Stacking is an integral part of daily fantasy baseball. Correlation drives upside, giving your lineups a slate-winning ceiling when your stacks explode.
This piece will do the digging and the dirty work each day to determine which stacks are worth rostering on FanDuel‘s main slate. While we want upside, we also need to factor in game theory, especially in a sport as random as baseball.
The MLB DFS heat map at numberFire is a quick way to get a feel for the overall slate and which offenses are in a good spot. You can also check out numberFire’s daily fantasy baseball projections to identify the slate’s best bats.
Today is a Coors Field day between the Colorado Rockies and San Francisco Giants, so while you should of course look at those lineups, we will focus on two other teams on today’s smaller slate since we don’t need to tell you what you already know there.
Let’s look at the top stacks for today’s main slate.
Houston Astros
Implied Total: 5.43 | Opposing Pitcher: Zack Greinke (RHP)
The Houston Astros will take on an old friend via Zack Greinke and the Kansas City Royals tonight.
Greinke has struggled greatly in his 20th season. The 39-year-old has posted a 5.47 ERA, 4.59 SIERA, and 5.04 FIP — just not great numbers any way you look at it. Also, not that this is the end-all, be-all stat, but Greinke is 1-15 on the year. He’s not putting up the numbers to win, and the Royals are certainly not backing him up even if he does.
It’s a “take your pick” type scenario here when it comes to the Astros’ lineup. After what can be deemed a disappointing series against the Oakland Athletics, they’re going to want to pick it up offensively. Let’s look to Yordan Alvarez ($4,100) as a player to lead an Astros stack.
Lefties have destroyed Greinke, recording a .399 wOBA and 14 home runs against him. Alvarez is a pretty safe choice to destroy any pitcher as is, so this makes it all the more enticing. He was able to give the Astros offense a jolt against the A’s when he hit a three-run shot on Wednesday. There have been few better in the second half of the MLB season than Alvarez (.430 wOBA and 1.017 OPS), and that should keep up if his excellent career is any indication.
Jeremy Pena ($2,700) is not only a player worth stacking, but numberFire has him as one of the top scorers in baseball tonight. He’s projected for 14.0 FanDuel points. He’s the best value bat in the lineup.
Consider Jose Altuve ($4,200), Kyle Tucker ($3,800), and Alex Bregman ($3,500) as potential third choices for an Astros stack.
Minnesota Twins
Implied Total: 5.01 | Opposing Pitcher: Jesse Scholtens (RHP)
The Minnesota Twins were a favorite stack last night in the opening game against the Chicago White Sox. They went on to record 10 runs in the victory. So, why not double down with the matchup looking great thanks to a 5.01 implied total? The Twins should feast again as they march toward October.
Chicago will roll out Jesse Scholtens for today’s matchup. If you’re the Twins, your eyes should be lighting up when getting to the plate. Scholtens has been outplaying his advanced numbers — not that it’s ended up in impressive ones by any means.
The righty has an ERA of 4.44, but his 5.05 SIERA paints a good picture of how good — or not so good — he’s actually been. To add, Scholtens doesn’t strike out many batters (15.3% rate), either. This should be an all-around good day for Minnesota.
Edouard Julien ($2,800) had a solo home run in Game 1 of the series. Things should keep up for Julien considering he mashes righties. The rookie has a .390 wOBA, .903 OPS, and .219 ISO against them, which has led to such a great campaign on the year. He’s the Twins’ top projected scorer with 13.7 FanDuel points, per numberFire.
Spending big on Royce Lewis ($3,700) may also be a smart play for the Twins stack as he’s been the best player for the Twins in his 53 games. Lewis has a .377 wOBA and 13 home runs in that stretch — including one yesterday.
The Twins are a value stack given you can close out with three or four from the lineup as Jorge Polanco ($3,200), Max Kepler ($2,900), Carlos Correa ($2,900), Matt Wallner ($2,800), and Alex Kirilloff ($2,600) are all great options. Each of them is projected for at least 10 points by numberFire.
San Diego Padres
Implied Total: 4.89 | Opposing Pitcher: Sean Newcomb (LHP)
It’s been a week of stacking against the Oakland Athletics, which has been up and down. The San Diego Padres have a good shot for offense tonight thanks to a 4.89 implied total when they face off with Sean Newcomb.
Newcomb isn’t much of a starter anymore. He’s pitching out of the bullpen but has been really strong for the A’s while doing so. In just 12 innings, Newcomb has a 0.75 ERA. He also has 3.60 SIERA in the small sample size. He’s clearly outperforming what he’s expected to be doing. While he was in AAA, Newcomb had a 3.16 ERA and 4.24 FIP, so he’s someone that the Padres can swing against. With his longest outing being just four innings, he’s not likely to be in long, either, and that’ll open the door against the atrocious A’s bullpen (5.23 xFIP).
Fernando Tatis Jr. ($3,600) is going to be the lock of a Padres stack today. When facing lefties, Tatis excels the most. The shortstop is hitting to the tune of a .380 wOBA and .234 ISO when facing southpaws. You’ll want him in your lineup with numberFire’s model projecting him for 13.6 FanDuel points.
Finish out a Padres stack with any of Juan Soto ($3,700), Manny Machado ($3,500), Ha-Seong Kim ($3,200), and/or Xander Bogaerts ($3,000).
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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author’s advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.
