Daily Fantasy Baseball Stacks for Thursday 9/8/22
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.
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox aren't a flawless stack tonight. First, JP Sears has been excellent. He's had a 2.37 ERA in 49 and 1/3 innings. However, that's a bit misleading. According to FanGraphs, Sears has also had a 3.92 Expected ERA (xERA) and 4.50 xFIP.
The rookie lefty also hasn't struck out many hitters, evidenced by his 16.1 percent strikeout rate. Sears' aversion to strikeouts leaves him at the mercy of batted balls finding leather in the field. Sears' pitch-to-contact approach might bite him in the butt against Chicago's lefty-killing lineup.
Even if Luis Robert ($2,700) is out again tonight, Chicago's projected lineup has three hitters with at least a 153 wRC+ against lefties since 2019. Additionally, Andrew Vaughn ($2,600) has a .381 OBP, .200 ISO, and 145 wRC+ in 239 plate appearances against lefties since debuting for the White Sox last season.
Rookie Romy Gonzalez ($2,000) has a .400 OBP, .174 ISO, and 163 wRC+ in his first 25 big-league plate appearances against lefties. Among the established lefty killers, Jose Abreu ($3,300), A.J. Pollock ($2,900), and Yasmani Grandal ($2,100) are all guys I love on this slate.
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies wouldn't be an attractive stack on a standard slate. However, tonight's main slate has only three games, so the tiny slate decreases the stacking options.
Thus, the Phillies are a viable stack, even in a challenging matchup with Sandy Alcantara. Alcantara has faced the Phillies four times this year, so Philadelphia's hitters are familiar with the ace. Additionally, Alcantara's worst start against them was his most-recent turn versus Philly, yielding four runs on eight hits, one walk, and four strikeouts in 7 and 2/3 innings in Philadelphia on August 10.
Alcantara has also been human recently. The 27-year-old righty has coughed up precisely six runs in two of his last three turns. It's unlikely he blows up again tonight, but the two clunkers are reasons for encouragement.
I don't suggest attacking Alcantara with Philadelphia's hitters at the bottom of the order. Instead, going after the stud sluggers makes sense. It starts out of the gate with Kyle Schwarber ($3,300). Since last season, he's had a .340 OBP, .329 ISO, and 143 wRC+ against righties.
The top pick from the Phillies is obviously Bryce Harper ($3,800). The reigning National League MVP has posted a .426 OBP, .344 ISO, and 186 wRC+ against righties since last year. Finally, J.T. Realmuto ($3,500) and Rhys Hoskins ($3,000) are nifty picks if you want to completely stack Philadelphia's offense with their best hitters.
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.
