Saturday night’s five-game MLB slate has some very interesting matchups on the board to close out a busy day on the diamonds. The featured DFS slate starts at 7:10 p.m. ET when the Astros and Royals get started in Kansas City and includes games throughout the rest of the night. With an interesting mix of starting pitchers on the board, there are a few matchups that stand out as good places to attack with MLB stacks on Saturday.
What are MLB stacks? Glad you asked. Stacking is an MLB DFS strategy that can create a positive correlation in your lineup by including multiple players from the same MLB team. Finding the right matchup to attack is critical to successful MLB stacks, and trying to concentrate your picks in the same section of the lineup can also pay off if players boost each other’s run production. In examining the five games on Saturday night’s slate, here are my top three MLB stacks to use as the core of your roster.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $88K Relay Throw [$20K to 1st] (Night)
1. Seattle Mariners
Julio Rodriguez ($5,300)
Cal Raleigh ($5,000)
Randy Arozarena ($4,700)
Jorge Polanco ($4,000)
Rowdy Tellez ($2,400)
The Mariners lost to the Marlins on Friday but will look to bounce back with a win in the second game of their home series against the visiting Fish. They’ll take on righty Connor Gillispie ($5,500), who is 0-2 on the year with a 6.75 ERA, 4.57 FIP and 1.42 WHIP. The righty showed promise in a few early starts but gave up 12 runs on 15 hits in his last two starts including a pair of home runs.
Gillispie actually has reverse splits and has been hit harder by right-handed batters, so Rodriguez and Arozarena are a solid place to start the stack. Rodriguez had a six-game hitting streak that came to an end on Friday and has averaged 7.0 fantasy points in his last five games. Arozarena has a stolen base in each of the last two games and has averaged 11.7 fantasy points over his last nine games. Raleigh is tied for the MLB lead with nine homers, four of which came in his last 10 games while he averaged 10 fantasy points per contest.
2. Los Angeles Dodgers
Shohei Ohtani ($6,400)
Mookie Betts ($5,800)
Freddie Freeman ($5,400)
Tommy Edman ($4,200)
Michael Conforto ($3,700)
The mighty Dodgers were shut out on Friday by Paul Skenes, and they’ll look to bounce back against Mitch Keller ($7,000) on Saturday. Keller has gone 1-2 with a 4.18 ERA, 3.92 FIP, and a 1.36 WHIP. He has allowed hard contact all season so his xERA and xFIP are each higher due to opposing hitters posting a 42.9% hard-hit rate against him. Keller has dramatic splits, holding righties to a .154 average but letting lefties hit .306. Both his home runs allowed were hit by lefties, who have a .356 wOBA against Keller.
Lefties in the Dodgers lineup to target include Ohtani, Freeman and Conforto, while switch-hitting Tommy Edman will also hit left-handed (and is highlighted in my targets). Freeman is 10-for-33 (.303) over his last nine games, averaging 9.3 fantasy points per game, while Edman has been a great dual-threat play with eligibility at 2B or in the OF. Ohtani always brings a high ceiling, and the lineup is too good to hold down for long. They’ll be out to avenge last night’s shutout and should be in a good spot to do so.
3. San Diego Padres
Fernando Tatis Jr. ($6,200)
Manny Machado ($5,200)
Gavin Sheets ($3,800)
Jose Iglesias ($3,000)
Tirso Ornelas ($2,300)
The Padres’ lineup has been thinned by injuries and has failed to score a run in each of their last two games. They’ll look to get back on track this Saturday against Ryan Pepiot ($7,300). Pepiot is usually an MLB DFS option due to his strikeout potential, but he’s a good matchup to build your MLB Stacks against on Saturday after giving up multiple home runs in three straight games, allowing 12 runs on 21 hits in 17 frames in those outings. He is 1-3 on the season with a 4.82 ERA and 5.71 FIP, although he has fallen victim a little bit to his hitter-friendly home park in Tampa. Opposing hitters have a 42.4% hard-hit rate against him and an 11.8% barrel rate.
Half of his eight home runs have come against lefties and half against righties, so power options from both sides of the plate can be good plays in the stack. Tatis is the clear leader of the offense and his dual-threat abilities have helped him average 12.5 fantasy points per game over his last 10 contests with 12.1 fantasy points per game on the season. Machado has to do a better job of protecting him in the lineup since he usually hits second. Iglesias and Ornelas are bargain ways to round out the stack that also bring upside of their own at their affordable salaries.
