seven fantasy points in each of his past four games, averaging nine points over that span. This success could continue against Gallen, a pitcher whom Altuve is 2-7 against in his career with a homer and a single.
Across those seven at-bats, he boasts a .308 xBA, .660 xSLG and .469 xwOBA. Also like Alvarez, Altuve's splits jump by approximately 17% this season when facing right-handers.
Corbin Carroll Fantasy Score More Than 8.5
We are also going to back a member of the DBacks in this game – soon-to-be NL Rookie of the Year Corbin Carroll.
There are numerous avenues for Carroll to clear this figure, whether on the base paths or in the batter's box. He has done so in four of his past five games, averaging 13 fantasy points over that stretch.
He is slated to go against right-handed rookie J.P. France, who has had a rocky debut campaign. Through 24 appearances on the mound, France owns a 3.83 ERA and 1.36 WHIP.
His underlying metrics are even worse, ranking in the 32nd percentile or lower in xERA, xBA and average exit velocity. While Carroll has never faced France prior to Friday, he typically thrives against right-handed pitching as his splits jump by roughly 26% this year when doing so.
