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.
Atlanta Braves
Will the Atlanta Braves score precisely eight runs for the third night in a row? Probably not. Still, they can hammer Josiah Gray.
The 24-year-old righty has been unable to find his footing in The Show. Last season, he had a 5.48 ERA, 4.51 Expected ERA (xERA), 5.05 xFIP, and allowed 2.42 homers per nine innings. Gray has followed that up with a 5.17 ERA, 4.28 xERA, 4.54 xFIP, and allowed 2.33 homers per nine innings this year.
The righty has allowed a .309 wOBA to right-handed batters. Gamers shouldn't be dissuaded from using Atlanta's right-handed batters. But Gray has been destroyed by lefties. They've had a .597 slugging and .415 wOBA against him this year.
As a result, Matt Olson ($3,300) and Michael Harris II ($4,100) are my favorite picks. Since last year, Olson has had a .342 OBP, .234 ISO, and 124 wRC+ against right-handed pitchers. Meanwhile, Harris has hammered righties for a .371 OBP, .269 ISO, and 167 wRC+ in his rookie season. The speedy outfielder has also swiped 20 bags in 22 attempts.
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox hung 13 runs on the scoreboard against the Baltimore Orioles last night. But, of course, run scoring isn't an unusual occurrence at hitter-friendly Fenway Park. Further, the Red Sox have raked in their home digs this year.
They don't have the easiest matchup against Dean Kremer tonight. Still, the righty has been lucky. Kremer's 3.07 ERA hasn't aligned with his 4.25 xERA and 4.28 xFIP this season. In addition, his pitch-to-contact approach is ill-suited for Fenway's hitter-friendly park factors. Kremer has struck out only 17.4 percent of the batters he's faced this year, much lower than the league average of 22.3 percent.
Rafael Devers ($3,800) is the headliner of the stack. He's torched righties for a .362 OBP, .298 ISO, and 152 wRC+ since last season. Triston Casas ($2,600) is also an exciting pick. The rookie has had a .316 ISO in 46 plate appearances against righties since reaching the Majors.
Baltimore Orioles
The Orioles have exploded for 23 runs in the last two games combined. Suffice it to say, the O's have loved hitting at Fenway Park this series. Now, they face a pitcher who's been a tire fire at Fenway Park this year.
Rich Hill has been smashed for a 6.07 ERA and .361 wOBA in Boston this season. The veteran lefty has also struggled with lefties and righties this year. He's ceded a .322 wOBA to left-handed batters and a .333 wOBA to righties.
And, of course, Boston's bullpen has been a trainwreck. They've had the sixth-highest ERA (4.55) this season.
As a result, Baltimore's stackable from top to bottom. Anthony Santander ($3,000) is a standout choice after back-to-back two-homer games. The switch-hitting outfielder has also muscled up for a .211 ISO against southpaws since 2019. Ryan Mountcastle ($2,700) and Austin Hays ($2,600) are also nifty picks who have the platoon advantage.
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.