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.
Atlanta Braves
Rich Hill isn't any match for the high-powered Atlanta Braves. According to FanGraphs, the 42-year-old southpaw has had a 4.52 ERA and 4.39 SIERA in 16 starts this year. In addition, he's been crushed at home.
Hill has coughed up a 6.49 ERA in 26 and 1/3 innings at hitter-friendly Fenway Park. Further, he's allowed a blistering .624 slugging and .424 wOBA to righties at home. So, again, Hill isn't any match for the Braves tonight.
The Braves have talent sprinkled throughout their lineup. However, Austin Riley ($3,800) is my favorite selection. In his career, he's had a .359 OBP, .280 ISO, and 143 wRC+ against lefties. Likewise, Dansby Swanson ($3,500) is an excellent pick from the two-hole. And Robbie Grossman ($2,300) is a dreamy punt. Since 2019, the recently acquired outfielder has had a .376 OBP and 128 wRC+ against southpaws.
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays will be a handful for a rookie who has yet to find consistent footing in the bigs. Kyle Bradish has a 6.55 ERA and 5.52 Expected ERA (xERA) in a dozen starts. However, Bradish's 1.92 homers per nine innings are the most eye-catching blemish on his profile.
Bradish has also been dreadful against righties. The rookie righty has yielded a .617 slugging and .442 wOBA to 149 right-handed batters this season. Thus, Toronto's righty-laden lineup has a cushy matchup.
Since last season, five players on the Blue Jays have had at least a 115 wRC+ against righties, including Teoscar Hernandez ($3,800), Danny Jansen ($2,800), Lourdes Gurriel ($2,900), Alejandro Kirk ($2,900), and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. ($4,400). Their marks have been a 115 wRC+, 119 wRC+, 120 wRC+, 124 wRC+, and 158 wRC+, respectively. Therefore, I encourage gamers to stack from Toronto's five most accomplished right-handed hitters in same-handed matchups since last year.
New York Mets
Mike Minor has been a disaster. This year, he's had a 6.19 ERA and 5.31 xFIP, allowing a comical 2.54 homers per nine innings in 11 starts. Moreover, in 272 innings since 2020, Minor has had a 5.39 ERA, 4.56 xFIP, and allowed 1.75 homers per nine innings. It's honestly remarkable a big-league team continues to start him.
The New York Mets should steamroll him tonight. Specifically, the righties should do most of the damage. Minor has allowed a .646 slugging and .435 wOBA to 193 righties this year. So, yeah, the righties should tee off on him.
Pete Alonso ($4,200) is an obviously elite option in the stack. In his career, he's had a .306 ISO and 138 wRC+ against southpaws. However, Darin Ruf ($2,600) is also an excellent pick. Since returning to MLB from the Korean Baseball Organization in 2020, Ruf has had a .378 OBP, .287 ISO, and 153 wRC+ against lefties.
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.