Squad Up Daily MLB Early Fantasy Dose: Schwarber highlights stack of the day

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Here is a look at the Squad Up daily MLB fantasy picture for the 12-game early slate beginning at 7:05 p.m. EST on Friday, April 28:

Hitter Stacks

• Chicago Cubs at Boston Red Sox (LHP Drew Pomeranz): The reigning champs from Chicago rank third in team weighted on-base average against left-handed pitchers (.376) -- and that's accomplished without the benefit of the designated hitter. With the game in the American League, expect the Cubs to roll out their best nine bats -- and lay a hurting on southpaw Pomeranz.

3-player stack: OF Kyle Schwarber (43K), 3B Kris Bryant (60K), SS Addison Russell (45K)

• Detroit Tigers vs. Chicago White Sox (RHP Mike Pelfrey): The Tigers rank second in the majors in team wOBA vs. RHPs with a .345 mark. Pelfrey has a 4.96 ERA in his five seasons pitching in the AL. He's a notoriously low strikeout pitcher with a career K/9 of just 5.0, so expect plenty of balls to be put into play.

3-player stack: 2B Ian Kinsler (57K), OF Justin Upton (59K), 3B Nicholas Castellanos (58K)

• Chicago White Sox at Detroit Tigers (LHP Matt Boyd): The Cubs aren't the only Chicago team worth stacking; the south-siders, boasting a .353 wOBA vs. LHPs rank fourth in the majors. Boyd has a 5.45 ERA in 37 big league appearances. While the White Sox have a tougher ballpark to conquer in Detroit, they face weaker competition than their hometown rivals.

2-player stack: OF Avisail Garcia (47K), SS Tim Anderson (48K)

Pitcher Breakdown

• TARGET - RHP Jameson Taillon (66K), Pirates (at Marlins): Taillon has the right combination of price, ability and matchup on Friday. He enters with a 2.13 ERA across four starts and hasn't given up many hits or homers. The Marlins are merely middle-of-the-pack in terms of team wOBA and team K-rate vs. RHPs, so as long as Taillon avoids Giancarlo Stanton's base-clearing bat, he should be in line for a quality outing.

• BARGAIN - LHP CC Sabathia (64K), Yankees (vs. Orioles): Prior to his last outing, Sabathia had held his opponent to two or fewer runs in each of his starts. The Orioles have struggled against lefties so far this season, ranking 26th in team wOBA vs. LHPs with .279. If he can avoid the long ball, he should be able to keep the score low.

• FADE - RHP Jharel Cotton (94K), Athletics (at Astros): Cotton has gotten off to a clunky start, posting a 4.76 ERA and 15 Ks to 11 BBs in 22 2/3 innings of work. Against a strong, veteran-laden Astros lineup, there just isn't much upside in a low-strikeout pitcher, on the road against a good team, who doesn't receive great run support. Look elsewhere.

• CONTRARIAN - LHP Tyler Skaggs (84K), Angels (at Rangers): Skaggs was once a big-name prospect, but time and injuries have readjusted expectations. He's struck out close to a batter per inning since the start of 2016, giving him some upside. The Rangers will do him a favor by maintaining their ineffective approach against LHPs; they rank 28th in team wOBA vs. LHPs and have the fifth-highest K-rate too.

Bargain Plays

• 1B Yuli Gurriel (31K), Astros (vs. Athletics): Gurriel has been buried at the bottom of the Astros' order all season despite hitting .344. He's absolutely crushed righties so far, posting a .493 wOBA vs. RHPs, and Houston's lineup is deep, so even though he won't see a ton of plate appearances, he's in a good position to return cash game value with one big swing.

• SS Taylor Motter (42K), Mariners (at Indians): With Mitch Haniger hurt, Motter was bumped up into his teammate's usual spot in the order: the two-hole. While Motter isn't nearly as balanced of a hitter as Haniger -- he leads the league with a pull rate north of 70% -- batting second in any lineup assures an opportunity to both score and drive in runs.

• OF Jorge Bonifacio (38K), Royals (vs. Twins): Here is where Bonifacio has hit in the order in his past four starts: eighth, third, sixth, eighth. There's a lot of variance between those roles, but he's still managed a .294 BA and .333 OBP through five games. If he's hitting lower than sixth, don't bother, but it makes sense to roster him at his low price if he bats third again.

Top Fades

• 1B Jose Abreu (62K), White Sox (at Tigers): Abreu and 3B Todd Frazier offer the best power potential on their team, but they've done little to help the White Sox post the fourth best team wOBA against lefties. Abreu's mark stands at just .268; Frazier's is even worse at .246. Leave them out of your lineups. There's far too much risk of a goose egg.

• 1B Jefry Marte (59K), Angels (at Rangers): Marte is priced 1K cheaper than Kris Bryant and 1K more expensive than Manny Machado. That would lead you to believe that the lightly-used infielder was a burgeoning superstar and not a man hitting just .163 with three extra-base hits through 47 games. Even at hitter-friendly Globe Life Park, Marte is a stay-away.

• OF Alex Gordon (52K), Royals (vs. Twins): Gordon's .199 wOBA vs. RHPs is the third-lowest in the major among all batters with at least 30 PAs and against righties. While he has gone 10-for-31 against Twins starter Kyle Gibson in his career, Gordon's early-season slump has been awful enough to warrant a fade.

Contrarian Plays

• OF Mookie Betts (55K), Red Sox (vs. Cubs): The 2015 NL Cy Young winner, Jake Arrieta, could find himself in a bit of trouble. The Cubs' ace has allowed 1.8 HRs/9 -- more than triple his home run rate from his first three seasons in Chicago. Meanwhile, Betts has been a machine, leading the Red Sox in wOBA vs. RHPs. If Arrieta isn't dialed in, Betts could take him over the Green Monster.

• 3B Joey Gallo (42K), Rangers (vs. Angels): Miraculously, Gallo (who bats left) has held his own against left-handed pitching this year. Chalk it up to his ability to relocate baseballs 400-plus feet from home plate. While he's hit just 4-for-20 against lefties with three walks, all four of those hits went for extra bases: two homers and two doubles. He's a tournament-only play.

• OF Adam Jones (51K), Orioles (at Yankees): Nobody on Friday's early slate has as long of a history with a pitcher as Jones does with CC Sabathia. The long-time division rivals have faced off in 73 ABs -- and the Orioles' center fielder has been largely victorious, tallying a triple-slash line of .301/.329/.589 with 10 extra-base hits (5 HRs). Even though the Orioles have struggled against lefties, Jones has the upper hand.

For up-to-the-minute starting lineups, check out Baseball Press.

(Photos courtesy: Action Images)