3 Daily Fantasy Baseball Stacks for Friday 8/19/22

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.

Colorado Rockies

I'm not reinventing the wheel by suggesting using the Colorado Rockies at home. However, it's hard to look past their excellence at home. Colorado has had the league's highest wOBA (.349) in home games this season.

Alex Wood isn't a soft matchup at a glance. After all, he's had a respectable 4.18 ERA and even better ERA estimators, such as his 3.29 xFIP.

However, Wood has been a roaring tire fire at Coors Field in his career. I don't often look at a player's career marks in a ballpark since they span a long timeframe for veterans like Wood. Yet, Coors Field is a unique ballpark. The lefty has had an 8.26 ERA in 11 appearances (10 starts and one relief appearance), getting chased after only 40 1/3 innings.

Facing the San Francisco Giants' bullpen is ideal for the Rockies, too. San Francisco's relievers have had the sixth-highest ERA (4.39) this season. So, it's wheels up for Colorado's offense, and they should take flight tonight.

They're stackable from top to bottom, but C.J. Cron ($4,100) is far and away my favorite choice. In 163 plate appearances at Coors Field against lefties since joining the Rockies last year, he's hit 13 homers with a .393 OBP, .371 ISO, and 155 wRC+.

Brendan Rodgers ($3,400) is another standout selection. The infielder has had a .392 OBP, .208 ISO, and 132 wRC+ at home against lefties in his career.

San Francisco Giants

The Giants are the favorites in Colorado tonight. So, they're obviously also an enticing stack. It's been a disappointing season for San Francisco, but they're still fighting for a playoff berth and have been seventh in wRC+ (114) since the MLB trade deadline.

Tonight, their offense should shine its brightest in a drool-inducing matchup.

First, they'll take swings against Jose Urena. The veteran righty has had a 4.80 ERA, 5.80 Expected ERA (xERA), 5.04 xFIP, and coughed up 1.42 homers per nine innings. Then, they'll square off with Colorado's bumbling bullpen, the owners of MLB's second-highest bullpen ERA (4.85).

Thus, tonight's contest has standard Coors Field slugfest written all over it.

The Giants are also stackable from top to bottom, just like the previously discussed Rockies.

Still, chasing power is wise. So, Joc Pederson ($3,400), LaMonte Wade Jr ($3,000), and Evan Longoria ($2,900) are among my favorite choices. Since last year, Pederson has had a .224 ISO, Wade has had a .268 ISO, and Longo has had a .203 ISO versus right-handed hurlers.

Houston Astros

If you're fading Coors, investing in a high-octane alternative is a must. So, how about a team that hung 21 runs on board yesterday afternoon?

The Houston Astros were unstoppable yesterday, and they're an elite offense, ranking sixth in wRC+ (111) against righties and eighth in wRC+ (110) since the trade deadline.

They'll also benefit from playing at Truist Park, a hitter-friendly venue.

Sadly, everything doesn't come up roses for the 'Stros. Kyle Wright can challenge them. The breakout righty has had a 3.14 ERA in 22 starts. However, his 4.07 xERA does provide some hope he'll struggle with an elite offense like Houston's.

To expand on Houston's offensive excellence, since last year, five hitters in their projected lineup have had at least a 108 wRC+ and four have had at least a 132 wRC+. In addition, only one hitter has been worse than six percent below average against righties since 2021. It's a lineup jam-packed with elite talent and without easy outs for Wright.

My favorite pick in Houston's stack is their elite slugger, Yordan Alvarez ($4,100). The left-handed-hitting outfielder has smashed righties on the road for a .382 OBP, .303 ISO, and 162 wRC+ in his career. This year, he's had a .422 OBP, .318 ISO, and 195 wRC+ with the platoon advantage on the road.

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.