3 Daily Fantasy Baseball Stacks for Thursday 4/14/22

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 6:35 pm ET.

Colorado Rockies

Sometimes the obvious choice is the correct choice. In this case, the Colorado Rockies facing a mediocre starting pitcher at Coors Field qualifies as a high-upside stack staring us in the face. Yes, they'll be chalky. Nonetheless, I'm all about gobbling up that chalk tonight.

Opposing lefty Justin Steele split time between the rotation and bullpen for the Chicago Cubs in 2021. Despite having the advantage of pitching in shorter spurts for 11 appearances, his 4.26 ERA was underwhelming. Additionally, according to FanGraphs, his ERA was a bloated 4.95 in his nine starts totaling 43 2/3 innings. The left-handed pitcher also had a 4.89 Skill-Interactive ERA (SIERA), indicating his ERA wasn't bad-luck influenced.

My favorite stacking selections from the Rockies are the lefty-killing duo of C.J. Cron ($4,100) and Kris Bryant ($4,000).

Cron has amassed a long track record of rocking lefties, and he has enjoyed his home cooking since joining the Rockies last year. When you combine the two, he has hit eight homers with a .470 OBP, .458 Isolated Power (ISO), and 216 Weighted Runs Created Plus (wRC+) in 83 plate appearances.

Bryant is in the first year of a multi-year pact with the Rockies. However, in 327 plate appearances against lefties since 2019, he has had a .398 OBP, .267 ISO, and 148 wRC+.

Finally, the two players I'm most interested in adding to Cron and Bryant for a four-person stack are Connor Joe ($3,500) and Brendan Rodgers ($3,000). Regardless, Cron and Bryant are the must-use options in any Rockies stack and excellent additions when tacked onto either of the forthcoming stacks.

Los Angeles Dodgers

If you're swerving from Coors Field, might I interest you in stacking the Los Angeles Dodgers?

The high-powered Dodgers have scored precisely seven runs in back-to-back games and hung four runs or more in four of five contests to start this year. The fun might just be getting started for their stacked lineup.

Tonight, they'll begin by taking cuts against opener Luis Cessa, a righty. After he departs, rookie lefty Reiver Sanmartin, the initially listed starter, might be a bulk-reliever.

Thankfully, neither pitcher is especially imposing. Cessa had a 2.51 ERA in 64 2/3 innings of relief last year. However, his 3.76 Expected ERA (xERA) and 3.86 SIERA were markedly worse. In addition, Sanmartin wilted under the spotlight in his first start this year, allowing five runs on four hits and five walks in 2 1/3 innings to the Atlanta Braves.

The possibility of the Reds starting a righty and yanking him early for a lefty might seem concerning at first. However, you shouldn't fret. Many of Los Angeles's top hitters rake against lefties and righties.

For instance, since 2019, Mookie Betts ($3,700), Trea Turner ($3,600), Justin Turner ($3,100), Chris Taylor ($3,100), and Max Muncy ($2,900) have been 10 percent or better than league average hitters against both handednesses of pitcher. As a result, they're my favorite options to mix and match in a stack.

Washington Nationals

Like the Rockies, the Dodgers will likely be a popular stack. So, the Washington Nationals are a nifty contrarian stack. On most slates, I'd be delighted to pick on JT Brubaker. Therefore, getting to do so with a likely low-rostered offense is a superb GPP move.

Last year, Brubaker was destroyed for a 5.36 ERA, allowing a jaw-dropping 2.03 homers per nine innings. Further, he was touched up by both lefties and righties. The right-handed starter yielded a .502 slugging and .354 Weighted On-base Average (wOBA) to lefties and ceded a .466 slugging and .333 wOBA to righties.

Thankfully, since this stack is likely off the beating path, you don't have to get creative with what part of the lineup you utilize. Instead, I suggest stacking the obvious top hitters, Juan Soto ($4,200), Nelson Cruz ($3,100), and Josh Bell ($3,100). I also like Cesar Hernandez ($2,400) from the leadoff spot as a punt.

Finally, Keibert Ruiz ($2,800) is a sneaky alternative to Bell at catcher/first base or in addition to Bell in the utility spot. The young backstop has had a rock-solid .198 ISO in 92 plate appearances against righties.

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.