3 Daily Fantasy Baseball Stacks for Wednesday 7/6/22
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.
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros have a decent matchup tonight.
Sure, Brad Keller hasn't been a roaring tire fire this year. Still, the righty's 4.24 ERA hasn't been celebration-worthy. Moreover, according to FanGraphs, he's had a 4.23 Expected ERA (xERA), 4.27 xFIP, and 4.58 SIERA, supporting his mediocre ERA.
Keller has struggled to strike batters out, netting a 15.6% strikeout rate well below the league average (22.2%). He's also had awful marks against lefties and righties since last year. Since 2021, he's coughed up a .348 wOBA to lefties and a .338 wOBA to righties. Finally, the Kansas City Royals bullpen has been awful, owning the third-highest ERA (4.72).
Therefore, the Astros should light up the scoreboard tonight. The centerpiece of Houston's offense is Yordan Alvarez ($4,300). Since last year, he's hammered righties for a .373 OBP, .308 ISO, and 169 wRC+. Leadoff hitter Jose Altuve ($4,300), two-hole hitter Jeremy Pena ($3,200), and Kyle Tucker ($3,600) are a few more standouts.
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees scored only two runs last night. Thankfully, they have a rebound matchup tonight. The offseason hype about Mitch Keller throwing harder has disappeared while he continues to struggle in The Show. In 15 games (13 starts), he's had a dreadful 5.14 ERA.
The righty has a below-average strikeout rate (18.9 percent), and he's had no answers for lefties or righties. Since last season, Keller has allowed a .364 wOBA to lefties and a .361 wOBA to righties. In addition, the Pittsburgh bullpen has had the fourth-highest ERA (4.53) this season, boosting New York's mid-to-late-inning scoring potential.
Exit-velocity monsters Aaron Judge ($4,000) and Giancarlo Stanton ($3,700) are top-shelf power hitters who can exploit Keller's below-average strikeout rate. However, gamers shouldn't sleep on Matt Carpenter ($2,200) if he starts. The veteran has been surprisingly good this year in a part-time role. In 56 plate appearances, he's mashed eight taters with a .418 OBP, .543 ISO, and 248 wRC+.
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles were in a slugfest last night, and it might be more of the same tonight. They'll take hacks against overmatched righty Glenn Otto. The 26-year-old righty has had a 5.63 ERA and 6.60 xERA this year. He's also had a 6.85 ERA in 69 and 2/3 innings since reaching the majors last season.
Otto has been nothing more than a speed bump for lefties and righties to run over. He's allowed a .353 wOBA to lefties and a .361 wOBA to righties. So, Baltimore's hitters of either-handedness are intriguing options tonight.
Cedric Mullins ($3,400) kicks it off at the top of the order as their most accomplished hitter against righties since last year. The speedy outfielder has had a .358 OBP, .224 ISO, and 138 wRC+ against them. Adley Rutschman ($2,500) and Anthony Santander ($3,000) are nifty power sources, too. Rutschman's had a .210 ISO against righties in his rookie season, and Santander's had a .206 ISO against them since last year.
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.
