3 Daily Fantasy Baseball Stacks for Wednesday 8/10/22

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.

Minnesota Twins

The leading candidate to start for the Los Angeles Dodgers is Ryan Pepiot.

At a glance, he looks like a pitcher to avoid. This season, the rookie righty has a 2.76 ERA in four starts (16 and 1/3 innings) for the Dodgers and a 2.27 ERA in 15 appearances (75 and 1/3 innings) in Triple-A.

A look under the hood is more encouraging. Pepiot has a 5.17 xFIP with the Dodgers and a 4.76 xFIP in Triple-A. Additionally, Pepiot has hardly had any control, walking 11.8 percent of the hitters he's faced in 2022. However, his walk rate only partially tells the story. Pepiot has also hit 12 batters. If you combine his walks and hit batters, he's put on 15.0 percent of hitters via ball four or hit by pitch. Yikes.

Pepiot's control problems can catch up to him tonight against the Minnesota Twins. As a result, Minnesota's ceiling is high.

My favorite option from the Twins is Jorge Polanco ($3,200). Since last season, he's crushed righties for a .349 OBP, .232 ISO, and 132 wRC+. We shouldn't entirely dismiss cap-friendly options such as Nick Gordon ($2,400) and Jake Cave ($2,100).

Baltimore Orioles

The Baltimore Orioles might have a cakewalk or could have a challenging night at the office tonight. Jose Berrios has been wildly inconsistent this year, flashing brilliance but blowing up more than a few times. In 22 starts, the 28-year-old righty has allowed no more than three runs 15 times. However, he's also allowed at least five runs six times, ceding four runs in just one-third of an inning in the only start that doesn't fit either criterion.

Berrios has also struggled against hitters in each batter's box. He's ceded a .330 wOBA to righties, yet lefties have done more damage, pummeling him for a .517 slugging percentage and .366 wOBA.

As a result, my favorite options have the platoon advantage. Rookie Terrin Vavra ($2,200) is a potentially sneaky-good play. The lefty-hitting infielder had a 145 wRC+ in Triple-A before the Orioles called him up.

Switch-hitters Anthony Santander ($3,200) and Adley Rutschman ($3,100) are outstanding picks, too. Santander has reached base in 18 of his last 19 games, smacking five homers during that stretch. Rutschman has teed off on righties for a .399 OBP, .230 ISO, and 163 wRC+.

St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals were crushed at Coors Field last night. Still, the outburst from the Colorado Rockies showed the DFS scoring potential at MLB's most hitter-friendly park. Tonight's matchup is ideal for the Red Birds.

St. Louis kills lefties. They've had the second-highest wRC+ (120) against southpaws this year, giving the business to below-average lefties and elite southpaws alike. Kyle Freeland is closer to the former camp than the latter. This year, the 29-year-old has a 4.56 ERA and 4.51 SIERA.

Freeland has also struggled mightily with righties at home. In 2022, he's allowed a .508 slugging and .359 wOBA to 198 righties at Coors Field. And for his career, Freeland has served up a .492 slugging and .353 wOBA to 1,316 righties in Colorado.

The two most desirable picks from the Cardinals -- an offense that boasts a slate-leading (by more than a run) 6.31 implied total -- are heart-of-the-order studs Paul Goldschmidt ($4,500) and Nolan Arenado ($4.300). Since 2019, Goldy has had a .441 OBP, .318 ISO, and 194 wRC+ against lefties. Arenado has rocked lefties for a .366 OBP, .291 ISO, and 140 wRC+.

Goldy and Arenado aren't the only options. The Red Birds are stackable from top to bottom. Speaking of the top, Dylan Carlson ($3,100) is an elite pick atop the order, owning a .383 OBP, .188 ISO, and 148 wRC+ against lefties in his career. The Cardinals are an excellent option despite their likely sky-high popularity

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.