3 Daily Fantasy Baseball Stacks for Friday 8/26/22
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.
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies didn't live up to expectations in a dreamy matchup last night. Fortunately, it's an excellent night to go back to the well with them, namely with Bryce Harper ($4,000) returning from the Injured List.
It's a double-dose of good news for Philadelphia's offense. First, Bryse Wilson is a tire fire on the bump. According to FanGraphs, he's posted a 5.74 ERA and 5.46 Expected ERA (xERA) in 78 and 1/3 innings this season. Wilson has a 5.63 ERA and 4.96 xFIP in his career.
Second, the Pittsburgh Pirates' bullpen is dreadful, sporting the MLB's fourth-highest ERA (4.64). So, the Phillies can feast from the first pitch to the final out.
Circling back to Wilson, he's been a punching bag for lefties. The righty has coughed up a .612 slugging percentage and .424 wOBA to 159 lefties this year. As a result, Harper and Kyle Schwarber ($3,300) are my favorite choices in this stack.
Harper's posted a .424 OBP, .356 ISO, and 187 wRC+ against righties since last year. Meanwhile, Schwarber has put up a .342 OBP, .333 ISO, and 144 wRC+. Schwarber continues to be listed at a friendly salary.
New York Mets
The New York Mets should be licking their lips in anticipation of facing Chad Kuhl. The 29-year-old righty owns a 5.16 ERA, 4.95 xERA, and 4.99 xFIP in 20 starts this year. He's also coughed up 1.49 homers per nine innings.
Moreover, Kuhl has been crushed by everyone. Righties have had a .465 slugging and .340 wOBA against him this year. Lefties have been even better, crushing him for a .493 slugging and .371 wOBA.
It's always a joyous occasion stacking against the Colorado Rockies' messy bullpen. Colorado's relievers have the second-highest ERA (4.80) this season. In short, everything comes up roses for the Mets.
New York is stackable from top to bottom. It might be surprising to many, but Dan Vogelbach's ($2,800) 139 wRC+ against righties since 2021 has been the highest on the Mets' active roster, and his .228 ISO has been the third-highest mark among projected starters.
Unsurprisingly, Pete Alonso ($3,800) has paced the power department for the Mets, owning a .236 ISO against righties since last season. And, again, Kuhl has struggled the most with lefties this year, so I'm also enamored with Brandon Nimmo ($2,700) and Francisco Lindor ($3,600).
Houston Astros
Maybe Kyle Bradish has been figuring it out. Since three starts in the minors in July, Bradish has pitched to an acceptable 4.21 ERA and 3.73 xFIP in five starts for the Baltimore Orioles upon being recalled. Then again, a 4.21 ERA isn't an imposing mark for a top-shelf offense like the Houston Astros.
Also, a five-start sample has hardly been a long stretch of success. Before then, Bradish struggled to a 7.38 ERA with 2.14 homers per nine innings through 10 starts (46 and 1/3 innings). Thus, Houston's offense has explosive upside tonight.
It starts at the top with sparkplug Jose Altuve ($3,800). The diminutive second baseman is my favorite selection in this stack. Since last year, the right-handed-hitting second baseman has lit up righties for a .388 OBP, .239 ISO, and 158 wRC+ in 394 plate appearances against them at Minute Maid Park in Houston.
Alex Bregman ($4,400) is also an enticing choice. He's on fire and has smashed righties in his home digs this year. In 148 plate appearances against righties in Houston this season, Bregman has registered a .439 OBP, .290 ISO, and 207 wRC+.
My two favorite picks for this stack will benefit from Bradish coughing up an eye-popping .604 slugging percentage and .436 wOBA to 202 righties this season.
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.
