This article is part of our DFS MLB series.
Top DFS Pitching and Team Stacking Strategies for DraftKings
In this article, I’m going to take a deeper dive into pitching and team stacking options. Let’s take a look at our optimizer’s rankings of the pitchers for the DraftKings 11-game main slate, sorted by projected fantasy points.
Visit WagerKey’s MLB Daily Lineups to find out where the hitters slot in!
*Possible postponements for Twins at Reds, Cardinals at White Sox, Brewers at Cubs and Angels at Yankees. Proceed accordingly!
Usually we have a smaller main slate every Wednesday, but with a lack of afternoon games we have a larger slate to dissect including four starters priced $9,500 or higher. Chris Sale is the highest priced and our best projected pitcher, and although he doesn’t have the best matchup his dominant strikeout rate gives him a leg up on the competition.
We’ve also starred Kris Bubic, Bailey Ober and Logan Allen in our optimizer. Allen gets an $1,100 discount compared to his FanDuel salary which gives him GPP appeal as a value option. Meanwhile, Bubic was crushed his last time out, but that’s been a rare occurrence as he’s shown his upside with eight 25+ DK point performances this season and draws a favorable matchup against the Rangers. Sonny Gray (check weather), Nick Lodolo and Taj Bradley also deserve a mention as they rank well in the metrics below. Note that the Dodgers are going with Emmet Sheehan to start with a restricted workload, followed by Justin Wrobleski.
Here’s
Top DFS Pitching and Team Stacking Strategies for DraftKings
In this article, I’m going to take a deeper dive into pitching and team stacking options. Let’s take a look at our optimizer’s rankings of the pitchers for the DraftKings 11-game main slate, sorted by projected fantasy points.
Visit WagerKey’s MLB Daily Lineups to find out where the hitters slot in!
*Possible postponements for Twins at Reds, Cardinals at White Sox, Brewers at Cubs and Angels at Yankees. Proceed accordingly!
Usually we have a smaller main slate every Wednesday, but with a lack of afternoon games we have a larger slate to dissect including four starters priced $9,500 or higher. Chris Sale is the highest priced and our best projected pitcher, and although he doesn’t have the best matchup his dominant strikeout rate gives him a leg up on the competition.
We’ve also starred Kris Bubic, Bailey Ober and Logan Allen in our optimizer. Allen gets an $1,100 discount compared to his FanDuel salary which gives him GPP appeal as a value option. Meanwhile, Bubic was crushed his last time out, but that’s been a rare occurrence as he’s shown his upside with eight 25+ DK point performances this season and draws a favorable matchup against the Rangers. Sonny Gray (check weather), Nick Lodolo and Taj Bradley also deserve a mention as they rank well in the metrics below. Note that the Dodgers are going with Emmet Sheehan to start with a restricted workload, followed by Justin Wrobleski.
Here’s how each pitcher ranks in key categories (less than 10 innings marked as N/A):
| Pitcher | Fantasy Points | FIP | K% | Opponent K% |
| Chris Sale | 1 | 2 | 1 | 18 |
| Sonny Gray | 2 | 4 | 3 | 3 |
| Framber Valdez | 3 | 3 | 2 | 13 |
| Kris Bubic | 4 | 1 | 4 | 9 |
| Bailey Ober | 5 | 16 | 13 | 4 |
| Nick Lodolo | 6 | 6 | 9 | 10 |
| Taj Bradley | 7 | 9 | 8 | 2 |
| Jameson Taillon | 8 | 14 | 10 | 12 |
| Jacob Misiorowski | 9 | N/A | N/A | 16 |
| Ryan Yarbrough | 10 | 10 | 7 | 1 |
| Justin Verlander | 11 | 15 | 11 | 11 |
| Trevor Rogers | 12 | N/A | N/A | 7 |
| Eduardo Rodriguez | 13 | 8 | 6 | 22 |
| Logan Allen | 14 | 12 | 16 | 6 |
| Patrick Corbin | 15 | 13 | 12 | 21 |
| Luis Severino | 16 | 5 | 18 | 15 |
| Eric Lauer | 17 | 7 | 5 | 19 |
| Paul Blackburn | 18 | N/A | N/A | 8 |
| Emmet Sheehan | 19 | N/A | N/A | 20 |
| Stephen Kolek | 20 | 11 | 15 | 14 |
| Sean Burke | 21 | 17 | 14 | 17 |
| Jack Kochanowicz | 22 | 18 | 17 | 5 |
Analyzing Team Stack Rankings for Maximum DFS Impact
Here is how each team ranks in implied runs, BABIP (batting average on balls in play) and how popular we expect each team stack to be in GPPs:
| Team | Implied Runs | BABIP | Stack Popularity |
| Yankees | 6.6 | 7 | High |
| Dodgers | 6.4 | 2 | High |
| Astros | 5.6 | 4 | High |
| Braves | 5.5 | 8 | High |
| Cardinals | 5.4 | 1 | Medium |
| Reds | 5.2 | 5 | Medium |
| Cubs | 4.9 | 11 | Low |
| Rays | 4.8 | 3 | Medium |
| Blue Jays | 4.8 | 14 | High |
| Diamondbacks | 4.7 | 16 | Medium |
| Giants | 4.6 | 17 | Low |
| Orioles | 4.6 | 10 | Medium |
| Royals | 4.6 | 9 | High |
| Twins | 4.2 | 12 | Medium |
| Athletics | 3.8 | 6 | Low |
| Rangers | 3.8 | 22 | Low |
| Guardians | 3.8 | 20 | Medium |
| Padres | 3.6 | 13 | High |
| White Sox | 3.5 | 19 | Low |
| Brewers | 3.5 | 15 | Low |
| Angels | 3.4 | 21 | Medium |
| Mets | 3.4 | 18 | Low |
My primary team stack targets
Royals vs. LHP Corbin (4.54 FIP, 17.9 K%). Key pieces: Salvador Perez, Jonathan India, Maikel Garcia, Bobby Witt, Mark Canha
Padres vs. RHP Sheehan (season debut, career 4.85 FIP). Key pieces: Trenton Brooks, Gavin Sheets, Fernando Tatis, Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts
Blue Jays vs. LHP Rodriguez (6.27 ERA, 1.6 HR/9). Key pieces: Alejandro Kirk, Vladimir Guerrero, Davis Schneider, Bo Bichette, George Springer
Twins vs. LHP Lodolo (career 5.12 ERA at home). Key pieces: Willi Castro, Brooks Lee, Carlos Correa, Harrison Bader, Byron Buxton
Key Matchups and Batter vs. Pitcher Insights for DFS Success
Notable hitter matchups against the opposing starter today:
- Bobby Witt: 4-for-6, HR; .667 BA, 2.000 OPS
- Rhys Hoskins: 4-for-11, 2 HR; .364 BA, 1.326 OPS
- Jackson Chourio: 5-for-10, HR; .500 BA, 1.400 OPS
- Ketel Marte: 7-for-17, 2 HR; .412 BA, 1.235 OPS
- Jonathan India: 5-for-13, HR; .385 BA, 1.044 OPS
- Mark Canha: 13-for-29, HR; .448 BA, 1.070 OPS
- Jose Ramirez: 13-for-40, 4 HR; .325 BA, 1.104 OPS
- Francisco Lindor: 14-for-34, 2 HR; .412 BA, 1.076 OPS
- Bo Bichette: 3-for-10, HR; .300 BA, 1.064 OPS
- Gunnar Henderson: 4-for-12, HR; .333 BA, .917 OPS
- Luis Robert: 4-for-12, HR; .333 BA, 1.000 OPS
- Carlos Santana: 19-for-84, 9 HR; .226 BA, .927 OPS
- Andrew Benintendi: 11-for-29, HR; .379 BA, .897 OPS
- Christian Yelich: 10-for-33, 2 HR; .303 BA, .876 OPS
- Taylor Ward: 4-for-10, 2B; .400 BA, .900 OPS
- Vladimir Guerrero: 5-for-15, 3 BB; .333 BA, .778 OPS
For up-to-the-minute updates on injuries, lineups, roster changes and more, head to WagerKey’s Fantasy Baseball News & Latest MLB Updates or follow @WagerKeyMLB on X.
