Friday is full of baseball all day long with eight matchups in the afternoon and seven scheduled for under the lights. DraftKings has some great contests on both slates of the potential MLB DFS doubleheader, with a seven-game slate on tap for Friday night. With 14 teams on Friday’s slate, let’s examine my top three MLB stacks.
There are a couple of aces to definitely avoid stacking against unless you’re going full contrarian. The Marlins and Phillies both have very tough matchups and even the Dodgers’ is less than ideal. There are some attractive matchups to attack, though, since pinpointing the right MLB Stacks is about targeting favorable starting pitching matchups and considering the current form of the lineup along with the environment where the game will take place. Let’s jump right in and find the best MLB stacks for Friday night.
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1. Arizona Diamondbacks
Ketel Marte ($5,700)
Corbin Carroll ($5,500)
Eugenio Suarez ($4,300)
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. ($4,200)
Pavin Smith ($3,500)
The Diamondbacks are tied with the Braves for the highest implied run total of the night as they head from New York to D.C. to take on the Nationals. The team has scored the third-most runs in the MLB this season behind only the Cubs (who have played two more games) and the Yankees with their torpedo bats. The team is hitting .267 overall with a .359 wOBA, which is the fourth-highest overall in the majors. Suarez has gotten off to a scalding start, producing 15.1 fantasy points per game and going 6-for-24 (.250) with a double, five home runs, a .517 wOBA and even a stolen base. Gurriel has two doubles, two homers and 8.3 fantasy points per game, and Smith has been a great source of value who can fit at either 1B or in the OF after going 4-for-13 (.308) with three doubles in his first six games of the season.
The slugging Snakes will go up against Jake Irvin ($6,500) in the series opener. Irvin went 10-14 with a 4.41 ERA and 4.41 FIP as a workhorse innings eater for Washington last season, but he wasn’t extremely effective at limiting damage. After allowing 12 runs in 16 1/3 innings in spring training, he gave up two runs on seven hits in his first start of the season. He should be a good spot to stack against on Friday night.
2. Texas Rangers
Corey Seager ($5,200)
Adolis Garcia ($5,100)
Wyatt Langford ($4,100)
Jonah Heim ($3,700)
Josh Smith ($2,300)
The Rangers also have a sneaky favorable matchup even though Zack Littell ($8,500) is the second-most expensive option on the slate. Littell was good in his first start this season at home, but he struggled last year on the road, posting a 4.54 ERA, a 4.08 FIP, and a 1.46 WHIP in his road starts last season. Littell is 0-2 in eight games against the Rangers with a 5.74 ERA.
Heim is 3-for-4 against Littell in their past meetings with a pair of doubles, while Seager is 3-for-6 with a home run. Garcia has been the most Texas-sized bat in the Rangers’ lineup so far this season with three doubles, two homers, a stolen base and 8.3 fantasy points per game. Langford is a nice play at his mid-range salary with 17 fantasy points in two of his last four contests, and I highlighted Josh Smith as one of my top MLB DFS bargains earlier on Friday.
3. Kansas City Royals
Bobby Witt ($5,900)
Vinnie Pasquantino ($4,900)
Maikel Garcia ($4,800)
Salvador Perez ($4,500)
Jonathan India ($4,500)
The Royals come back home after losing two of three games in Milwaukee and managing just two runs total in their last two games. They’ll be in a good bounce-back spot against Dean Kremer ($7,500) of the Orioles who typically gives up plenty of contact. Kremer gave up five runs on five hits in 5 1/3 innings in his first start of the year but getting bailed out by his offense and still picking up a win.
India and Vinnie P have each taken Kremer deep in just four at-bats, and there should be some bounce-back power potential from the Kansas City lineup as a whole after being held in check the last two games. Witt came up empty in four at-bats on Thursday but is 6-for-25 (.240) and has already picked up three stolen bases. Pasquantino is only 3-for-18 (.167), but all three of those hits have been for extra bases with a double, a triple and a home run. Garcia is 6-for-17 (.353) with two doubles, two home runs and 8.7 fantasy points per game. He didn’t get an at-bat on Wednesday but hit safely in each of his five games with an at-bat this season.
