3 Daily Fantasy Baseball Stacks for Friday 6/17/22

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.

San Diego Padres

The San Diego Padres open a series at Coors Field against the Colorado Rockies tonight. Their offense blew up at Wrigley Field in the previous series, and the hitting conditions in Colorado are perfect for staying hot. But, of course, facing Kyle Freeland and Colorado's pathetic bullpen will help, too.

Predictably, Freeland has struggled at home. However, struggling understates his ineptitude in recent years. According to FanGraphs, in 184 and 1/3 innings at Coors Field since 2019, he's had a 6.01 ERA and allowed a .377 wOBA to enemy hitters. Yikes. Behind him, Colorado's bullpen is unlikely to put out any fires. Rockies' relievers have had the third-highest ERA (4.77) in 2022.

As a result, the Padres are an outstanding bet to hang a crooked number on the scoreboard. Still, the premium player from their stack is Manny Machado ($4,300). He's been a force at the dish this year, mashing 11 taters with seven stolen bases, a .209 ISO, .400 OBP, and 162 wRC+ in 275 plate appearances.

Luke Voit ($3,600) is another exciting pick in this stack. Yes, he didn't reach base in five plate appearances yesterday, donning the golden sombrero for added embarrassment. Still, from May 10th (when he returned from the Injured List) to June 15th, in 138 plate appearances, he hammered eight dongs with a .252 ISO and 133 wRC+.

Minnesota Twins

The Minnesota Twins are a top-heavy stack, but they're one with the punch to make Madison Bumgarner pay for his below-average strikeout ability. The 32-year-old lefty has had a 16.4 percent strikeout rate in 2022, much lower than the league average (22.1 percent). Additionally, since last year, he's struck out an unimpressive 18.4 percent of the righties he's faced.

Beyond Bumgarner's poor strikeout rate, his ERA estimators suggest he's due for a meeting with the regression monster. The lefty's 3.50 ERA has been in stark contrast to his 4.27 Expected ERA (xERA), 4.80 xFIP, and 4.78 SIERA. The Twins have a handful of hitters who can have a hand in starting Bumgarner's regression process.

It starts at the top with the one-two punch of Byron Buxton ($4,200) and Carlos Correa ($4,000). Since 2019, Buxton has muscled up for a .293 ISO versus lefties. Further, this season, he's hit 18 round-trippers with a .343 ISO in 204 plate appearances.

Meanwhile, since 2019, Correa has had a 141 wRC+ against lefties. He's also been nearly impossible to get out since returning from the COVID Injured List, sporting a seven-game hitting streak. He's also reached base more than once in six of those games. Gary Sanchez ($2,600), Gio Urshela ($2,300), and Jose Miranda ($2,200) are others who gamers should consider from the Twins.

Los Angeles Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers are a fun stacking option tonight. The fun starts with a good matchup. This year, in 11 starts, Zach Plesac has had a 4.70 ERA and disastrous 6.05 xERA. Additionally, in 204 innings since last year, he's had a 4.68 ERA, 4.64 xFIP, and 4.63 SIERA. Thus, Plesac has struggled longer than merely the beginning of this year. He also has not been showing signs of imminent improvement, sporting a 4.71 ERA in his previous five starts.

However, the idea behind including the Dodgers in this space extends beyond the matchup. First, the superstars at the top of the order, such as Mookie Betts ($3,700), Freddie Freeman ($3,500), and Trea Turner ($3,900), are alluring swerves from the likely chalkier Padres and Rockies.

Second, others, such as Will Smith ($3,100), Cody Bellinger ($2,500), Chris Taylor ($2,600), and Gavin Lux ($2,200), are cap-friendly stacking picks to use blended with either the Padres or Twins and a top pitcher. As a result, there are many ways to stack the Dodgers and enjoy if they explode.

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.