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.
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are the latest lucky duckies who get to face Patrick Corbin. The Washington Nationals keep starting Corbin despite mounting evidence he shouldn't be anywhere near a big-league rotation.
According to FanGraphs, Corbin has had a 6.60 ERA and 6.45 Expected ERA (xERA) in 15 starts over 73 and 2/3 innings in 2022. In addition, since 2020 (311 innings), he's had a 5.76 ERA and coughed up 1.74 homers per nine innings. Corbin has been a raging tire fire for a few years.
Additionally, he's inept against righties. Since last year, Corbin has coughed up a .543 slugging and .383 wOBA to 866 right-handed batters. Pittsburgh's righties are great stacking options.
A few of the best options from the Buccos are Ke'Bryan Hayes ($3,000), Michael Chavis ($2,500), and Diego Castillo ($2,600). Hayes is an outstanding table-setter from the leadoff position, owning a .369 OBP and 133 wRC+ against lefties in his young career. Meanwhile, Chavis and Castillo are cap-friendly power sources. Chavis has had a .232 ISO against lefties since 2019, and Castillo has a .255 ISO in 88 plate appearances against lefties in The Show.
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers had a bagel at Coors Field last night. Yikes. Nevertheless, they have another chance today to take advantage of playing in MLB's most hitter-friendly venue.
Lefty Kyle Freeland is toeing the slab for the Colorado Rockies, and he's been fortunate to have a 4.33 ERA in 79 2/3 innings. Instead, gamers should focus on his 5.04 xERA, 4.73 xFIP, and 4.70 SIERA, which are horrendous. The veteran lefty has allowed a .336 wOBA to right-handed batters since last season. The Dodgers carry a massive -- and slate-leading -- 6.70-run implied total.
Any team playing at Coors Field is stackable from top to bottom. Still, Trea Turner ($4,600) is the most exciting option in this stack. Since 2019, he's had a .405 OBP, .248 ISO, and 163 wRC+ against southpaws. He also bolsters his ceiling with speed on the bases, swiping 15 bags in 17 attempts this year.
Thankfully, beyond Turner, there are a couple of intriguing cap-friendly picks -- namely Hanser Alberto ($2,500) and Trayce Thompson ($2,500), who have the platoon advantage. Since 2019, Alberto owns a 127 wRC+ against lefties, and Thompson has put up a .220 ISO versus lefties in his career.
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants aren't a great wholesale stack. However, using a few of their sluggers together against Tarik Skubal is a high-upside move. Namely, hooking some of San Francisco's lefty-killing righties together is my suggestion.
Since last year, righties have had a .461 slugging and .326 wOBA against Skubal. Fortunately, the Giants have a few players with top-shelf power against southpaws. Specifically, Austin Slater ($2,600), Wilmer Flores ($2,800), Darin Ruf ($2,600), and Evan Longoria ($2,500) can rip it in the split.
Since 2019, Slater has a .234 ISO, Flores has amassed a .237 ISO, and Longo has muscled up for a .230 ISO against lefties. Ruf returned to MLB from the Korean Baseball Organization in 2020. In 285 plate appearances against lefties since returning stateside, Ruf has posted a .382 OBP, .280 ISO, and 153 wRC+. Gamers don't have to use all four hitters, but stacking any or all of them together has explosive potential and doesn't require much salary.
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.