On Friday night, Major League Baseball has a full slate of action highlighted by a 12-game main MLB DFS slate for Friday night, which begins at 7:05 p.m. ET. With a massive player pool of 24 teams in the mix, there are some matchups to avoid and others to attack. Let’s sort through the lineups and try pinpoint some top options for MLB stacks this Friday night based on environment, matchup and current form.
In case the term’s new for you, “stacking” is an MLB DFS strategy that relies on multiple players from the same team boosting each other’s production in a favorable matchup. Since multiple players earn points in most run-scoring plays and runs can add up quickly in favorable spots, building around several options from the same lineup creates a potential positive correlation for your squad. If you can find the right MLB stacks, high-scoring teams can carry you to a win since multiple players from the same top lineups end up near the top of the overall leaderboard.
Here are my top two MLB DFS stacks for this Friday.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $200K Relay Throw [$50K to 1st]
1. Arizona Diamondbacks
Corbin Carroll ($5,900)
Ketel Marte ($5,500)
Josh Naylor ($4,800)
Eugenio Suarez ($4,500)
Alek Thomas ($2,800)
Without Coors Field, Sutter Health Park, or George M. Steinbrenner Field on the slate, Chase Field steps in as one of the most hitter-friendly parks in play. Indoors against Stephen Kolek ($8,200), the Dbacks should be a strong option to build around this Friday. Kolek has been solid overall since joining the Padres’ rotation, but he has let lefties hit .268 with three homers and a .355 wOBA. His 4.29 xFIP indicates he’s giving up more contact than his 3.00 ERA indicates, and he has issued multiple walks in four straight outings.
The Dbacks offense ranks in the top 10 in the majors in home batting average and are second in home wOBA this season. Over the last two weeks, they have the fourth-highest wOBA in the MLB and have averaged 5.6 runs per game with 21 homers in 12 games.
Especially given Kolek’s struggles against lefties, Carroll is a great place to start the stack and always brings a high ceiling with both power and speed potential. Marte has been swinging a hot bat just behind him as well, with four homers and an average of 12.3 fantasy points per game over his last 20 games. The switch-hitting second baseman will also face Kolek as a lefty, along with Naylor, who has double-digit fantasy points in three straight.
I higlighted Thomas in my top MLB DFS value bargains of the day, and he make a great wraparound stack if he hits ninth, which can put him on base ahead of Carroll and Marte as an effective wraparound stack.
2. Baltimore Orioles
Ryan O’Hearn ($4,700)
Gunnar Henderson ($4,700)
Colton Cowser ($4,100)
Jackson Holliday ($4,100)
Adley Rutschman ($3,900)
The Orioles are another lefty-heavy team in a good matchup for lefties as they face Jack Kochowicz ($5,500) and the visiting Angels in the first matchup on the main slate. Be sure to double-check the forecast since rain could be in the area, but if the weather holds off, they should be in a smash spot at hitter-friendly Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
Kochanowicz is 3-7 in his 13 starts on the year with a 5.61 ERA, 5.47 FIP, and a 1.63 WHIP. Left-handed hitters have hit 10 of the 11 homers he has allowed and have a .316 batting average and .399 wOBA against him. He has allowed four home runs and 16 earned runs in 17 2/3 innins over his last four starts.
Holliday is a much cheaper place than Carroll to start your MLB stacks but similar upside out of the leadoff spot for the O’s. After a slow start, he has pickec things up, hitting .283 over his last 24 contests with a .348 wOBA, four home runs and five stolen bases. He stole two bases in the first three games of this homestand, and if he stays aggressive on the bases, he’ll have an even higher ceiling going forward. Cowser has only played 13 games this season since he missed so long with a broken thumb, but the lefty has three homers and a 48.4% hard-hit rate in his limited action. Rutschman will also bat lefty against Kochanowicz, and over his last 10 games, he has gone 12-for-35 (.343) with two doubles, two homers and a 45.2% hard-hit rate.
3. Minnesota Twins
Byron Buxton ($5,600)
Ryan Jeffers ($3,700)
Ty France ($3,700)
Carlos Correa ($3,500)
Royce Lewis ($2,700)
The Twins went 2-4 on their six-game homestand and are headed on the road this weekend as they visit Houston. They’ll start the series against rookie lefty Colton Gordon ($6,600), who has given up four homers and 14 runs in his runs in his five starts in the majors this year. Righties have hit all four of those homers against him and have a .313 batting average against him.
Buxton is hitting .303 with a .398 wOBA against lefties this season and has fie homers in his last 21 games. He’s an expensive play but always brings a high ceiling. The rest of the Twins’ stack is relatively affordable, though, making it very blendable with other stars or even one of the other two stacks in this post.
Lewis is especially affordable since he has struggled overall this season. In his last eight games, though, he has gone 9-for-24 (.375) with two doubles, five walks, five runs and five RBI for an average of 7.6 fantasy points per game. Correa has also had down numbers overall this year, but he is still thriving against lefties, with a .317 average and .438 wOBA in the split. The Twins are an off-the-radar stack, but their matchup against Gordon gives them good value potential.
