Price: $10,000

Gerrit Cole's numbers trail a bit behind Kenta Maeda's as far as today's top pitchers go, but thanks to a significantly better matchup, it's Cole who gets the edge as the superior fantasy play on Friday.

That's not to say that Cole's numbers are anything to scoff at, either. He has notched a skill-interactive ERA (SIERA) south of 4.00 in four of his last five seasons, with strikeout rates north of 23.0% in three of his last four. His career-averages sit at a 3.57 SIERA and 23.1% strikeout rate.

His start to 2018 has been especially stellar, striking out over 40% of the batters he has faced. That's not going to be sustainable long-term, but his massive 19.6% swinging-strike rate (a stat that stabilizes more quickly than strikeout rate) is an indicator that he could be in line for a career year as far as strikeouts go.

Cole and the Houston Astros are the day's biggest favorites, with a juicy -231 moneyline. Oddsmakers don't expect much from the Texas offense either, as they possess a 3.43 implied total this evening.