MLB

Daily Fantasy Baseball Stacks for Thursday 6/16/22

The Philadelphia Phillies should eat in a mouthwatering matchup. What other stack can give them a run for their money?

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

The Philadelphia Phillies square off against a pitcher knocking on the door of being designated for assignment. Patrick Corbin has had a 6.65 ERA and 6.03 Expected ERA (xERA) in 66 and 1/3 innings this year, per FanGraphs. In addition, this year is merely an extension of his erosion. In 2020, he had a 4.66 ERA which slipped to a 5.82 ERA in 2021.

The veteran lefty has been especially bad against righties. Since last year, Corbin has been rocked for a .537 slugging and .381 wOBA by 833 right-handed batters. As if picking on Corbin isn't fun enough, Philadelphia's offense faces a terrible bullpen, too. The Washington Nationals have had the highest bullpen ERA (5.45) this year.

A pair of Phillies stand head and shoulders above their peers as the best options in this stack. First, Nick Castellanos ($2,700) is a no-brainer pick. Since 2019, he's had a .369 OBP, .271 ISO, and 148 wRC+ against lefties. Second, Rhys Hoskins ($3,600) is also a no-doubt pick. Since 2019, he's roughed up lefties for a .416 OBP, .315 ISO, and 162 wRC+.

New York Yankees

The Tampa Bay Rays are turning to lefty Jalen Beeks to start today's game, but he's not stretched out and will face a pitch limit. Initially, after Drew Rasmussen hit the Injured List, Roster Resource projected Josh Fleming to replace Rasmussen. So, he may be the bulk reliever. Thus, it makes sense to look at his numbers. In addition, any of Tampa Bay's relievers will have a challenging time against the New York Yankees.

Circling back to Fleming, he would be a welcome sight for the Bronx Bombers. Sure, the young lefty has dominated in his latest stint at Triple-A. However, in 122 and 2/3 innings pitched in The Show since last year, he's had a 5.28 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, and struck out only 15.2 percent of the hitters he's faced. Moreover, he's below-average against righties, yielding a .329 wOBA to right-handed batters since last season.

The Yankees have a deep lineup that's stackable throughout. Nevertheless, their slugging duo of Aaron Judge ($4,600) and Giancarlo Stanton ($3,600) are the lock-button options in this stack. For starters, they both crush righties. So, if Fleming doesn't get the ball as a bulk reliever, Judge and Stanton will still be elite picks. Yet, if they face Fleming after southpaw Beeks, they're lefty-killers. Since 2019, Judge has had a .298 ISO and 162 wRC+, and Stanton has roughed up lefties for a .235 ISO and 146 wRC+.



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.