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.
Milwaukee Brewers
The Milwaukee Brewers are in a smash spot at Coors Field tonight.
First, they'll get that ballpark lift. Second, they have a dreamy pitching matchup against Chad Kuhl and the Colorado Rockies' bullpen.
According to FanGraphs, Kuhl has had a 4.17 ERA and 4.73 xFIP in 49 and 2/3 innings at home. Further, he's been a dumpster fire lately. In his previous eight starts totaling 35 and 1/3 innings, he's had an 8.92 ERA and 5.57 xFIP, coughing up an eye-popping 3.31 homers per nine innings. Kuhl also hasn't had any answers for any hitters, yielding a .355 wOBA to righties and a .362 wOBA to lefties this season.
Circling back to the relievers enhancing Milwaukee's upside, Colorado's 'pen has been awful. They're tied for the second-highest ERA (4.73) this year. As a result, the sky's the limit for Milwaukee's offense tonight.
All three of my favorite options from the Beer Makers are power-packed. Since last year, Willy Adames ($3,800) has had a .227 ISO. Rowdy Tellez ($3,100) has muscled up for a .235 ISO. Finally, Hunter Renfroe ($4,200) has put a charge into the ball to the tune of a .248 ISO. Additionally, according to Baseball Reference, Renfroe has a .445 ISO and nine homers in 65 plate appearances at Coors Field.
St. Louis Cardinals
The Washington Nationals asked too much from Paolo Espino when they moved him from the bullpen to the rotation. As a result, Espino has had a 5.06 ERA, 4.21 xFIP, and allowed a .360 wOBA in 69 and 1/3 innings as a starter.
The veteran hurler has also been stumbling to the finish line. In his previous 11 starts spanning 51 innings, he's had a 5.47 ERA and coughed up 2.12 homers per nine innings. Sadly for him, it's likely to worsen tonight against the blistering-hot St. Louis Cardinals.
Lars Nootbaar ($3,300) and Brendan Donovan ($2,400) are exciting options out of the chute, hitting leadoff and second. The young left-handed hitters have both had an identical 125 wRC+ with the platoon advantage.
The right-handed-hitting heart of the order is also inviting to include in the stack. Espino has been rocked by righties for a .512 slugging and .352 wOBA this season. Fortunately, Paul Goldschmidt ($4,700) and Nolan Arenado ($4,400) are built to exploit Espino's weakness against righties.
Los Angeles Dodgers
The San Francisco Giants haven't announced a starter, but Roster Resource projects Wei-Chieh Huang to start. The 28-year-old righty has a 4.47 ERA and 5.14 xFIP in 52 and 1/3 innings in Triple-A this year. Does that sound like the caliber pitcher to keep the Dodgers in check? No. Of course, he's ill-equipped to slow Los Angeles' juggernaut offense.
San Francisco's bullpen is unlikely to slow their roll, too. The Giants' relievers have a bottom-10 ERA this year. So, the Dodgers can tee off from the first pitch through the final out.
The Dodgers are genuinely stackable from top to bottom. However, I'm intrigued by some cap-friendly options, such as Will Smith ($3,000), Max Muncy ($2,400), and Joey Gallo ($2,100). Smith has had a .361 OBP, .239 ISO, and 136 wRC+ against righties since 2021.
Muncy has woken from a season-long slumber. In 121 plate appearances since August 1, he's clubbed seven homers with a .339 OBP, .260 ISO, and 136 wRC+. Finally, Gallo has had three homers, a .228 ISO, and 110 wRC+ in 67 plate appearances since the Dodgers acquired him in a trade. So, don't sleep on LA's non-studs.
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.