Stan Son gives his top studs and value plays for Friday’s seven-game fantasy baseball slate on DraftKings.

The conductor got the MLB train started on Wednesday, ramped up the speed on Thursday and will now finally get the caboose out of the station on Friday, as all teams will log official stats on the season. The Blue Jays, Athletics, Braves, Royals, Marlins and Rockies will be playing their first game of the season. The DraftKings main slate will consist of seven games.

Let’s find some studs and values for your MLB DFS lineups on DraftKings. This article was written prior to lineups being announced.

Make your DraftKings MLB DFS picks here: MLB $200K Rally Cap [$50K to 1st]

PITCHER

Stud

George Kirby, Seattle Mariners vs. Cleveland Guardians, $8,500 — Kirby has been so consistent through four seasons of his career. The HR/9 has never been above 1.07 while the FIP has never been higher than 3.37. He averages 96.1 mph on the fastball and combines that with excellent control, as the career walk rate is 3.6% and was 5.5% last season. What gets us fantasy nerds giddy, though, is that the strikeout rate increased to 26.1% after being in the 23% range. In addition, Kirby is much better at home than on the road. Over his career, the FIP is 2.88 at home compared to 3.61 on the road. Cleveland doesn’t have an imposing lineup, with only two players projected to have an OPS over .750.

Value

Sandy Alcantara, Miami Marlins vs. Colorado Rockies, $7,500 — Alcantara still averages around 98 mph on the fastball, but the strikeout rate has plummeted. Once in the mid-20% range, that number has been sub-20% the last two seasons. The control is decent, though, and Alcantara does a good job limiting the long ball. The Rockies have historically been a bad offense on the road. Last season, the wRC+ away from Coors Field was a depressing and league-low 63. Alcantara could rack up some Ks in this one, but if not, there’s a good chance he pitches deep into this one.

OUTFIELD

Stud

Yordan Alvarez, Houston Astros vs. Los Angeles Angels, $5,200 — Many shy away from lefty on lefty matchups, so that could depress the ownership for Alvarez. Yusei Kikuchi is better against lefties than righties, but the HR/9 is still 1.11 against lefties. Throughout his career, Alvarez has a .283 ISO against righties but that number is still a robust .264 against lefties. He’s just a professional masher. In addition, the Angels had one of the worst bullpens last season and could be towards the bottom once again.

Value

Jesus Sanchez, Toronto Blue Jays vs. Athletics, $3,000 — The Blue Jays have a potent offense and are projected to score 4.9 runs, tied for the second-most on the slate. Sanchez wasn’t great last season, posting a career-low .157 ISO but he’s a career .181 ISO player. Against right-handed pitching in his career, the wRC+ is 111 with a .198 ISO. Luis Severino throws hard, averaging 96 mph on the fastball, but he doesn’t miss many bats and has finished with a FIP over 4 the last two seasons. Against left-handed batters, he has a career 4.16 FIP and 1.21 HR/9.

INFIELD

Stud

Jose Altuve, Houston Astros vs. Los Angeles Angels, $4,400 — Yes, I’m picking on Kikuchi and the Angels bullpen. Sue me. At 35 years old, the speed has dissipated but Altuve is still a professional hitter. The K-BB% was a minuscule 8.3% last season while the ISO was a respectable .177. Against left-handed pitching over his career, Altuve has as a .184 ISO with a .324/.385/.508 slash. Kikuchi has a career 4.7 FIP and allowed a 1.61 HR/9 against right-handed batters.

Value

Andres Gimenez, Toronto Blue Jays vs. Athletics, $2,400 — Gimenez had a rough season in 2025, as injuries allowed him to only rack up 369 plate appearances. All indications are that he’s healthy now. He’s not a huge power bat, but he has double-digit home run power. The alluring aspect of his game is the speed, as he stole 30, 30 and 20 bases in the prior three seasons. He bats ninth in the lineup which stinks, but the lineup is a potent one and could turn over frequently. Runs and stolen bases are on the menu.