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.
Colorado Rockies
With the Lineup Builder, it’s easy to incorporate stacks into DFS rosters. The top four-man FanDuel stack using the Bales Model is comprised of an unconventional 1-4-5-7 combination that belongs to the Rockies, who are presently implied to score a slate-best 5.6 runs (per the Vegas Dashboard):
It’s the fifth-most expensive FanDuel stack, and it includes a platoon player, Mark Reynolds, who is on the wrong side of his hitting splits. All four hitters offer a Bargain Rating of at least 70 percent, and when the Rockies faced lefty Hyun-Jin Ryu in Los Angeles last month, Trevor Story, who rested Wednesday, was one of two players to homer off of Ryu, who claims a slate-worst 2.112 HR/9 mark over the last year. The nine-game main slate isn’t loaded with ace pitchers, which may force the field to overspend on hitters; the Coors Field bats should be quite popular yet again.
Toronto Blue Jays
The highest-rated four-man DraftKings stack from the CSURAM88 Model doesn’t belong to either team playing in Coors Field. Instead, it’s a Blue Jays team with the fourth-highest implied run total and a Team Value Rating (TVR) of 87:
Despite none of the hitters in this stack possessing a Bargain Rating greater than 56 percent, none of them cost more than $4,000. Recent Statcast data implies that Steven Pearce has been quite unlucky: He ranks in the top-five of projected players today in exit velocity, hard hit rate, and Recent Batted Ball Luck but has averaged a low +0.27 DraftKings Plus/Minus over his last 10.
This quartet is the only one rated in the top-10 to include four players with an ownership percentage no greater than eight percent, which Pro subscribers can review after lineup lock via our DFS Ownership Dashboard. That creates a potential ownership edge at the individual and team level. Through four career appearances, opposing pitcher Chase De Jong has allowed three home runs and recorded a slate-worst 1.694 WHIP. Further, the Mariners have the most overworked bullpen in the slate, according to our Opponent Bullpen Strength metric.
Texas Rangers
The Rockies claim the top-four five-man stacks when sorting by Pro Trends on DraftKings. The Rangers have five different five-man stacks with 31 Pro Trends, and most of them take advantage of the wraparound or tail stack — ones that include the players at the beginning and end of the batting order.
The weather at Globe Life Park in Arlington projects to be around 77 degrees at first pitch with around 57 percent humidity, and under similar conditions, Rangers hitters have provided a +0.61 DraftKings Plus/Minus (per our Trends tool) — 0.51 points better than the league average since 2014. The last three hitters in the Rangers’ order have averaged a +0.91 Plus/Minus under these conditions with the highest Upside (20 percent) and minimal ownership (2.0 percent). The Rangers rank second in TVR on DraftKings and FanDuel, and although opposing pitcher Clayton Richard has a 0.812 HR/9 rate, his 1.685 WHIP ranks last among pitchers on the slate.
Good luck, and be sure to read Bryan Mears’ MLB Breakdown!
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:
