This series uses the FantasyLabs Tools to analyze MLB stacks in the day’s slate. The series does not provide play or fade recommendations. It provides analysis.
St. Louis Cardinals
With the Lineup Builder, it’s easy to incorporate stacks into DFS rosters. One of the top FanDuel stacks in the Bales Player Model belongs to the Cardinals at Coors Field. Looking at our Vegas Dashboard, you can see that St. Louis currently leads the slate with an implied run total of 5.6:
Coors Field is the most hitter-friendly park in MLB, as batters have historically averaged a +2.06 FanDuel Plus/Minus there (per our Trends tool). One player who stands out is Matt Carpenter, who sports a recent batted ball distance of 243 feet, exit velocity of 97 miles per hour, and hard hit rate of 51 percent. The Cardinals will likely garner high ownership, which Pro subscribers can review after lineup lock via our DFS Ownership Dashboard.
Houston Astros
The top five-man DraftKings stack in the CSURAM88 Model belongs to the Astros, who currently have an implied run total of 5.0 and a high Team Value Rating of 79:
The Astros face struggling Orioles righty Kevin Gausman, who has a recent batted ball distance of 228 feet, exit velocity of 92 miles per hour, and hard hit rate of 41 percent. Historically, batters facing pitchers with similar Statcast data average a +1.37 DraftKings Plus/Minus with a 49.4 percent Consistency Rating. Per our Lineups page, George Springer is expected to lead off. While he has struggled with a -1.86 DraftKings Plus/Minus over his last 10 games, Springer has respectable Statcast data with a recent batted ball distance of 223 feet, exit velocity of 90 miles per hour, and hard hit rate of 38 percent. Springer and the Astros have some potential against Gausman and his 1.484 WHIP and 1.592 HR/9.
Chicago Cubs
Even though they are implied for only 3.8 runs in a difficult matchup against the Dodgers and Alex Wood, the Cubs have the main slate’s top ISO stack. Over the last year, Wood has an exceptional 1.107 WHIP, 0.178 HR/9, and 11.206 SO/9:
Every Cub in the 2-5 stack sports an ISO of at least .229. Most noteworthy is Kris Bryant, who owns a .481 wOBA and .380 ISO against left-handers and has a recent batted ball distance of 231 feet, exit velocity of 93 miles per hour, and hard hit rate of 38 percent. The switch-hitting Ian Happ also has solid Statcast data with a recent batted ball distance of 235 feet, exit velocity of 94 miles per hour, and hard hit rate of 45 percent. Despite their potential, the Cubs will likely be a low-owned contrarian option in this power-filled slate.
News Updates
After this piece is published, FantasyLabs is likely to provide news updates on a number of players herein mentioned. Be sure to stay ahead of your competition with our industry-leading DFS-focused news blurbs:
