Daily Fantasy Baseball Stacks for Thursday 8/18/22
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.
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees should be salivating about a matchup against Jose Berrios tonight. According to FanGraphs, Berrios has had the highest ERA (5.61) and Expected ERA (5.58 xERA) among qualified pitchers this season.
Berrios has struggled in same-handed matchups. The righty has ceded a .334 wOBA to right-handed batters. However, Berrios has been downright pathetic against lefties. He's coughed up a .538 slugging and .378 wOBA to 273 lefties. So, any of the Yankees are stackable against him.
Still, a couple of lefties are my favorite options, given Berrios's ineptitude against hitters with the platoon advantage. Anthony Rizzo ($3,700) is my core piece from the Bronx Bombers. In 230 plate appearances against righties at Yankee Stadium since the Yankees acquired him in a trade last year, he's hit 16 homers with a .370 OBP, .286 ISO, and 149 wRC+.
Andrew Benintendi ($2,900) is my second-favorite option, salary considered. He'll also get a value bump if he leads off again tonight. Since last year, he's had a .351 OBP and 116 wRC+ against righties. Benintendi is also a threat to steal. He's stolen seven bases this year, swiping three in only 19 games with the Yankees.
San Diego Padres
The Washington Nationals might be MLB's biggest joke. Beyond still using Patrick Corbin as a starter, they've also coaxed Anibal Sanchez out of retirement to predictably terrible results.
After sitting out last year, Sanchez has been torched for a 7.20 ERA and allowed 3.00 homers per nine innings in six starts lasting 30 innings. Moreover, he had a 6.62 ERA with 1.87 homers per nine innings allowed in 11 starts totaling 53 innings in 2020. So, among starters with at least 80 innings pitched since 2020, Sanchez has had the fourth-highest ERA (6.83) and fifth-highest homers per nine innings (2.28).
Sanchez's ineptitude makes all of the San Diego Padres stacking options. Nevertheless, the crown jewels of their offense are Juan Soto ($4,100) and Manny Machado ($4,500). Since last year, Soto has had a .475 OBP, .253 ISO, and 177 wRC+. Machado hasn't been as dominant, but his .358 OBP, .220 ISO, and 139 wRC+ have been nothing to sneeze at.
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.
