3 Daily Fantasy Baseball Stacks for Tuesday 8/23/22
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 should be elated about their matchup tonight.
Aaron Sanchez is filling in for the Minnesota Twins, and he's vomited all over himself this year. According to FanGraphs, among starters with at least 30 innings this year, Sanchez's 7.68 ERA has been the third-highest mark. Moreover, in 71 and 2/3 innings since last season, Sanchez has had a 5.40 ERA and 4.62 xFIP.
Sanchez has been homer-prone, ceding 1.49 homers per nine innings. He's also struggled to strike out hitters, sporting a 14.7 percent strikeout rate, markedly lower than the league average (22.3 percent). So, Houston's high-powered offense can exploit Sanchez's pitch-to-contact approach.
My favorite options are Houston's two most accomplished hitters against righties since last season. First, Kyle Tucker ($4,000) has had a .374 OBP, .242 ISO, and 150 wRC+ against righties since 2021. He's also swiped 19 bases this year. Second, Yordan Alvarez ($4,100) has pulverized righties. Since last year, he's had a .373 OBP, .290 ISO, and 160 wRC+ with the platoon advantage.
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies don't have a cupcake to feast on tonight. On the contrary.
Nick Lodolo has acquitted himself well in his debut, spinning a 4.12 ERA and 3.81 xFIP in 11 starts totaling 54 and 2/3 innings. Still, he's not perfect, and the Phillies have roughed up lefties this year, ranking seventh in wRC+ (116) against southpaws.
Additionally, Lodolo has been punished by right-handed hitters. The 219 righties who've faced the rookie lefty have had a .368 wOBA. Further, Philadelphia's offense will face the Cincinnati Reds' MLB-worst bullpen. Cincinnati's relievers have had a 4.89 ERA this season, the worst in MLB.
Philadelphia has excellent stacking options throughout their lineup. Still, Rhys Hoskins ($3,200) and Alec Bohm ($2,700) are at the top of the heap in my pecking order. Since 2019, Hoskins has had a .420 OBP, .308 ISO, and 164 wRC+ against lefties. Meanwhile, since debuting in 2020, Bohm has ripped lefties for a .370 OBP, .194 ISO, and 136 wRC+.
Atlanta Braves
Let's go back to the well with the Atlanta Braves tonight. Obviously, they were a disappointment last night. Regardless, their offense is worth a look again tonight.
JT Brubaker has been mediocre this year, spinning a 4.19 ERA and 4.24 Expected ERA (xERA).
Additionally, he hasn't been good against righties or lefties. Right-handed batters have had a .326 wOBA against Brubaker this year. Lefties have done even more damage, touching Brubaker up for a .333 wOBA.
Thankfully, it gets even better. The Pittsburgh Pirates' bullpen has been a disaster. Pittsburgh's relievers have the fourth-highest ERA (4.61) in 2022. Thus, Atlanta can do some damage against Brubaker and continue piling up FanDuel points against Pittsburgh's bullpen.
The Braves are genuinely stackable from top to bottom. Austin Riley ($3,800) is my favorite option. He's crushed righties for a .242 ISO and 136 wRC+ since last year. However, gamers shouldn't sleep on rookies Michael Harris II ($3,400) and Vaughn Grissom ($3,400) near the bottom of the order. Robbie Grossman ($2,300) is also enticing since the Braves reportedly helped him fix his swing, and he's had the results to support the fix working.
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.
