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.
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are facing the literal worst pitcher among hurlers who have tossed at least 140 innings in 2022.
According to FanGraphs, Patrick Corbin has an MLB-high 6.30 ERA, a whopping 1.05 runs clear of the second-highest ERA. The washed-up lefty also has the dubious distinction of coughing up the most homers per nine innings (1.72 HR/9) among pitchers with at least 140 innings.
Corbin is the ideal candidate to stack against, and he's dreadful against all hitters. Corbin has allowed a .359 wOBA to left-handed batters and a .541 slugging and .395 wOBA to right-handed batters this season. The O's -- who have a 4.60 implied total -- are a high-upside stack because of Corbin's utter ineptitude.
Anthony Santander ($2,900) and Ryan Mountcastle ($2,700) are two core pieces I'm using in this stack. Since 2019, Santander has punished lefties for a .211 ISO and 115 wRC+. Meanwhile, Mountcastle has unloaded on southpaws for a .217 ISO and 113 wRC+ in his young career.
Los Angeles Dodgers
The high-powered Los Angeles Dodgers should have no problem tattooing below-average starter Zach Davies and the Arizona Diamondbacks' pitiful bullpen tonight. Davies has a mediocre 4.09 ERA with worse ERA estimators, such as his 4.32 Expected ERA (xERA), 4.48 xFIP, and 4.60 SIERA.
He's also playing with fire against the Dodgers tonight with a below-average strikeout rate. Davies' 18.2 percent strikeout rate in 2022 has been markedly lower than the MLB average (22.3 percent). In addition, his 8.6 percent walk rate has been higher than average (8.2 percent). And, again, Arizona's bullpen has been terrible, sporting the fifth-worst ERA.
The Dodgers have elite high-end talent as well as quality depth, so they're stackable from top to bottom. I'm most excited about Will Smith ($3,000), Max Muncy ($2,500), and Justin Turner ($3,400). Muncy and Turner have been white-hot. Muncy has launched 11 homers since August 1. Turner mashed two taters on June 30 and hasn't looked back since. Since June 30, he's had a .436 OBP, .239 ISO, and 190 wRC+.
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are in today's piece, but this is more of a GPP-only suggestion.
They are facing veteran righty Zack Greinke, who is significantly outperforming his ERA estimators. The 38-year-old righty has a 4.00 ERA. That's in stark contrast to his 4.47 xFIP, 4.71 SIERA, and 5.05 xERA.
The Kansas City Royals also have a wretched bullpen. Kansas City's relievers have the second-highest ERA (4.71) this year. In short, the Twins have a great chance to light up the scoreboard tonight.
Some of my favorite picks from the Twins are Luis Arraez ($2,700), Carlos Correa ($3,800), Jose Miranda ($2,800), and Nick Gordon ($2,100). Since 2019, Arraez and Correa have a matching 130 wRC+ against right-handed pitchers. Miranda has raked in same-handed matchups in his rookie campaign, owning a 124 wRC+ in the split. Finally, Gordon has posted a 112 wRC+ against righties in his career.
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.