3 Daily Fantasy Baseball Stacks for Thursday 8/4/22
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 are a well-oiled machine on offense with newfound depth after the MLB trade deadline. They're not to be trifled with by even the best pitchers, and Zach Plesac isn't within shouting distance of the top hurlers.
According to FanGraphs, among qualified hurlers, Plesac's 5.52 expected ERA (xERA) is the second-highest mark. So, don't be fooled by Plesac's mediocre 4.33 ERA. It's due for regression. Fortunately, the Astros are built to hasten the regression process for him.
Houston is tied for the sixth in wRC+ (112) against righties. They also have elite talent and lineup depth. Houston's 4.52 implied total is the night's third-best.
It doesn't get better than stud bopper Yordan Alvarez ($4,400). Alvarez's 196 wRC+ is the highest among qualified hitters this year. Kyle Tucker ($3,500) is my second-favorite selection from the Astros. Since 2021, he's had a .366 OBP, .237 ISO, and 144 wRC+ against righties.
Alvarez and Tucker have the platoon advantage, and lefties have teed off on Plesac for a .361 wOBA this season.
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are beasts against lefties. This year, their 120 wRC+ is the third-highest mark against southpaws. As a result, they're a nifty stack against any lefty. They're an exciting stack tonight against a debuting lefty.
Cole Ragans began this year in Double-A and graduated to Triple-A. Along the way, he's outpitched his peripherals. In Double-A, he had a 2.81 ERA and 4.08 xFIP. Then, in Triple-A, he had a 3.32 ERA and 4.74 xFIP. The other shoe might have dropped for Ragans in the minors before the end of the year. Instead, Ragans is likely in for a rude awakening against a lefty-killing lineup in The Show.
Chicago's lineup is full to the brim with lefty-killers. Since 2019, six hitters on the White Sox have had at least a 143 wRC+ against lefties. Some of my favorite hitters from that prestigious group are Tim Anderson ($3,200), Andrew Vaughn ($3,000), Jose Abreu ($3,300), and A.J. Pollock ($2,300). In fact, the quartet is my favorite White Sox stack. Luis Robert ($3,600) is worth a long look, too, if he's in the lineup.
Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals aren't in the same tier of offense as the Astros, and they're not as exciting an option as the Pale Hose. Instead, they're an intriguing contrarian stack against a struggling hurler.
In Nick Pivetta's last 11 starts, he's been rocked for a 4.92 ERA and 4.41 xFIP, coughing up 1.41 homers per nine innings. He's mediocre against righties and terrible against lefties. Pivetta has ceded a .309 wOBA to righties and .342 wOBA to lefties in 2022. The bullpen is also a draw for stacking the Royals since the Boston Red Sox have the seventh-highest ERA (4.21) for relievers.
Salvador Perez ($3,300) is a power-packed pick. Since returning from the Injured List on July 29, Perez has homered in three of six games. Vinnie Pasquantino ($2,200) is another attractive option who offers salary-cap relief to boot. Gamers shouldn't put too much weight into Pasquantino's .293 wOBA. According to Baseball Savant, he's had a much better .354 Expected wOBA (xwOBA). So, don't sleep on Perez, Pasquantino, and the Royals in GPPs tonight.
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.
