3 Daily Fantasy Baseball Stacks for Monday 8/22/22
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.
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins have been rock-solid against lefties this year and square off with a struggling rookie southpaw tonight. According to FanGraphs, the Twins are 14th in wRC+ (104) against lefties this season. Meanwhile, rookie Cole Ragans has been roughed up to the tune of a 5.02 ERA and 6.28 xFIP, coughing up 2.51 homers per nine innings and owning a higher walk rate (12.5 percent) than strikeout rate (10.9 percent) in three starts.
The lefty has been a punching bag for righties. The 59 righties who have opposed Ragans have had a .510 slugging and .375 wOBA. Minnesota's righties have a mouthwatering matchup tonight, and the Twins' 4.93 implied total is the third-highest of the slate.
Byron Buxton ($3,600) is the most exciting option from the Twins. Since 2019, he's posted a .338 OBP, .297 ISO, and 149 wRC+ against lefties. Carlos Correa ($3,200) and Jose Miranda ($3,600) are excellent choices, too. Gio Urshela ($2,800) gets you access to Ragans at a cap-friendly salary. The veteran third baseman has a 111 wRC+ against lefties since 2019.
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves also face a rookie tonight. However, Roansy Contreras hasn't faceplanted to the extent Ragans has. But Contreras has a blow-up start in him and doesn't look quite as threatening if you go by ERA estimators. For instance, his 4.42 SIERA, 4.49 xFIP, and 5.23 Expected ERA (xERA) are all higher than his 4.02 ERA.
The righty has been mediocre against lefties, allowing a .308 wOBA in the split. But he's been worse in same-handed matchups, getting torched for a .500 slugging percentage and .367 wOBA by righties.
Atlanta's 5.12 implied total is the slate's highest clip.
Austin Riley ($3,800) is the most attractive piece from the Braves. The slugging third baseman has a .357 OBP, .243 ISO, and 138 wRC+ against righties. Lefty Matt Olson ($3,800) is also a nifty pick from the heart of Atlanta's lineup. Since last season, he's registered a .357 OBP, .247 ISO, and 134 wRC+ against righties.
Gamers also shouldn't sleep on hitters lower in the order. For instance, Vaughn Grissom ($3,400) and Robbie Grossman ($2,400) are great picks in the bottom half of Atlanta's order. Grissom has hit the ground running since reaching the majors, and the Braves have helped Grossman fix his swing since acquiring him at the trade deadline.
Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds aren't an attractive stack at face value (3.47 implied total). However, they're an affordable stack with an intriguing matchup that can free up the requisite space for the Twins or Braves and a stud pitcher, such as Max Scherzer.
Noah Syndergaard has been respectable this year but not a world-beater. He's pitched to a mediocre 4.13 ERA and 4.06 xFIP across his previous six starts. Thor also hasn't had any success controlling the running game, enhancing the upside of the Reds tonight. Syndergaard has allowed 28 stolen bases in 18 games this year and 167 in 139 games in his career.
My favorite selections on the Reds are at the top of the order. Jake Fraley ($2,600) has thrived with the platoon advantage, owning a .368 OBP, .234 ISO, and 136 wRC+ against righties since last year. Jonathan India ($2,700) hasn't duplicated his success from his rookie campaign. Nevertheless, he's been in better form since the All-Star break. In 95 plate appearances in the second half, he's hit four homers with a 115 wRC+.
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.
