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.

Colorado Rockies

The Colorado Rockies are at home tonight, and that's frequently been a recipe for offensive success this year. According to FanGraphs, the Rockies have had the highest wOBA (.349) in home games in 2022. That makes sense, of course, since Coors Field is MLB's most hitter-friendly ballpark.

Tonight, they welcome a struggling lefty to town. In Sean Manaea's previous four starts, he's had a 6.52 ERA, 4,79 xFIP, 12.2 percent walk rate, and allowed 1.86 homers per nine innings. Since the start of last year, he's allowed a .325 wOBA to righties. That's not a terrible mark, but it's unlikely to cut it against Colorado's best righties.

C.J. Cron ($4,400) is the best building block for this stack if he returns from his wrist contusion. Kris Bryant ($4,100) is also an outstanding pick if the cramping that caused his early exit yesterday doesn't prevent him from playing tonight, although it sounds like he is headed to the paternity list.

Hunting for cap relief is also important since Max Scherzer is the slate's top pitcher and has a $10,700 salary, so we should also consider using Randal Grichuk ($2,800) and Elias Diaz ($2,600).

Since 2019, Grichuk has had a .216 ISO and 115 wRC+ against lefties. Meanwhile, in 116 plate appearances at home against lefties since joining the Rockies in 2020, Diaz has a .202 ISO and .354 wOBA. Thankfully, gamers can use a couple of studs with Grichuk and Diaz while still having enough cap space for Mad Max.

San Diego Padres

The San Diego Padres are projected to outscore the Rockies and everyone else tonight as they sit with a slate-leading 6.21 implied total. They're obviously a high-upside stack in this spot.

They'll enjoy the same luscious hitting conditions as their hosts with the added benefit of a softer matchup. Jose Urena starts for the Rockies tonight, and he's not a big-league caliber starter. He hasn't had an ERA below 5.20 in a season since 2018.

This year, Urena has had a 2.51 ERA that's completely out of whack with his 6.16 xFIP in a small sample of 14 and 1/3 innings split between relief (four appearances) and starting (one start). Urena has also been torched for a 7.29 ERA in five starts totaling 21 innings in Triple-A. Does that sound like the mark of a pitcher capable of navigating the pitfalls of Coors Field against any big-league lineup?

Colorado's bullpen will also bolster San Diego's upside. The Rockies have the third-highest bullpen ERA (4.71) in 2022.

As a result, even San Diego's unimpressive lineup can light up the scoreboard. While we can stack anywhere in the Padres' lineup, Manny Machado ($4,400) is the only elite option for the Friars. Since last year, he's had a .210 ISO and 134 wRC+ against righties.

Oakland Athletics

The idea of stacking the Oakland Athletics is a tough pill to swallow. So, think of the flexibility their modest-salaried options award you to use Scherzer and members of the probable explosion at Coors Field as the applesauce needed to make the pill go down easier.

For instance, Vimael Machin ($2,100) and Seth Brown ($2,200) have salaries barely above the minimum and project to hit leadoff and third. It's rare to be able to use two top-three hitters in a lineup for $4,300 total. Moreover, they'll face a horrendous starter.

Spencer Howard has had a 10.97 ERA in 10 and 2/3 innings for the Texas Rangers this season. Don't worry. Howard's small sample is an extension of his long-term big-league struggles. He's had a 7.44 ERA in 84 and 2/3 innings in his career. No one is ever excited to stack the A's, but they are intriguing when considering the entirety of your roster construction.

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.