It's the first Friday of the MLB season, and the last remaining teams will have their Opening Day games. Better late than never! There are seven games on the DFS docket, with the first pitch at 7:07 p.m. ET. Of course, some of these teams we have not seen play yet this season, and even the ones we have seen have played a single game, so these recommendations are exclusively based on track records.
Pitching
George Kirby, SEA vs. CLE ($8,500): Cleveland seems almost desirous to try and get by with a punchless offense. It's like Jose Ramirez asked the front office to cast aside every other viable hitter so he could challenge himself. The Guardians finished in the bottom five in runs scored last year, and give-or-take how Coors Field plays this year, they could finish last in 2026. Kirby's 4.21 ERA was a step back, but he still had a 3.36 FIP. Additionally, Seattle was still kind to him, as he had a 3.38 ERA at home.
Sandy Alcantara, MIA vs. COL ($7,500): Speaking of Coors Field! The Rockies finished 29th in runs scored and had a sub-.300 OBP in 2025 even with a great home ballpark. This game is not at that great home ballpark. Last season was rough for Alcantara, and his Cy Young is carrying less weight. However, 2025 was his first action post-Tommy John, and if there is any matchup a pitcher can handle, it's the Rockies away from Coors Field.
Top Targets
Though Randy Arozarena ($4,800) has been a 20/20 guy his entire MLB career, his first full season with the Mariners was a real step up for him. He had 27 homers, a personal best, with 31 stolen bases as well. That marked the first 25/25 season for the Cuban-born outfielder. Gavin Williams' ERA in 2025 dropped to 3.06 from 4.86 in 2024, even though his walk rate and home run rate both went up. As such, it is perhaps not surprising his FIP in 2025 was 4.39. Williams has had reverse splits each of the last two seasons, so I wanted a right-handed Mariner.
It would appear this year the Astros are wisely just going to let Jose Altuve ($4,400) play second base. Moving around last season did seem to hinder his hitting a bit, though to be fair he is also now in his mid-30s. Even in his age-35 season, though, Altuve hit .265 with 26 home runs and 10 stolen bases. Last season was Yusei Kikuchi's first with the Angels. He had a 2.93 ERA at home, but a 5.04 ERA on the road. The lefty has also allowed 1.50 homers per nine innings in his career.
Bargain Bats
He's a great fielder and has a ton of power, so the Blue Jays are happy to let Daulton Varsho ($3,900) swing for the fences. Last season he hit 20 home runs in only 71 games and slugged .548. He also had a .284 OBP. Like I said, Varsho's job is to patrol center field and hit home runs. Luis Severino was really hurt by the Athletics' move to Sacramento, but since 2023 he has allowed lefties to hit .283 against him, and that's not about Sacramento.
You may not be aware that Agustin Ramirez ($3,900) had 21 home runs and 16 swiped bags as a rookie catcher. That's probably partially because he's a Marlin, and partially because he also had a .287 OBP. However, since you need to roster a catcher, I'd certainly take a shot on Ramirez given his counting stats. Over the last three seasons righties have hit .300 against Kyle Freeland. Also, in that same time frame Freeland has a 5.04 ERA on the road, so his poor numbers aren't merely about Coors Field.
Stack to Consider
Dodgers vs. Diamondbacks (Ryne Nelson): Freddie Freeman ($4,700), Mookie Betts ($4,500), Andy Pages ($3,700)
Nelson did drop his ERA to 3.39 last season, for 10 of his 33 appearances were in relief. Additionally, his FIP remained steady at 3.73, same as in 2024, and there is something clear to point to in terms of the improvement in his numbers. Nelson had a 2.71 ERA at home, where for the second season in a row he had a 0.7 HR/9 rate at home. On the road, and this was also a number that remained steady from 2024, the righty had a 1.3 HR/9 rate. This game is not in Arizona. Nelson has had striking reverse splits the last couple years, and throughout his career righties have hit him with more power, so there are two right-handed Dodgers in this stack.
Freeman has started to show some signs of slowing down against lefties, but he still hit .295 with 24 homers and 39 doubles in 2025. The future Hall of Famer also has a .916 OPS versus righties since 2023. Betts is 33, and he's coming off the worst season of his career, but the track record before that was so strong. Plus, he's a shortstop who still hit 20 home runs in 2025, and he slugged .461 at home. Pages took a real step forward in his sophomore season, even if he still didn't take walks and still struck out too much. The outfielder hit .272 with 27 homers and 14 stolen bases, and he was a star at home. Pages had a .963 OPS at Dodger Stadium.
