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.
St. Louis Cardinals
The Milwaukee Brewers are rolling with a bullpen game tonight, tabbing Matt Bush as the opener. The St. Louis Cardinals are a challenging matchup for anyone, and a mid-pack bullpen trotting out long-relievers and non-high-leverage relief pitchers should be overwhelmed.
According to FanGraphs, Milwaukee's relievers have had the 15th-highest ERA (3.96) this year. Again, they've been mid-pack. Yet, their season ERA is aided by their high-leverage relievers, and it's unlikely they'll use them until they're leading late in the game. Conversely, if the Red Birds pound the Brewers early, they can tee off on mop-up relievers and light up the scoreboard.
Unfortunately, there's a risk of a pinch-hitter relieving someone like Corey Dickerson ($2,500) if Milwaukee puts a left-handed reliever on the hill after Bush. Still, Dickerson's salary is low enough to justify the risk. Further, Nolan Arenado ($3,900) and Paul Goldschmidt ($4,200) destroy lefties and righties. So, the corner infielders are the most exciting options from the Cardinals. Finally, the Cards are stackable from top to bottom since their offensive ceiling is sky-high tonight.
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins have an excellent matchup tonight. Kris Bubic has been drilled for a 5.37 ERA and 4.71 xFIP in 23 starts. The lefty has also struggled with all hitters. Righties have had a .331 wOBA against him in 2022. Additionally, lefties have crushed him for a .626 slugging and .463 wOBA.
The fun won't stop after Bubic gets the hook, either. The Kansas City Royals have the second-highest bullpen ERA (4.72) in 2022. Thus, the Twins can explode tonight in a plus matchup.
Fortunately, Minnesota's hitters have affordable salaries, a meaningful bonus on a night Jacob deGrom toes the slab. So, that's a significant consideration for using them.
Two of my favorite options from the Twins are Jose Miranda ($2,800) and Kyle Garlick ($2,200). Miranda has a robust .259 ISO and 125 wRC+ against lefties in his rookie season. Meanwhile, Garlick has had a .297 ISO and 134 wRC+ against southpaws since 2019. So, they're superb sources of power and salary relief.
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles should tee off against an unqualified starter tonight. Cory Abbott pitched well in relief before the Washington Nationals moved him into their rotation. Then, the wheels fell off the bus.
In five starts lasting just 23 innings, Abbott has had a 5.09 ERA, 5.79 xFIP, and 2.35 homers per nine innings. Abbott's homer-giving nature is a boon for Baltimore's offensive upside tonight. Also, lefties have killed Abbott, evidenced by him yielding a .508 slugging and .366 wOBA.
Therefore, I'm digging some of Baltimore's lefties the most in this stack. Cedric Mullins ($3,000), Anthony Santander ($2,900), and Gunnar Henderson ($2,800) are exciting choices. Still, Adley Rutschman ($3,100) is the apple of my eye in Baltimore's offense. The switch-hitting catcher has tattooed righties for a .375 OBP, .228 ISO, and 151 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.