Daily Dime: To Scherzer or not to Scherzer?

Run through the lineups, check the weather, build your DFS green monster.

Max Scherzer, SP, at PHI (Harang), $12500: Your Friday lineup construction starts with the Max-or-no-Max question. Scherzer has been untouchable over his last two starts (18 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 26 K), and now draws the lowest scoring team in the majors. Although the Nats are on the road, Scherzer is still the biggest favorite on the card, checking in at -205.

I can't blame anyone who decides this is an unstoppable force that needs to be purchased Friday. But there's a realistic secondary option if you want to save some money.

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Francisco Liriano, SP, vs. ATL (Perez), $9900: You recoup a $2600 savings if you step down from the Scherzer penthouse to the Liriano level, and he's in a good spot Friday. Liriano is a whopping -203 favorite as we go to press, almost as large as Scherzer; he's working at home; and he's up against an ordinary Atlanta offense that's missing its best player (by far) in Freddie Freeman.

Liriano is generally a good bet with the home cooking, holder of a 3.19 ERA and 1.15 WHIP, for his career, at PNC Park. And the Braves tend to struggle against left-handers, holding the second-worst wOBA in the majors in that split.

Rajai Davis, OF, vs. CHW (Quintana), $2700: We like to roll with Davis when he's up against an opposing lefty, and he's done well with 35 at-bats against Jose Quintana (.343/.378/.571). Most of the Detroit lineup likes the look of The Q (it adds up to a .909 OPS); note that Yoenis Cespedes is 8-for-12 against Quintana, with four home runs. And J.D. Martinez is the hottest outfielder in baseball at the moment.

Kevin Kiermaier, OF, vs. BOS (Porcello), $2800: He's settled into the leadoff spot more often than not, and he enters the game on a 10-for-22 run. Rick Porcello is a good draw for most batters, especially left-handed hitters (.787 OPS).

Logan Morrison, 1B, vs. LAA (Shoemaker), $2400: Safeco Field takes some of the fun away, but Morrison does have an .808 OPS against right-handed pitching this year. He also seems to like the tilt of Matt Shoemaker, going 4-for-7 against him with a home run.

Derek Norris, C, vs. ARI (Ray), $2800: With the price ducked under 3K again, it's a fun time to revisit Norris. He has an .865 OPS against southpaws, and I don't take Robbie Ray's ERA at face value (it probably should be in the middle-3s).

Chris Colabello, OF, vs. TEX (Martinez), $3200: You drink champagne and it tastes just like cherry cola. C-O-L-A, cola. The Nick Martinez Regression Tour should be a lot of fun (4.31 FIP), and while Colebello's best game shows in the platoon edge, he's nonetheless hitting .331 against righties (and .379 at home). When in doubt, go YYZ.

Jeff Baker, 2B, vs. LA (Anderson), $2300: Although his average isn't pretty this year, he's a well-known platoon specialist. Baker is slugging .524 against the southpaws this year, with three homers in 42 at-bats. A reasonable punt play if you prefer to spend elsewhere.

Yan Gomes, C, at BAL (Chen), $2300: It's a back-class angle, as Gomes hasn't done much for us this year, save for one glorious two-homer game. But he holds a .300/.335/.497 career line against lefties (15 homers in 330 at-bats) and his opponent Friday also has a platoon deficit against right-handed bats.

Brandon Crawford, SS, vs. COL (Bettis), $2700: Shag Crawford is a reverse-platoon guy, the rare lefty who does his premium work against the other lefties. That said, he's still having a productive year against the rest of the right-handed world. If you rank all fantasy shortstops against right-handed pitching this year, Crawford is second in homers, fourth in runs, and third in RBIs. You're still getting plenty of bang for your buck.