MLB

4 Daily Fantasy Baseball Stacks for 8/28/15

John Stolnis  —  @johnstolnis Aug 28th, 2015
The Pirates game only has an over/under of seven, but that doesn't mean they aren't a stack target.

Each day here on numberFire, we'll be providing you with four potential offenses to stack in your daily fantasy lineups. These are the offenses that provide huge run potential on that given day based on matchups and other factors.

After reading through these suggestions, make sure to check out our daily projections. These can either let you know which players to include in each stack, or which guy best complements said stack.

Another great tool is our custom optimal lineups, which are available for premium subscribers. Within the tool, we've added the option to stack teams -- you choose the team you want to stack, show how many players you want to use within the stack, and the tool will create a lineup based on this that you can then customize.

Now, let's get to the stacks. Here are the teams you should be targeting in daily fantasy baseball today.

Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pirates are facing right-handed Rockies starter Jon Gray, who has just four starts under his belt so far in the Majors. The 23-year-old has a 5.94 ERA so far in 16 2/3 innings, with a 4.08 FIP and 4.35 xFIP, striking out 7.56 batters per nine. He fared a bit better in Triple-A this year, with a 4.33 ERA and 8.66 K/9 in 20 starts but was knocked around for seven runs on eight hits and a walk in 1 2/3 innings in his last outing against the Mets. 

Sometimes, it's important not to overthink things. The Pirates have one of the best lineups in the National League and should be able to take advantage of an inexperienced pitcher coming off a very tough outing. Andrew McCutchen and his wRC+ of 148 and OPS of .903 would be an obvious add, but look at Neil Walker, who has the third-best wOBA on the team against righties at .340. Jung Ho Kang's OPS of .834 against righties should also come in quite handy. The over/under is just seven, but Pittsburgh is a heavy favorite, so they should put runs on the board.

Toronto Blue Jays

It's probably not a terrible idea to stack the Blue Jays against pretty much anybody right now (although given their prices most days, you can't afford to run a full stack of Toronto players), and that's especially the case against Detroit's Matt Boyd, who comes into the game with a 7.04 ERA, 5.86 FIP and 5.02 xFIP in six starts (seven games) this season. The 24-year-old left-hander has allowed Major League opponents to hit .331 against him so far this year, albeit in a small sample size.

There may be no better type of pitcher for the Jays to go up against than Boyd. First, he's a left-hander, and Toronto is the most dangerous team in the league against southpaws with a .358 wOBA and wRC+ of 128. Obviously, any of the murder's row of Josh Donaldson, Edwin Encarnacion, Jose Bautista, Russell Martin or Troy Tulowitzki would do the trick. Looking for a cheaper alternative? How about Chris Colabello, who has a .940 OPS against left-handers when he's in the lineup. To top it off, the Blue Jays are favored in a game with an over/under of 9.5 in the Rogers Centre.

Washington Nationals

If you're noticing a bit of a theme here, you're not crazy. The Nats will be going up against another young and inexperienced starter in Miami's Adam Conley, who has a 4.88 ERA, 4.21 FIP and 4.32 xFIP in four starts this year. The young right-hander had a good outing last time against the Phillies, giving up just one run on three hits and four walks with five strikeouts in six innings, but overall has had an up-and-down 2015 since being called up. 

Now that the Nationals have their full lineup at their disposal, left-handers Bryce Harper and Denard Span should be able to make some hay against Conley. Yunel Escobar's .827 OPS against right-handers is third on the team, so he'd be a good guy to include as well. Much like the Pirates, the over/under is only seven, but with Max Scherzer on the mound, the Nats are a big favorite, and most of the runs should be had by Washington.

New York Mets

It almost doesn't matter who the Mets have faced this month, given that they have the second-highest wOBA in the league (.358), wRC+ (132) and OPS (.839). New York will be going up against Boston's young left-handed hurler Henry Owens, who has struggled in the four starts he's made since being called up to the big club. He has a 4.50 ERA, 4.42 FIP and 4.30 xFIP in 24 innings so far. Although to his credit, in that small sample size, right-handed hitters actually have a lower wOBA against him, .312, compared to a .331 wOBA against left-handers.

But let's not get silly here. You're likely stacking as many Mets in your lineup right now as you can, and it should be no different against the Sox. There are 10 New York Mets with at least 40 plate appearances this month all with a wRC+ over 100. A couple of the cheaper options would be Juan Lagares and his 1.104 OPS this month, Michael Cuddyer and his 1.006 OPS, or Wilmer Flores and his .900 OPS in August. All are solid, low-cost plays against Boston's inexperienced left-hander. Once again, the over/under is just seven, which isn't a great number to target with your stacks, but they're heavy favorites with Matt Harvey on the hill.