4 Daily Fantasy Baseball Stacks for 7/30/20
In the world of daily baseball, stacks are often the backbone of the most successful -- and profitable -- lineups. Correlation is the key.
When an offense hangs runs in bunches, it means hitters are scoring runs and teammates hitting behind them are driving them in. By rostering stacks, you’re maximizing the fantasy scoring by essentially double-dipping on a run-scoring event.
This is your daily home for the top stacks on the daily fantasy baseball slate. Whether you’re looking to identify the projected highest-scoring stacks or contrarian stacks that can help you separate from the pack in GPPs when they explode, they’ll be thrown under the spotlight here.
Gamers who are numberFire premium members can throw these highlighted stacks into an optimized lineup using our DFS Sharpstack tool. The tool allows you to select the team and number of players from that team you’d like to include in your lineup. If you’re looking to identify other potentially high-scoring stacks beyond those featured in this space, check out our hitting heat map, a tool that provides valuable info such as implied total, park factor, and stats to identify the quality of the opposing pitcher.
Without further ado, let’s dive into today’s main slate’s featured stacks.
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees have the highest implied total on tonight's slate, as you can see on our Heat Map tool, and the salaries of their elite hitters aren't prohibitive to rostering whoever you'd like to at pitcher. With that in mind, the Yanks should easily be the chalk on tonight's slate. They're the stack to own in cash games, and their explosive upside also makes them worth rostering even at high ownership in GPPs.
Opposing starter John Means spun a 3.60 ERA for the Baltimore Orioles, but that greatly exceeded his peripheral stats. His underlying stats led to a horrendous 5.02 skill-interactive ERA (SIERA), according to FanGraphs. The southpaw didn't miss many bats with just a 19.0 percent strikeout rate and 9.9 swinging-strike percentage. Pitching to contact is doubly bad for his outlook shutting down the vaunted lineup of the Bronx Bombers in homer-friendly Camden Yards with park factors for runs and homers of 1.033 and 1.209, respectively, per FantasyPros three-year park factor averages. Making matters worse for Means and better for stacking the Yankees -- specifically their right-handed hitters -- is Means' 49.9 percent fly-ball percentage ceded to righties last year.
New York's lineup opens with strong option DJ LeMahieu ($3,300). The former member of the Colorado Rockies had little trouble adjusting to life away from the thin air provided to him in his old stomping grounds. In 177 plate appearances against lefties last year, LeMahieu torched them for a .435 OBP, .256 isolated power (ISO) and 182 weighted runs created plus (wRC+). LeMahieu's excellent, but my three favorite members of this stack are the three hitters who will likely be immediately following him in the order.
Aaron Judge ($4,100) is one of two Statcast marvels in the top four of New York's lineup. Among qualified hitters last season, Judge ranked sixth in barrels per plate appearance percentage and tied for first in fly-ball and line-drive exit velocity (99.6 miles per hour), per Baseball Savant. Interestingly, Gary Sanchez ($2,900) isn't the other Statcast darling I teased as he hits lower than a top-four spot in the order, but he ranked second in barrels per plate appearance percentage and is a strong stacking option in his own right.
The other Statcast stud missed most of last year, Giancarlo Stanton ($3,800). Among qualified hitters in 2018, though, Stanton ranked 11th in barrels per plate appearance percentage and second in fly-ball and line-drive exit velocity (99.7 miles per hour). Additionally, among hitters with at least 300 plate appearances against southpaws since 2017, Stanton ranks tied for 10th in OBP (.415), second in ISO (.376) and tied for second in wRC+ (186).
Sandwiched between Judge in the two-hole and Stanton in the cleanup spot is uber-talented Gleyber Torres ($3,100). Priced outside the top-five shortstops tonight, he's a bargain. Since reaching the Majors in 2018, he's smashed lefties to the tune of a .354 OBP, .294 ISO, and 144 wRC+. If you're multi entering GPPs, feel free to mix and match these highlighted hitters from the Yankees to differentiate from the other chalky stacks. Although, my favorite stack is a traditional one-through-four pairing.
Boston Red Sox
Even without Mookie Betts, the Boston Red Sox still boast some firepower. Inconsistent lefty Steven Matz posted a ho-hum 4.21 ERA and even worse 4.47 SIERA last year. If he's not sharp, Boston's lineup is more than capable of punishing him.
Jose Peraza ($2,400) is nothing special as a hitter, but he's been in the leadoff spot in Boston's last two games against left-handed starters. If he's there again tonight, he's a punt option and a fine stacking play hitting directly in front of the lineup's -- and MLB's, for that matter -- premier lefty killer, J.D. Martinez ($3,900). Among qualified hitters since 2017, Martinez leads the way with a 208 wRC+ and .401 ISO in the split. During that stretch, he's also gotten on base at a whopping .447 clip versus lefties. Martinez is a great standalone play with the other touted stacks and a must as part of a Red Sox stack.
Rafael Devers ($3,400) has been a below-average hitter against southpaws in his young career but is usable in the stack in the hopes of him getting a lineup lift from hitting third or doing damage against a right-handed reliever after Matz exits. The other premier piece of a Red Sox stack is Xander Bogaerts ($3,300) -- health permitting after a day off yesterday but appearing as a pinch-hitter. Bogaerts has been an above-average hitter against lefties every season since he reached the Majors in 2013, and he was superb last year with a .359 OBP, new career-high .261 ISO, and 130 wRC+ in 184 plate appearances against them.
Outside of the top-four spots in Boston's order, Kevin Pillar ($2,900) and Christian Vazquez ($2,800) make sense as likely lower-owned options than the hitters already highlighted.
New York Mets
Martin Perez is a pitcher to go out of your way to stack against, and I suggest doing just that tonight with the New York Mets. Perez was responsible for an ugly 5.12 ERA and 5.01 SIERA last season. After a respectable first half utilizing his above-average cutter, the bottom fell out in the second half, resulting in a 6.27 ERA. The 589 right-handed batters who faced the lefty Perez last year teed off on him for a .476 slugging percentage and .353 weighted on-base average (wOBA).
Amed Rosario ($2,500) has hit leadoff in the Mets' last three games opposing a left-handed starter, and he's an underpriced option who's acquitted himself well against lefties since reaching the Majors in 2017. Pete Alonso ($3,900) has hit behind Rosario in the two-hole in New York's last two games against southpaw starters after hitting third the first two times they faced a lefty this year. Either lineup spot is great for Alonso, and he's my co-favorite stacking option and a tremendous one-off play tacked onto any of the other suggested stacks. In 186 plate appearances against lefties in his young career, he's touched them up for a .350 ISO and 140 wRC+.
My other co-favorite stack option with Alonso is J.D. Davis ($2,400). Davis was given the night off last night, but he's criminally underpriced against the thoroughly below average Perez. He's hit cleanup in the last two matchups against southpaw starters, and he's coming off of bashing lefties for a .227 ISO, 139 wRC+ and 47.8 hard-hit percentage last year. Perez's dreadfulness makes the entirety of the Mets' lineup stackable, but the other two hitters I specifically want to call attention to are the cheap-but-potent duo of Yoenis Cespedes ($2,600) and Wilson Ramos ($2,300).
San Diego Padres
I was torn between the Kansas City Royals and San Diego Padres as my final stack to tout. Ultimately, I expect the Friars to be lower owned and, thus, more intriguing in GPPs. Further, I'm more inclined to turn to a one-off or a couple Royals for a piece of exposure to washed up Ivan Nova than trotting out a full-blown stack against him. The San Francisco Giants haven't announced a starter, but Kevin Gausman appears to be a decent bet to either get the traditional start or follow opener Tyler Anderson -- who made a relief appearance last night -- as he did in his first appearance of the year. Neither hurler should deter you from using the Friars.
Anderson was limited to only five starts last year due to injury, but he was tattooed for a 11.76 ERA and 4.93 SIERA. For his career, he owns a 4.72 ERA and 4.20 SIERA. Gausman opened last year with the Atlanta Braves and was roughed up for a 6.19 ERA and 4.42 SIERA through 16 starts (80.0 innings). He was waived and salvaged the end of his season to some extent by pitching well out of the bullpen for the Cincinnati Reds. Between both teams, the right-handed Gausman served up a .450 slugging percentage and .333 wOBA to right-handed batters. For his career, he's allowed a .459 slugging percentage and .339 wOBA to them. In other words, don't worry about him tying up the top right-handed batters on the Padres.
Whether facing lefty Anderson or righty Gausman, I'm digging a foursome of right-handed hitters who are capable of roughing up lefties and righties alike. Switch-hitting Jurickson Profar ($2,500) is the least interesting of the group and would get a boost from Anderson opening. Profar has been considerably better against lefties than righties since 2017 with a 109 wRC+ against the former and just a 88 wRC+ against the latter. However, his .194 ISO is decent against righties, and his reasonable salary makes him a quality option even if Gausman is used in a traditional starter role tonight.
Wil Myers ($3,200) looked like a candidate to be squeezed from the lineup back in the spring, but he's been in the lineup every day this year thanks to the club unclogging their outfield and the adoption of the designated hitter in the National League. The veteran right-handed hitter is merely average against right-handers, but he has above-average power against either handedness of pitcher.
I've saved the two best pieces of this stack for last. Fernando Tatis Jr. ($3,700) and Manny Machado ($3,000) both make for strong options tonight. Tatis is following up a sensational rookie campaign with a blistering start to his sophomore season. He's amassed a .338 OBP, .273 ISO and 134 wRC+ against righties in 305 plate appearances in his career. Machado opened his career with a reverse platoon split but has settled into a traditional platoon split in recent years. He remains a threat to do damage against righties, though, with a .326 OBP, .202 ISO and 107 wRC+ against them in 1,544 plate appearances over the last three-plus years and a tater hit off of righty Johnny Cueto last night. Both Tatis and Machado would get a value boost from Anderson opening, but they are still the top-two stacking options from this lineup if Gausman gets the start.
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.
