While I don't love taking Yankees NRFIs, they're on the wrong side of their platoon splits by a fairly wide margin against Royals lefty Cole Ragans, who also has very strong early-game numbers.
His ERA is just 2.25 his first time through the order, with a still-solid 3.33 overall mark.
While we can project that a bit higher due to the matchup, he's still a very solid starter.
On the other side, Luis Gil's first-time-through-the-order ERA is below 2.00, and he has a much softer matchup against the Royals.
With a fairly reasonable -113 price tag on the NRFI, that makes it worth taking the risk on the Yankees' sluggers.
One team I do like taking NRFIs on is the Mariners, especially at home, where they have the best pitcher's park in baseball that cuts scoring by 17% on average.
This is an especially good spot thanks to the starting pitchers involved. Bryan Woo's overall ERA is just 2.36, with Michael King at 3.10. Looking at first-time-through-the-order numbers, Woo's ERA drops all the way down to an absurd 1.05, with King at 2.47.
It's also helpful that the stronger pitcher here (Woo) is taking on the tougher offense.
In a game with just a seven-run total, that makes the NRFI worth it — even at a steep price tag.