Monday night’s Major League Baseball slate is stocked with 14 teams in the player pool to help you build a winning roster for the contests that get underway at 6:40 p.m. ET. Several of those teams are strong options to consider for MLB stacks since they are in favorable matchups in hitter-friendly parks. Let’s take a look at the top three MLB stacks that make sense to build around for Monday’s MLB DFS action.
Before we hit the stacks themselves, let’s set the ground rules. “Stacking” is an MLB DFS strategy that relies on multiple players from the same team boosting each other’s production in a favorable matchup. Usually, multiple players earn points in any run-scoring play, and teams that score a lot of runs end up with multiple players near the top of the leaderboard. Stacking multiple players from high-scoring lineups creates a potential positive correlation for your squad and raises the ceiling of your lineup significantly. The key to successful MLB stacks is finding the right place to attack. Despite raising the risk of your lineup being held in check by one good pitcher, the right team as one of your MLB Stacks can propel you to the top of the leaderboard.
Here are my top three MLB DFS stacks for this Monday.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $200K Knuckleball [$50K to 1st]
1. Houston Astros
Jeremy Pena ($4,500)
Jose Altuve ($3,900)
Christian Walker ($3,700)
Yainer Diaz ($3,300)
Cam Smith ($3,000)
The Astros have the highest implied run total on the board on DraftKings Sportsbook as they open their series in Sacramento with a matchup against lefty J.P. Sears ($7,500). Sears is 5-5 in his 14 starts this season with a 5.08 ERA, 4.90 FIP, and 43.2% hard-hit rate against. Sears has been smashable at Sutter Health Park, where he has a .409 wOBA against, a 6.00 ERA and a 7.03 FIP.
Sears has a history with several of the Astros as well. Altuve is 9-for-22 with three doubles and a home run against him in the past and comes in with a nice run of production going. I included the veteran in my top home run props of the day and think he’s a great core for this option in MLB stacks as well. Jeremy Pena is 7-for-23 against Sears in the past with a home run as well, and he has averaged 11.6 fantasy points per game with two homers and five stolen bases in his last 10 games.
Walker and Diaz both have good power numbers against lefties, and rookie Cam Smith has started to come around a little bit lately, hitting .279 over his last 20 games with a 58% hard-hit rate over that stretch.
2. Washington Nationals
James Wood ($5,700)
CJ Abrams ($5,400)
Amed Rosario ($3,600)
Keibert Ruiz ($3,400)
Jacob Young ($2,300)
The Nats would be the top option in my MLB stacks if this game was at Coors Field or if Carson Palmquist ($5,500) was a righty. The 24-year-old lefty has been hittable by both lefties and righties during his four starts in the majors. He has given up five homers in 22 innings with a 7.77 ERA, 6.75 FIP, and 1.82 WHIP.
Both lefties and righties have a batting average over .300 and a wOBA over .400 against Palmquist this season. I don’t think you have to avoid Wood and Abrams as a result, since they both bring such a high ceiling. Abrams has hit safely in five of his last six games with at least seven fantasy points in four of those contests. Wood had a quiet weekend but was on a role before that and should bounce back this week.
Rosario and Young are likely to get the start against the lefty in their platoons. Young just returned from a long layoff due to a shoulder injury and has hit safely in each of his three games with multiple at-bats since returning. He’s a bargain option with good speed upside that always has a chance to go off when he’s in the starting nine.
3. Tampa Bay Rays
Josh Lowe ($4,700)
Brandon Lowe ($4,600)
Jonathan Aranda ($4,500)
Junior Caminero ($4,400)
Kameron Misner ($3,200)
The Rays are home a George M. Steinbrenner Field against former Ray Zach Eflin ($7,800) and the Orioles. Tampa’s offense has been excellent lately, scoring more runs than any other team in the majors over the last 30 days. Over that span, they have 36 home runs and an MLB-best 119 team wRC+. They have been especially productive at home, and should be in a good spot against Eflin, who they traded last summer
Eflin faced them twice after the trade, giving up three runs on 12 hits in 12 2/3 innings. He has been limited by injury this season, but he has gone 6-2 in his nine starts despite a 4.08 ERA and 4.68 FIP. Most of the trouble that Eflin has run into has been against left-handed hitters. Lefties have a .261 batting average, eight homers, and a .349 wOBA against him on the season, and the Rays’ lineup is usually stuffed with left-handed hitters.
Lowe, Lowe, Aranda and Misner will all be on the strong side of those splits. I included Brandon Lowe in my top home run props of the day, and Josh Lowe has also been posting strong numbers from the leadoff spot against righties. Misner is a nice value play at just over $3,000, and Aranda is hitting a robust .319 on the season with eight homers and has produced 7.7 fantasy points per game over his last 10, matching his season average.
The hottest hitter in the Rays’ lineup lately has been Caminero, who has eight home runs in his last 17 games after homering on both Saturday and Sunday in New York.
