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.
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are an outstanding option tonight against Zack Greinke. The veteran righty is nearing the finish line. According to FanGraphs, in a dozen starts, he's had a 4.38 ERA, which is markedly better than his 5.34 Expected ERA (xERA).
His extreme pitch-to-contact approach is unlikely to succeed against the Astros. Greinke has recorded an 11.9 percent strikeout rate and 7.1 swinging-strike rate -- much lower than the league averages of 22.2 percent and 11.1 percent, respectively. Finally, he's been a tire fire on the road this year, sporting a 6.90 ERA in away games.
The Astros have a deep lineup with many stacking options. Still, Yordan Alvarez ($4,300) is the most integral piece. Since last year, he's had a .372 OBP, .304 ISO, and 168 wRC+ against righties. The second-most enticing option is Kyle Tucker ($3,600). Since the start of 2021, the left-handed-hitting outfielder has a .370 OBP, .238 ISO, and 147 wRC+ versus righties. In addition, Tucker has stolen 14 bases in 16 attempts this year.
New York Yankees
Jose Quintana has been surprisingly adequate this year, a far cry from the pitcher with a 6.43 ERA in 2021. Nevertheless, Quintana's 3.43 ERA has dramatically exceeded his 4.39 xERA. Additionally, his 20.9 percent strikeout rate is mediocre.
The veteran lefty should struggle with the New York Yankees' righty-heavy lineup. Since 2021, Quintana has yielded a .481 slugging and .360 wOBA to right-handed hitters. Even in his rebound campaign, Quintana's .313 wOBA shouldn't dissuade gamers from using the Yankees.
The key cog for the Bronx Bombers' high-powered offense is Aaron Judge ($4,000). He's having a great season, and he's a lefty-killer. Since 2019, Judge has had a .391 OBP, .309 ISO, and 164 wRC+ against lefties.
Giancarlo Stanton ($3,700) is another elite option, boasting a .241 ISO and 140 wRC+ against southpaws since 2019. Don't sleep on salary-cap-friendly possibilities such as Josh Donaldson ($2,500) and Gleyber Torres ($2,800).
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays had a dud last night. Thankfully, they have a get-right matchup tonight.
Righty Adrian Martinez will get the ball for the Oakland Athletics. He's had a 6.30 ERA in a pair of starts for them this year, and he's had a 5.63 ERA in 13 starts in Triple-A.
The righty's most frequently used secondary pitch has been his changeup, an offering best used to neutralize the platoon advantage. Predictably, he's been better against lefties than righties in an admittedly tiny sample. The 19 right-handed batters he's faced have touched him up for a .368 OBP, .625 slugging, and .421 wOBA. He allowed a .480 slugging and .809 OPS to righties in Triple-A this season, per Baseball-Reference.
Thus, Toronto's righty-laden lineup should crush him tonight. The Blue Jays are genuinely stackable from top to bottom. Nonetheless, the best power sources are George Springer ($4,100) and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. ($4,400). Since the start of last year, Springer has had a .272 ISO against righties, and Guerrero has been even better with a .275 ISO.
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.