Stacks are an integral part of daily fantasy baseball. They can push a team to the top of a GPP by driving upside. However, they're also viable in cash games, namely smaller (two-person or three-person) stacks that mitigate the volatility of a full four-person stack.
This article is your home throughout the 2022 Major League Baseball season for the day's top stacks. The primary goal is to identify the highest-scoring upside stack. Still, game theory will play a role in contrarian stacks making the cut as GPP options. Nevertheless, chalky stacks will make appearances in this space, too.
Beyond my analysis in this space, I strongly suggest numberFire premium members using our DFS Sharpstack tool and hitting heat map tool. The DFS Sharpstack helps plug stacks into optimized lineups, allowing you to change parameters and lock or exclude players and teams. Meanwhile, the heat map offers a one-stop-shop for the opposing starting pitcher, implied total, park factor, and other notable goodies.
Now, let's look at the top stacks on today's main slate.
Oakland Athletics
Don't adjust your eyes. The Oakland Athletics are a suggested stack tonight. Obviously, their lineup is an assortment of youngsters and fringe big-leaguers. However, they have an excellent matchup against a debuting lefty tonight.
Joey Wentz is making his first start in The Show for the Detroit Tigers. Yet, his below-average control suggests he's in over his head. According to FanGraphs, in 91 and 2/3 innings since 2021, Wentz has had a 12.9 percent walk rate. Additionally, his 4.42 ERA, 5.18 Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP), and 1.57 homers per nine innings allowed are all enticing numbers to stack against.
Frankly, there aren't many exciting options in Oakland's lineup. Nonetheless, Sean Murphy ($2,900), Ramon Laureano ($2,600), and Chad Pinder ($2,500) have been above-average hitters against lefties on a meaningful sample of plate appearances. Kevin Smith ($2,200) is also a defensible option at nearly the minimum salary. He hit for power against southpaws in Triple-A last year, and he has had a .229 Isolated Power (ISO) in 38 plate appearances against lefties in his young big-league career.
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are an excellent stacking option tonight. Don't be fooled by Chris Archer's 3.26 ERA in 19 and 1/3 innings this year. The righty's 5.23 Expected ERA (xERA) has been much less flattering. Archer has also had a problem keeping the ball in the yard, coughing up five gopher balls to 83 batters faced.
In addition, Archer has underwhelmed against lefties and righties. Since last year, he has allowed a .318 Weighted On-Base Average (wOBA) to lefties and a .340 wOBA to righties. Therefore, all of Houston's lineup is stackable tonight.
Still, a couple of players stand above their peers as top stacking options on the Astros. First, Jose Altuve ($3,400) has been in a groove and has been great against righties in recent years. Since 2019, he has had a .205 ISO and 124 Weighted Runs Created Plus (wRC+) in same-handed matchups.
Second, Yordan Alvarez ($3,900) is scalding the ball this year and has dominated with the platoon advantage. In 669 plate appearances against righties in his career, he has had a .375 OBP, .300 ISO, and 158 wRC+.
New York Mets
Aaron Sanchez has no business getting the ball in a major-league rotation every fifth day. Still, he's toeing the slab for the Washington Nationals tonight, and the New York Mets are the beneficiaries of squaring off with him.
Sanchez has an 8.56 ERA in 13 and 2/3 innings this year. Further, even after including some good luck last year, the righty has had a 4.59 ERA and 4.70 Expected Fielding Independent Pitching (xFIP) in his last 49 innings.
The Mets are equipped to rough up Sanchez tonight. Nine of 13 hitters on their active roster have had a 106 wRC+ or higher against righties since 2019. Additionally, six of those hitters have had a 130 wRC+ or higher.
Interestingly, Sanchez has been more charitable to righties than lefties since last year. Thus, Pete Alonso ($3,900) and Starling Marte ($3,600) are upper-tier picks for this stack. Finally, Brandon Nimmo ($2,900) is an attractive option right out of the chute. The left-handed-hitting outfielder has had a .387 OBP and 132 wRC+ against righties since 2019, and he's had a .393 OBP and 146 wRC+ in 113 plate appearances in 2022.
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.