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 12-game main slate, sorted by projected fantasy points.
Visit WagerKey’s MLB Daily Lineups to find out where the hitters slot in!
*Possible rain delay in Dodgers at Mets game. Proceed accordingly.
We have a lot of pitchers to choose from on Friday’s slate, starting off with two $10k options in Zack Wheeler and Nick Pivetta. Neither have the most ideal matchup, so I prefer dipping down to Chris Sale at $9,400. The Padres have been held to zero or one run in five of their last six games, and Sale has gone for at least 28 DK points in three of his last four while featuring a strikeout rate of over 30 percent on the season.
From there, we’ve also highlighted Clarke Schmidt, Pablo Lopez and Sandy Alcantara in our optimizer. There aren’t any standout punt options on this slate, with Schmidt ($7,200) being the top point-per-dollar option given his $2,200 discount compared to his FanDuel salary. Meanwhile, Lopez’s 2.43 FIP jumps off the page, and he gets a matchup against a Royals offense that ranks in the bottom five of runs scored and dead last in homers. Note that Slade Cecconi, Eric Lauer and Ryan Gusto also all rank well in the metrics below.
Here’s how each
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 12-game main slate, sorted by projected fantasy points.
Visit WagerKey’s MLB Daily Lineups to find out where the hitters slot in!
*Possible rain delay in Dodgers at Mets game. Proceed accordingly.
We have a lot of pitchers to choose from on Friday’s slate, starting off with two $10k options in Zack Wheeler and Nick Pivetta. Neither have the most ideal matchup, so I prefer dipping down to Chris Sale at $9,400. The Padres have been held to zero or one run in five of their last six games, and Sale has gone for at least 28 DK points in three of his last four while featuring a strikeout rate of over 30 percent on the season.
From there, we’ve also highlighted Clarke Schmidt, Pablo Lopez and Sandy Alcantara in our optimizer. There aren’t any standout punt options on this slate, with Schmidt ($7,200) being the top point-per-dollar option given his $2,200 discount compared to his FanDuel salary. Meanwhile, Lopez’s 2.43 FIP jumps off the page, and he gets a matchup against a Royals offense that ranks in the bottom five of runs scored and dead last in homers. Note that Slade Cecconi, Eric Lauer and Ryan Gusto also all rank well in the metrics below.
Here’s how each pitcher ranks in key categories (stats are from 2025 season only):
| Pitcher | Fantasy Points | FIP | K% | Opponent K% |
| Zack Wheeler | 1 | 5 | 2 | 22 |
| Chris Sale | 2 | 6 | 4 | 24 |
| Clarke Schmidt | 3 | 17 | 11 | 2 |
| Tyler Mahle | 4 | 7 | 14 | 5 |
| Yusei Kikuchi | 5 | 14 | 12 | 11 |
| Pablo Lopez | 6 | 2 | 6 | 23 |
| Nick Pivetta | 7 | 8 | 5 | 13 |
| Zac Gallen | 8 | 16 | 7 | 19 |
| Sandy Alcantara | 9 | 19 | 17 | 1 |
| Lucas Giolito | 10 | 21 | 13 | 3 |
| Noah Cameron | 11 | 13 | 22 | 12 |
| Drew Rasmussen | 12 | 10 | 10 | 21 |
| Clayton Kershaw | 13 | 23 | 23 | 17 |
| Jackson Jobe | 14 | 18 | 15 | 14 |
| Slade Cecconi | 15 | 3 | 1 | 7 |
| Jeffrey Springs (expected) | 16 | 15 | 16 | 18 |
| Eric Lauer | 17 | 4 | 3 | 8 |
| Sean Burke | 18 | 22 | 19 | 10 |
| Griffin Canning | 19 | 11 | 8 | 15 |
| Emerson Hancock | 20 | 20 | 18 | 16 |
| Ryan Gusto | 21 | 12 | 9 | 6 |
| Trevor Rogers (expected) | 22 | N/A | N/A | 4 |
| Miles Mikolas | 23 | 9 | 21 | 20 |
| Tanner Gordon | 24 | 1 | 20 | 9 |
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 | 8.6 | 7 | High |
| Phillies | 6.3 | 2 | High |
| Red Sox | 5.5 | 4 | High |
| Rangers | 5.3 | 23 | High |
| Rays | 5.3 | 11 | High |
| Angels | 5.0 | 21 | Medium |
| Twins | 4.9 | 13 | Medium |
| Tigers | 4.9 | 3 | Medium |
| Braves | 4.8 | 10 | Medium |
| Diamondbacks | 4.8 | 17 | Medium |
| Astros | 4.7 | 9 | High |
| Dodgers | 4.5 | 5 | Medium |
| Guardians | 4.5 | 22 | Low |
| Orioles | 4.4 | 18 | High |
| Mets | 4.3 | 16 | Medium |
| Mariners | 4.2 | 20 | Medium |
| Blue Jays | 4.1 | 12 | Low |
| Cardinals | 4.0 | 1 | Low |
| Athletics | 3.6 | 15 | Low |
| Rockies | 3.4 | 19 | High |
| Marlins | 3.4 | 6 | Low |
| White Sox | 3.0 | 24 | Low |
| Padres | 3.0 | 8 | Low |
| Royals | 2.9 | 14 | Low |
My primary team stack targets
Red Sox vs. LHP Rogers (7.71 ERA in Triple-A this year). Key pieces: Connor Wong, Abraham Toro, Trevor Story, Jarren Duran, Rafael Devers
Yankees vs. RHP Gordon (struggled in first start, 6.23 ERA in Triple-A). Key pieces: Paul Goldschmidt, DJ Lemahieu, Jasson Dominguez, Trent Grisham, Aaron Judge
Astros vs. RHP Hancock (6.21 ERA, 1.9 HR/9). Key pieces: Victor Caratini, Zach Dezenzo, Jose Altuve, Jeremy Pena, Yainer Diaz
Orioles vs. RHP Giolito (7.08 ERA, 2.2 HR/9). Key pieces: Ryan Mountcastle, Jackson Holliday, Emmanuel Rivera, Gunnar Henderson, Cedric Mullins
Key Matchups and Batter vs. Pitcher Insights for DFS Success
Notable hitter matchups against the opposing starter today:
- Yandy Diaz: 2-for-5, 1 HR; .400 BA, 1.600 OPS
- Eugenio Suarez: 6-for-14, 2 HR; .429 BA, 1.458 OPS
- Marcell Ozuna: 8-for-31, 6 HR; .258 BA, 1.089 OPS
- Nolan Arenado: 4-for-11, 1 HR; .364 BA, 1.061 OPS
- Manny Machado: 9-for-25, 1 HR; .360 BA, 1.067 OPS
- Xander Bogaerts: 7-for-20, 1 HR; .350 BA, .935 OPS
- Cedric Mullins: 8-for-13, 4 XBH; .615 BA, 1.615 OPS
- Kyle Isbel: 5-for-13, 3 2B; .385 BA, 1.044 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.
