Daily Fantasy Baseball Stacks for Thursday 9/15/22
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 that starts on FanDuel at 6:40 pm ET.
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are a country mile ahead of every other stack on tonight's slate.
Chase Anderson hasn't been a big-league-caliber pitcher since 2019. According to FanGraphs, in 90 and 2/3 innings since 2020, Anderson has had a 7.15 ERA, 4.99 xFIP, 1.56 WHIP, and allowed 2.38 homers per nine innings.
This year, Anderson has a 4.63 ERA and 5.22 xFIP with 1.80 homers per nine innings in 70 innings in Triple-A. He's predictably been beaten like a drum on the hill for the Cincinnati Reds, sporting a 9.00 ERA and 3.00 homers per nine innings in nine innings across four appearances (three starts). Cincinnati's bullpen is a mess, too. In fact, they're tied for the highest ERA (4.72) this season.
So, the Red Birds should explode tonight. Obviously, Paul Goldschmidt ($4,600) is an excellent option. Nolan Arenado ($4,100), Tyler O'Neill ($3,300), and Lars Nootbaar ($2,700) are also exciting power sources. Since last year, Arenado has had a .223 ISO against righties, O'Neill has had a .222 ISO, and Nootbaar has had a .207 ISO.
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins aren't stackable throughout their entire lineup. Still, a handful of hitters are appealing in a tasty matchup against Daniel Lynch and the Kansas City Royals' grotesque bullpen.
Lynch has a 5.14 ERA and 5.08 Expected ERA (xERA) in 112 innings this season. He's also had a 5.35 ERA and 4.72 xFIP in 180 innings in his big-league career. Moreover, Lynch is limping to the finish line. In his previous eight starts spanning 40 and 2/3 innings, Lynch has had a 5.31 ERA and allowed 1.77 homers per nine innings.
And, again, Kansas City's relievers have been lousy this year. Kansas City's bullpen has the third-highest ERA (4.69) in 2022. As a result, the Twins have an excellent chance to flex their muscles tonight.
Kyle Garlick ($2,300) and Jose Miranda ($3,000) are two exciting power-packed picks. Since 2019, Garlick has had a .292 ISO against lefties. Meanwhile, Miranda has a .282 ISO against southpaws in his rookie season. Finally, Carlos Correa ($4,000) and Gio Urshela ($2,600) are my favorite selections to round out a full stack.
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.