In the movies and on TV, the cool kid who transfers into a new school mid-year is always a point of wonder—the girls swoon over him, and he immediately becomes popular simply because he has the mystery of being new.

Baseball award races can be that way sometimes. You don't necessarily have to be the best in order to win. You just have to show up at the right time—sort of the way R.A. Dickey swiped Clayton Kershaw's Cy Young Award in 2012.

Thursday was International Left-Handers Day, but from the looks of the starting pitchers scheduled to take the mound on Friday, the holiday should have been celebrated a day later.

It's (almost) the freakin' weekend, baby, I'm about to have me some fun. Yeah, I just quoted R. Kelly. And I will not apologize because DraftKings daily fantasy has me feeling some kind of way before the weekend even starts.

This late in the MLB season, setting daily fantasy baseball lineups has become ingrained into players' routines. Gamers have hit the daily grind for over four months, and plenty of days remain to boost that bankroll.

Well accustomed to the procedure, readers don't need a lengthy introduction this late in the year. Let's jump right into Friday night's top DraftKings picks, beginning with a top-tier ace and ending with a bargain-bin outfielder, as usual. 

Sonny Gray is having his best season as a professional, but the Oakland Athletics star will have to put it on hold, at least temporarily, as he will miss Thursday's start.  

Continue for updates. 

Fact: The Toronto Blue Jays are the 1st AL team to have multiple 10-game winning streaks in the same season since the 1977 Kansas City Royals. 

Bleacher Report will be bringing sports fans the most interesting and engaging Cold Hard Fact of the day, presented by Coors Light.

Baseball's rumor mill has its ups and downs, its peak periods of activity and lulls in the action, but it never actually stops spinning. While things have slowed down since the non-waiver trade deadline on July 31, there's still plenty of rumor and speculation around for fans to sink their teeth into.

Some teams continue to try to figure out whether they're coming or going, contending or pretending, while others in the know have continued to make moves, albeit on a smaller scale than what we saw only a few weeks ago.

It's time for the latest edition of B/R's top prospect call-up radar report!

This week, we'll take a look at six impact bats and when baseball fans can expect to see them reach the big leagues. But first, let's take a look at our handy radar system.

Since the season is well into the second half, we've had to make some adjustments. Here's what we'll use to predict the following prospects' anticipated debuts:

The 2015 MLB season continues to roll along with less than two months before October. Most daily fantasy owners have likely gotten into a groove at this point, but the names at the top of lists are constantly changing.

Some players have risen to the task in August, while others have fallen off under the pressure of a playoff push. Ahead of Thursday's slate of games, here's a look at some studs and duds for August 13.

Fact: Home teams were 15-0 on Tuesday, the most games played on a single day without a home team loss in MLB history.

Bleacher Report will be bringing sports fans the most interesting and engaging Cold Hard Fact of the day, presented by Coors Light.

Source: ESPN Stats & Info