MLB NRFI/YRFI Best Bets Today: Expert Picks & Predictions for Friday’s Slate (5/26/23)

The weekend gets started early with a full slate of 15 MLB games on Friday. Max Scherzer, Shane Bieber, and Kevin Gausman will all be on the hill, while Mitch Keller and George Kirby face off in a fun battle of breakthrough pitchers. Let’s take a look at the best NRFI and YRFI bets on the board from today, Friday May 26th’s games.

MLB best NRFI bets for May 25

Here’s a look at the best NRFI and YRFI bets from Friday’s games.

Pirates vs. Mariners NRFI (-178)

There won’t be a ton of value on this one, but it’s still worthwhile. The Mariners’ offense just hasn’t lived up to expectations, and the Pirates have fallen hard since their 20-8 start to the season. That doesn’t mean neither team can reach the postseason – in fact, two of the biggest reasons they’re both very much in contention will be on the mound on Friday.

Mitch Keller has been a Cy Young contender in the Pirates’ rotation, and it doesn’t look like a fluke. He’s striking out 11.1 batters per nine innings, leads the NL in WHIP, and is inducing soft contact when hitters do find the ball. The Mariners have some power hitters who can turn a game upside down, by design, but this seems like an ideal matchup for Keller as long as he can keep pitching the way he has all season.

Kirby hasn’t been as dominant as Keller, but he’s been pretty close. The young right-hander has done a great job of cleaning up traffic on the basepaths and rarely issues walks. The Pirates have been abysmal offensively in May, batting .214 with a .604 OPS, and until that changes there’s every reason to consider their games for NRFI bets. This has all the makings of a pitcher’s duel.

Rangers vs. Orioles YRFI (-104)

This is a pretty solid value, considering how volatile Grayson Rodriguez has been this season. Rodriguez may very well turn into the pitcher the Orioles expected before the end of the season, but his ridiculously high 1.64 WHIP is a concern for now.

With a 9.17 ERA across his last four starts, the progress just hasn’t been there for the former top prospect. A matchup with a talented Rangers lineup is a potential disaster.

Corey Seager is back near the top of the order and is already hitting well after an IL stint. With Marcus Semien, Nathaniel Lowe, Adolis Garcia, and Josh Jung occupying four of the other five slots at the top of the lineup, so much of Texas’ production has the potential to come in the first inning against a pitcher clearly still finding his footing.

Jon Gray, on the other hand, has been terrific of late, but that’s where the value on this line comes from. With home-field advantage, the Orioles have enough pop at the top of their lineup that putting up a run early is not out of the question.

Giants vs. Brewers NRFI (-132)

Both of these teams hit .240 or worse and rely on the occasional home run or two plus pitching to win games. Those home runs have come for both teams, with Rowdy Tellez and Willy Adames delivering for Milwaukee and Michael Conforto recently exploding for San Francisco, but these two teams are set up for low-scoring games when they play.

Neither team scored until the fifth inning on Thursday night, even with a bullpen day for the Giants and Julio Teheran reappearing in the majors for the Brewers. Freddy Peralta has the ability to quiet a Giants team that averages 9.78 strikeouts per game (29th in MLB), while Alex Wood won’t give the Giants too much length but has at least been serviceable this season.

For these two uninspiring offenses, -132 is a decent enough NRFI price.