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 13-game main slate, sorted by projected fantasy points.
Visit RotoWire's MLB Daily Lineups to find out where the hitters slot in!
*No postponements expected
Tonight's large slate brings with it a top-heavy pitching day as our top three projected starters are $10k+ and there are four options in the $9k range. There's a lot to like about Hunter Brown as he's striking out nearly one-third of batters, and the Angels lead the MLB in strikeout percentage. DFS players may flock to Zack Wheeler as well, although his matchup against the Mets is more difficult.
We've also starred Max Fried, Tanner Bibee and Jeffrey Springs in our optimizer. Bibee's $1,900 discount compared to his FanDuel salary makes him a value option that makes it easier to fit a Diamondbacks stack into your lineup. Meanwhile, through 15 starts, Fried has a 1.89 ERA, and even his 2.88 FIP is quite impressive. The Orioles are in the bottom 10 in runs scored, and since Fried is a lefty, he can neutralize almost every good hitter the team has. Note that Hayden Birdsong also ranks well in metrics below.
Atlanta's Didier Fuentes is not in the player pool and the White Sox are going with an opener, so I didn't include them in the
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 13-game main slate, sorted by projected fantasy points.
Visit RotoWire's MLB Daily Lineups to find out where the hitters slot in!
*No postponements expected
Tonight's large slate brings with it a top-heavy pitching day as our top three projected starters are $10k+ and there are four options in the $9k range. There's a lot to like about Hunter Brown as he's striking out nearly one-third of batters, and the Angels lead the MLB in strikeout percentage. DFS players may flock to Zack Wheeler as well, although his matchup against the Mets is more difficult.
We've also starred Max Fried, Tanner Bibee and Jeffrey Springs in our optimizer. Bibee's $1,900 discount compared to his FanDuel salary makes him a value option that makes it easier to fit a Diamondbacks stack into your lineup. Meanwhile, through 15 starts, Fried has a 1.89 ERA, and even his 2.88 FIP is quite impressive. The Orioles are in the bottom 10 in runs scored, and since Fried is a lefty, he can neutralize almost every good hitter the team has. Note that Hayden Birdsong also ranks well in metrics below.
Atlanta's Didier Fuentes is not in the player pool and the White Sox are going with an opener, so I didn't include them in the table below.
Here's how each pitcher ranks in key categories (less than 10 innings marked as N/A):
| Pitcher | Fantasy Points | FIP | K% | Opponent K% |
| Hunter Brown | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| Zack Wheeler | 2 | 4 | 2 | 19 |
| Max Fried | 3 | 5 | 8 | 4 |
| Zac Gallen | 4 | 20 | 10 | 2 |
| Joe Ryan | 5 | 7 | 5 | 14 |
| Nick Pivetta | 6 | 6 | 6 | 24 |
| Tanner Bibee | 7 | 19 | 13 | 15 |
| Jack Flaherty | 8 | 12 | 4 | 9 |
| MacKenzie Gore | 9 | 3 | 1 | 16 |
| Shane Baz | 10 | 17 | 12 | 7 |
| Hayden Birdsong | 11 | 9 | 7 | 3 |
| Jacob Misiorowski | 12 | N/A | N/A | 13 |
| Clayton Kershaw | 13 | 8 | 18 | 22 |
| Yusei Kikuchi | 14 | 11 | 11 | 17 |
| Spencer Turnbull | 15 | N/A | N/A | 5 |
| Hunter Dobbins | 16 | 10 | 17 | 10 |
| Jeffrey Springs | 17 | 14 | 15 | 11 |
| Brady Singer | 18 | 13 | 16 | 18 |
| Andre Pallante | 19 | 15 | 19 | 6 |
| Blade Tidwell | 20 | N/A | N/A | 20 |
| Michael Lorenzen | 21 | 18 | 14 | 23 |
| Tomoyuki Sugano | 22 | 16 | 20 | 8 |
| Janson Junk | 23 | 1 | 9 | 12 |
| Austin Gomber | 24 | N/A | N/A | 21 |
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 |
| Diamondbacks | 7.5 | 20 | High |
| Yankees | 6.8 | 11 | High |
| Blue Jays | 6.0 | 14 | High |
| Phillies | 5.7 | 7 | High |
| Cardinals | 5.4 | 2 | Medium |
| Braves | 5.4 | 12 | Medium |
| Dodgers | 5.4 | 9 | Medium |
| Astros | 5.0 | 4 | High |
| Twins | 5.0 | 13 | Medium |
| Guardians | 5.0 | 25 | High |
| Padres | 4.6 | 15 | Medium |
| Rockies | 4.6 | 18 | High |
| Rays | 4.5 | 1 | Medium |
| Athletics | 4.5 | 10 | Low |
| Tigers | 4.3 | 5 | Low |
| Giants | 4.3 | 21 | Low |
| Marlins | 4.0 | 6 | Low |
| Reds | 4.0 | 8 | High |
| Red Sox | 3.6 | 3 | Medium |
| White Sox | 3.4 | 24 | Medium |
| Brewers | 3.4 | 19 | Low |
| Angels | 3.4 | 26 | Low |
| Royals | 3.3 | 17 | Medium |
| Mets | 3.2 | 22 | Low |
| Nationals | 3.0 | 23 | Medium |
| Orioles | 2.7 | 16 | Low |
My primary team stack targets
Guardians vs. LHP Springs (4.57 FIP, 19.2 K%). Key pieces: David Fry, Gabriel Urias, Lane Thomas, Jose Ramirez, Steven Kwan
Diamondbacks vs. LHP Gomber (career 4.69 FIP and 18.3 K%). Key pieces: Josh Naylor, Ketel Marte, Randal Grichuk, Lourdes Gurriel, Eugenio Suarez
Rockies vs. RHP Gallen (4.90 FIP, 1.6 HR/9). Key pieces: Hunter Goodman, Ryan McMahon, Mickey Moniak, Tyler Freeman, Jordan Beck
Reds vs. RHP Pallante (4.58 FIP, 16.3 K%). Key pieces: Spencer Steer, Gavin Lux, Elly De La Cruz, TJ Friedl, Tyler Stephenson
Key Matchups and Batter vs. Pitcher Insights for DFS Success
Notable hitter matchups against the opposing starter today:
- Michael Conforto: 2-for-2, HR; 1.000 BA, 4.000 OPS
- Ketel Marte: 8-for-23, 2 HR; .348 BA, 1.096 OPS
- Eugenio Suarez: 3-for-15, 2 HR; .200 BA, .968 OPS
- Andrew Benintendi: 4-for-10; .400 BA, .855 OPS
- Juan Soto: 13-for-48, 2 HR; .271 BA, .864 OPS
- Francisco Lindor: 9-for-31, HR; .290 BA, .807 OPS
- Isaac Paredes: 4-for-15, HR; .267 BA, .800 OPS
For up-to-the-minute updates on injuries, lineups, roster changes and more, head to RotoWire's Fantasy Baseball News & Latest MLB Updates or follow @RotoWireMLB on X.
