3 Daily Fantasy Baseball Stacks for Friday 9/9/22
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
When the trade deadline passed, I expected the Washington Nationals to pull the plug on starting Patrick Corbin. The joke is on me. Or, more accurately, the Nationals are a joke. According to FanGraphs, among pitchers with at least 130 innings, Corbin has had the highest ERA (6.28) and highest Expected ERA (6.34 xERA).
The veteran lefty has also been a disaster against all hitters. Lefties have roughed him up for a .467 slugging and .365 wOBA this season. Meanwhile, righties have torched him for a .524 slugging and .387 wOBA.
The Philadelphia Phillies have many stellar choices for stacking. However, my favorite choices are Alec Bohm ($2,900) and Rhys Hoskins ($2,900). In 153 plate appearances against southpaws at Citizens Bank Park in his young career, Bohm has clubbed five homers with a .359 OBP, .201 ISO, and 131 wRC+.
Hoskins has been more dominant with the platoon advantage at home over a larger sample. In 394 plate appearances against southpaws at Citizens Bank Park, Hoskins has mashed 19 taters with a .418 OBP, .274 ISO, and 158 wRC+.
Arizona Diamondbacks
Any offense that visits Coors Field gets a pick-me-up, and the Arizona Diamondbacks are the beneficiaries tonight. They'll also benefit from a mouthwatering matchup. German Marquez has struggled mightily at home.
In 78 and 1/3 innings at Coors Field this year, he's had a 6.09 ERA. The righty has also been ripped by lefties and righties alike in his hitter-friendly home confines. Righties have had a .582 slugging and .382 wOBA against Marquez in Colorado. Lefties have also smashed him, amassing a .525 slugging and .382 wOBA.
Thus, the Diamondbacks are stackable from top to bottom tonight. Still, some of my favorite options are Ketel Marte ($2,800), Corbin Carroll ($3,300), Jake McCarthy ($3,500), and Daulton Varsho ($3,500). Carroll has gotten off to a fast start against righties in the majors, smashing them for a .435 OBP, .238 ISO, and 192 wRC+ in 23 plate appearances. Finally, Varsho is a sweet power source with a dash of speed, muscling up for a .253 ISO against righties this season and swiping eight bases in 2022.
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are a challenging matchup for any pitcher. So, Michael Lorenzen has his hands full in his return from the 60-day Injured List (IL). Additionally, Lorenzen hasn't been having a good year in his return to a big-league rotation.
In 13 starts spanning 71 innings, he's had a 4.94 ERA and 4.41 xFIP. Lorenzen's combination of a 9.9 percent walk rate and 18.1 percent strikeout rate has been worse than league average. The veteran righty has also been an unmitigated disaster against lefties and on the road. Left-handed batters have steamrolled him for a .491 slugging and .387 wOBA. And Lorenzen has coughed up a 7.52 ERA on the road.
Thus, the Astros should lay the wood to him tonight, and a couple of their lefties are my favorite choices tonight. First, Kyle Tucker ($3,600) has had a .372 OBP, .238 ISO, and 149 wRC+ against righties since last season. Second, Yordan Alvarez ($3,800) is an enticing pick, even with his struggles at the dish since August 1. Sure, he's had only a 78 wRC+, one homer, and a .074 ISO in his last 111 plate appearances. Yet, his exit velocity and Statcast data have been encouraging. So, it's only a matter of time before he goes on a power binge.
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.
