Zach Thompson gives his top teams to consider for MLB DFS stacks on Friday’s daily fantasy baseball slate on DraftKings.

All 30 Major League Baseball teams are on the schedule this Friday, with an afternoon stuffed with home openers and early games to avoid early-season bad weather. After the busy afternoon, Friday night features a four-game late slate on the West Coast. The eight teams should provide a solid way to close out the day with some fun DFS fantasy baseball action. Let’s take a look at the clubs on the board and pinpoint a few top MLB DFS stacks to build around.

Before we get to the individual selections for Friday, let’s define exactly what we’re searching for. An ideal target for MLB DFS stacks is a team well-positioned to score plenty of runs based on its matchup and ballpark. “Stacking” is the strategy of adding multiple players from the same MLB lineup to your roster to boost each other’s production.

Ideally, MLB DFS stacks focus on players who are either back-to-back or from the same part of the lineup to allow positive correlation. Since most run-scoring plays produce fantasy points for multiple players, stacking a high-scoring team can carry your entry to the top of the leaderboard. The key to MLB DFS stacks paying off is finding the perfect matchup to attack, so let’s take a look at Monday’s top matchups.

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1. Houston Astros

Jose Altuve ($4,500)
Isaac Paredes ($3,900)
Carlos Correa ($3,700)
Christian Walker ($3,900)
Cam Smith ($3,200)
Brice Matthews ($2,900)

The Astros have scored 45 runs through their first seven games of the season, tied with the Brewers for the most in the majors. Houston is hitting .268 as a team with nine homers, a .365 wOBA, and an MLB-leading .196 ISO. Riding a five-game winning streak, they’ve plated at least six runs in each contest — against the Angels and Red Sox — for a grand total of 43 runs.

Whether you believe in the Astros long-term or not, they’ve been one of the hottest offenses to start the season. Now, they’ll head to one of the hitter-friendly environments in baseball: Sacramento’s Sutter Health Park. They’ll take on Jeffrey Springs ($6,300) in the Athletics’ home opener. The veteran southpaw gave up two runs on five hits and three walks over 5.1 innings in his first start of the year against the Blue Jays. Last season, his first with the A’s, Springs posted a 4.81 ERA and a 5.09 FIP at home. He got crushed by righties, who hit .235 with a .314 wOBA against him. Twenty-five of the 28 home runs he allowed came against right-handers.

Since righties found the most success against him, Jose Altuve, Isaac Paredes, and Carlos Correa are a solid mid-range group to target. Correa has posted 18 FPTS in back-to-back games and is averaging nine FPTS per game. He still has eligibility at both 3B and SS, and at $3,700, he’s a seamless fit into multiple roster builds. Cam Smith has also gotten off to a strong start, clearing seven FPTS in six of his seven games with a double, a homer, and two stolen bases.

I highlighted Brice Matthews in my top home run props of the day, and he’s a great value at $2,900 with eligibility at 2B or in the OF. He’s likely to get back into the lineup at one of his many positions since the ‘Stros take on a lefty. He has good speed potential and could be especially valuable as part of a stack if he hits in the ninth spot, right ahead of the top of the order.

2. Seattle Mariners

Cal Raleigh ($5,400)
Julio Rodriguez ($4,900)
Randy Arozarena ($4,600)
Rob Refsnyder ($3,000)
J.P. Crawford ($2,400)

The Mariners went 3–4 during their season-opening homestand and will now hit the road to Anaheim for the Angels’ home opener. They’ll face lefty Reid Detmers ($7,500) on Friday, who is transitioning back to starting after working in the bullpen. Detmers is a value play I like for his strikeout upside, but he gives up a lot of hard contact while pounding the strike zone. He allowed three runs on six hits in 4.2 innings in his first start of the season against the Astros.

The Mariners will hope that stepping out of chilly Seattle can help their offense heat up. Cal Raleigh is only 4-for-25 (.160) and is still in search of his first home run. Julio Rodriguez is 2-for-26 (.077) and doesn’t even have an extra-base hit yet. Randy Arozarena has been a little better, averaging 8.4 FPTS per game, and all three of those hitters have good power potential against the lefty Detmers.

To round out the stack, Rob Refsnyder and J.P. Crawford are bargain plays that get playing time against lefties. Crawford will be making his season debut after missing the first week with a shoulder injury. While Refsnyder is still looking for his first hit this season, he hit .302 with seven homers and a .402 wOBA against southpaws last season.

Rodriguez is 6-for-10 with a home run and two doubles against Detmers in his career. Crawford is 8-for-18 with a double and a homer, even though it’s a lefty-lefty matchup.

3. Athletics

Shea Langeliers ($5,300)
Nick Kurtz ($5,200)
Tyler Soderstrom ($4,400)
Lawrence Butler ($3,500)
Max Muncy ($3,200)
Denzel Clarke ($2,000)

The Athletics are also hoping a change of scenery can kickstart their offense, as they host the Astros for their home opener in Sacramento. The A’s have only scored 17 runs in six games this season, hitting just .177 as a team. But last year at home, the club averaged 4.5 runs per game and hit .260 with a .331 wOBA. They’ll look for the home cooking and hitter-friendly environment to get things going against Cristian Javier ($7,300). The veteran righty gave up six earned runs on four hits (two home runs) and four walks with just one strikeout over 4.2 innings in his first start of the season — against the Angels.

Despite his team’s struggles, Shea Langeliers has been one of the hottest hitters in baseball. He has already clubbed five homers, including in back-to-back games, and is averaging 15 FPTS per game. Nick Kurtz is just 1-for-17 with four walks, a stolen base, and 4.4 FPTS per game. Tyler Soderstrom is 4-for-23 with a double, and Butler is 1-for-12 with a walk.

Max Muncy has a home run and has produced seven FPTS in the early part of the season. He’s one of my favorite value plays of the night — a solid, affordable option at the hot corner. If you want to go even cheaper, Denzel Clarke is available at the minimum salary and brings both power and speed potential. If the Athletics get back on track, they’ll be a good value stack Friday night.