3 Daily Fantasy Baseball Stacks for Thursday 4/7/22
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 that starts on FanDuel at 2:20 pm ET.
Milwaukee Brewers
The weather will be chilly at Wrigley Field, which is less than ideal for hitting, though it may be offset by double-digit winds blowing out to center. Nonetheless, the Milwaukee Brewers' matchup with Kyle Hendricks is one of the most advantageous on Opening Day.
According to FanGraphs, Hendricks had a 4.77 ERA, 4.99 Expected Earned Run Average (xERA), and 4.70 Skill-Interactive Earned Run Average (SIERA) in 2021. He also posted a 1.35 WHIP and yielded 1.54 homers per nine innings (HR/9).
Additionally, he was extremely giving to left-handed hitters and mediocre against righties. Hendricks coughed up a .377 Weighted On-Base Average (wOBA) to lefties and a .318 wOBA to righties.
Hendricks' shortcomings against lefties make likely leadoff hitter Kolten Wong ($2,600) and 2018 National League MVP Christian Yelich ($3,300) two of my favorite targets in Milwaukee's stack.
Sadly, Yelich has battled injuries, with his performance suffering the previous two years. Healthy to open the year, I'm willing to gamble on a rebound before actually seeing signs of it.
Finally, Willy Adames ($2,900) is the other key cog I'm honed in on. The right-handed-hitting shortstop's performance took off after a change of scenery in 2021, joining the Beer Makers in a trade. Further, he thrived in same-handed matchups with his new club. In 297 plate appearances against righties with the Brewers, he had a .364 OBP, .256 Isolated Power (ISO), and 141 Weighted Runs Created Plus (wRC+).
New York Mets
The New York Mets might be the chalkiest stack on Opening Day. Their opposing starter, Patrick Corbin, had the highest 2021 ERA (5.82) and xERA (5.66), and he had the second-highest SIERA (4.61) among today's probable starters. In addition, the southpaw hurler was a punching bag for right-handed hitters, coughing up a .562 slugging, 35 homers, and .387 wOBA to 588 of them.
Predictably, a few of New York's right-handed hitters are my top options. My favorite of the bunch is Pete Alonso ($3,600). In his career, the 2019 home run champion has had a .316 ISO and 132 wRC+ against southpaws. Alonso's top-shelf power is a must-have in this stack and makes him a stellar one-off play tacked onto the other stacks highlighted in this piece.
Francisco Lindor ($3,800) and Starling Marte ($3,600) are excellent high-profile picks, as well. However, you shouldn't sleep on Eduardo Escobar ($2,900) and J.D. Davis ($2,100).
Since 2019, Escobar has had a .227 ISO against lefties, and Davis has had a .370 OBP, .183 ISO, and 125 wRC+ against them. Unfortunately, Davis is at a high risk of being removed for a pinch-runner, pinch-hitter, or defensive replacement, adding some risk to using him, albeit a reasonable risk to take at only $100 above the minimum salary.
San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres close Opening Day in a National League West matchup with the lowly Arizona Diamondbacks.
Unfortunately, they're doing so without wunderkind Fernando Tatis Jr., and San Diego's lineup isn't loaded from top to bottom. Thankfully, that allows us to hone in on just a few players for this stack.
First, it's best to attack Madison Bumgarner with right-handed hitters. Obviously, the former front-line starter isn't the stud he once was. Nevertheless, he held left-handed hitters to a .288 wOBA last year. MadBum did cede a .454 slugging and .323 wOBA to righties, though.
The crown jewel of a Friars stack is Manny Machado ($3,800). He has had a .387 OBP, .268 ISO, and 148 wRC+ against southpaws since 2019.
The two players I love tacking on with Machado for the stack are Luke Voit ($2,500) and Wil Myers ($2,600). They each have above-average power, recording a .211 ISO and .246 ISO against lefties since 2019, respectively.
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.
