3 Daily Fantasy Baseball Stacks for Tuesday 9/21/21
Stacks are the backbone of cashing daily fantasy baseball lineups. Correlation drives upside, creating the potential to place high or even win GPPs when your selected stacks explode offensively.
This column will do the digging and the dirty work to determine which stacks are worth rostering each day. Scoring upside will fuel the stacks that get the nod. Sometimes that will lead to chalky selections, but contrarian stacks will get their fair share of love, too.
In addition to utilizing the touted daily stacks in handbuilt lineups, numberFire premium members can throw these highlighted stacks into an optimized lineup using our DFS Sharpstack tool. Our hitting heat map tool is also available to premium members looking for more stacking options. It provides valuable info such as implied total, park factors, and stats for identifying the quality of the opposing pitcher.
Let's take a look at the top stacks on today's main slate.
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a top-10 offense against righties this year. According to FanGraphs, they rank seventh in weighted runs created plus (106 wRC+). As a result, they're a defensible stacking option against any right-handed pitcher. However, when that righty has the unfortunate luck of toeing the slab at Coors Field, the Dodgers become one of the top stacks on a slate.
According to FantasyPros, Coors Field has the second-highest park factor for homers (1.257) and doubles (1.230), leading the way for runs (1.362), singles (1.345), and triples (2.177). Also, the pitcher in question, Antonio Senzatela, owns a 4.66 ERA and 4.43 expected fielding independent pitching (xFIP) in 299 and 1/3 innings pitched at home in his career. Thus, he's not the caliber pitcher I expect to defy the odds and avoid a disastrous start at Coors Field.
The Dodgers have enviable lineup depth, making their entire lineup worthy of stacking. However, Will Smith ($3,800) and Mookie Betts ($4,100) are my two favorite building blocks. Smith has a reverse platoon split for his career, destroying righties. He owns a .394 on-base percentage, 317 isolated power (ISO), and 161 wRC+. Betts is a terror for righties, too, amassing a .400 on-base percentage, .264 ISO, and 157 wRC+ since 2018.
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros offer an enticing stacking profile tonight, too. Gamers are likely to notice and make them reasonably chalky like the Dodgers. Regardless, I agree and suggest having exposure to them.
The Astros are Major League Baseball's best offense against southpaws (118 wRC+). In addition, they're scalding hot of late, ranking second in weighted runs created plus (122) over the last 30 days. Tonight, they face a rookie hurler who hasn't lit the world on fire in Triple-A or The Show.
Packy Naughton recorded a 4.76 ERA and 4.41 xFIP in 56 and 2/3 innings in Triple-A this year. He has a 4.32 ERA, 4.84 xFIP, 5.24 skill-interactive ERA (SIERA), 10.4 percent walk rate, and 14.3 percent strikeout rate in 16 and 2/3 innings for the Los Angeles Angels. Unfortunately for him, his below-average control and substandard strikeout rate put him in danger of getting rocked by the Astros, and I expect them to do just that.
Houston's lineup depth and varying player salaries create an opportunity for gamers to pay up for their stars or blend a cheaper stack around another and a top-shelf pitcher. One of my favorite low-salary options from Houston is Jake Meyers ($2,200). He's tattooed southpaws for a .262 ISO and 143 wRC+ in 43 plate appearances in his rookie campaign.
Yulieski Gurriel ($3,000) is a sweet option with a modest salary as well. He has a .356 on-base percentage, .221 ISO, and 135 wRC+ against lefties since 2018. I also really like Alex Bregman ($3,900) and Carlos Correa ($3,700).
Minnesota Twins
Finally, a stack that might fly under the radar. The Minnesota Twins don't have a drool-inducing matchup, haven't been stellar down the stretch, and won't have an over/under total for gamers building lineups last night because the game is at Wrigley Field. As a result, I believe they'll be contrarian.
Still, the matchup isn't too shabby. Alec Mills sports a mediocre 4.07 ERA, 4.05 xFIP, and 4.31 SIERA in his 17 starts. Also, he's highly reliant on the vagaries of batted balls, tallying a below-average 17.3% strikeout rate. Finally, his performance is slipping down the stretch. In his last eight starts, he owns a 4.43 ERA, 4.38 xFIP, and 4.49 SIERA.
As for the Twins, they're a top-10 offense against righties this season, ranking 10th with a 101 wRC+. They also boast decent pop, recording a .187 ISO against righties. A few of my favorite options on the team include Luis Arraez ($2,300), Byron Buxton ($3,800), and Josh Donaldson ($3,200). Of course, Arraez gets a boost from hitting leadoff, but his 121 wRC+ against righties in his career is nothing to sneeze at.
Buxton's last two seasons have been interrupted by injuries, but he's broken out at the dish. In 237 plate appearances against righties since last year, he's raked to the tune of a .329 ISO and 136 wRC+. Donaldson's also proven he has something left in the tank by tallying a .347 on-base percentage, .212 ISO, and 119 wRC+ in same-handed matchups since 2020. Others who merit attention include Jorge Polanco ($3,900) and Max Kepler ($2,600).
Joshua Shepardson is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Joshua Shepardson also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username bchad50. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his/her personal views, he/she may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his/her personal account. The views expressed in his/her articles are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.
