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.
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays destroyed the Baltimore Orioles last night, hanging 11 runs on the scoreboard against them. Tonight, they have another matchup they can erupt in. According to FanGraphs, among qualified starting pitchers this season, Jordan Lyles has had the sixth-highest ERA (4.97) and fifth-highest Expected ERA (5.58 xERA).
Lyles has also been a trainwreck against righties. Since last year, he's coughed up a .487 slugging and .352 wOBA to them. Therefore, Toronto's righty-laden lineup should lay waste to Lyles tonight.
The top dog in the stack is Vladimir Guerrero Jr. ($3,800). Since breaking out last year, he's had a .379 OBP, .278 ISO, and 155 wRC+ versus righties. Cleanup hitter Teoscar Hernandez ($2,500) is a great source of salary relief in this stack, and he's been dialed in lately. Beyond this one-two punch, gamers have plenty of other options everywhere in Toronto's lineup to stack with the mid-order duo.
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are the 1A to Toronto tonight. They're hosting a 28-year-old lefty making only his second big-league start. Jared Koenig was underwhelming in his first start, striking out just three batters in four innings, sporting a 9.2 percent swinging-strike rate markedly lower than the league average of 11.1 percent.
Pitching to contact is unlikely to generate success at pitcher-friendly Fenway Park. In addition, the Oakland Athletics have a terrible bullpen. They have had the fourth-highest ERA (4.57) this year. So, the Red Sox can bludgeon Koenig and, when he exits, continue to beat on the bullpen mercilessly.
The top stack from the Boston is a trio who hit third through fifth. Specifically, J.D. Martinez ($3,600), Xander Bogaerts ($3,500), and Trevor Story ($3,500) are the headliners. Since 2019, Martinez has had a .401 OBP, .293 ISO, and 162 wRC+ against lefties. Meanwhile, Story has had a .373 OBP, .283 ISO, and 139 wRC+, and Bogaerts has rattled off a .383 OBP, .204 ISO, and 138 wRC+.
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants aren't nearly as exciting a full-stack as the Blue Jays or Red Sox. Still, there are a few intriguing names to stack against below-average lefty Kris Bubic. In 22 and 2/3 innings this year, Bubic has been blasted for a 9.13 ERA, 8.29 xERA, and 1.99 homers per nine innings.
Further, the relievers for the Kansas City Royals are unlikely to live up to their reliever name (i.e., they won't provide relief). Kansas City has had the third-highest ERA (4.86) this season. Still, circling back to Bubic, the lefty has yielded a .334 wOBA to righties, enhancing the appeal of San Francisco's top options.
The must-use players in this stack are Evan Longoria ($2,500) and Darin Ruf ($2,800). Since 2019, Longo has unloaded on lefties for a .380 OBP, .231 ISO, and 141 wRC+. Finally, since returning stateside from the Korean Baseball Organization in 2020, Ruf has terrorized lefties to the tune of a .376 OBP, .294 ISO, and 152 wRC+.
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.