Wednesday night offers an impressive slate of 11 games on the schedule for the main DraftKings slate. Contests start at 7:05 p.m. ET and include all the action under the lights. With 22 teams in play, there are definitely some matchups to avoid, while other matchups stand out as great places to attack. Looking at all the matchups and environments, a few plays stand out as excellent options for MLB stacks. In this post, I’ll lay out my top three MLB stacks to build around for Wednesday’s MLB DFS action.
In case you’re new to the concept, “stacking” is an MLB DFS strategy that includes multiple players from the same team in your lineup so that they can boost each other’s production in a favorable matchup. Usually, multiple players earn points on each run-scoring play, and teams that score a lot of runs end up with several players near the top of the leaderboard. Stacking multiple players from high-scoring lineups creates a positive correlation and raises the ceiling of your lineup significantly. The key to successful MLB stacks is finding the right team to attack. Since all stacks increase the connection of your lineup, including multiple players from teh same team raises both the risk and the ceiling of your entry. Getting the right team at the heart of your roster as one of your MLB Stacks can carry you right to the top of the leaderboard.
Here are my top three MLB DFS stacks for this Wednesday.
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1. New York Yankees
Aaron Judge ($6,600)
Jazz Chisholm Jr. ($5,100)
Cody Bellinger ($4,600)
Trent Grisham ($4,000)
Giancarlo Stanton ($3,800)
The Yankees have lost five straight games and have scored only a total of five runs in their last six games. They should be able to break out of their mini-slump in a big way, though, in Wednesday’s matchup against Jack Kochanowicz ($5,500). Kochanowicz is 3-8 in his 14 starts for the Angels with a 5.53 ERA and 5.62 FIP. He has given up 13 homers in those 14 starts, including six in his last five starts. Left-handed hitters have hit 11 of those 13 homers and have a .307 batting average and .391 wOBA against him this season.
Lefties like Cody Bellinger, Trent Grisholm, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. make sense to build around, and I included Jazz in my top targets for the day as a key piece to build around, given his recent form. Stanton has gone 2-for-4 in each of his two games since coming off the IL with his elbow issues, and Judge is always a threat to go off for a monster game, especially when his team needs to get a win to stop their current slide.
Since they have been scuffling a little bit, the Yankees could be a more contrarian stack than they typically are, but I think they’ll storm back with a big game based on their matchup with Kochanowicz.
2. Houston Astros
Jeremy Pena ($4,800)
Jose Altuve ($4,200)
Christian Walker ($3,800)
Yainer Diaz ($3,600)
Cam Smith ($3,300)
The Astros hit five homers on Tuesday night in Sacramento to pick up their sixth win in their last seven games by thumping the Athletics, 13-3. They should be in for another productive night at Sutter Health Park, where it’s forecast to be very hot with the wind blowing out.
It also helps the Astros that they’re facing Luis Severino ($6,700), who has had a very interesting first season with the Athletics. He has been outstanding on the road but absolutely awful at home. On the road, he has a 0.93 ERA and 2.91 FIP with a 0.96 WHIP. However, at home, he has a 7.10 ERA, 4.30 FIP and 1.56 WHIP. Severino has served up six homers in 52 innings at home and no long balls on the road.
The Astros got a pair of homers from Cam Smith, who I like as a top bargain play on Wednesday’s slate. Walker and Diaz are also affordable options who have been productive lately. Walker has averaged 8.2 fantasy points per game over his last 10 contests, while Altuve has produced 9.7 fantasy points per game over that span as well. Pena has been the spark plug the Astros need from the top of the order and is hitting .351 with a .398 wOBA over his last 51 games. He brings both power and speed potential and offers an elite ceiling at a mid-range salary.
3. Cleveland Guardians
Jose Ramirez ($5,900)
Steven Kwan ($4,100)
Carlos Santana ($3,600)
Bo Naylor ($3,200)
Gabrial Arias ($2,900)
The Guardians will try to spoil the return of their familiar foe, Justin Verlander ($7,000), who will be making his first start since mid-May as he comes off the IL with a pectoral strain. Verlander gave up multiple earned runs in each of his last four starts before landing on the IL with four homers against him and nine walks in those 21 1/3 innings. He had a 4.33 ERA, 4.68 FIP, and a 1.40 WHIP and went 0-3 in his 10 starts. Opponents had a 39.5% hard-hit rate and an 11.7% barrel rate, and right-handed hitters hit him especially hard with a .358 wOBA.
Ramirez has always had good numbers against Verlander, going 13-for-40 (.325) against him in their extended history with four home runs. Santana has an even more extensive history against Verlander and has hit nine home runs off him while going 19-for-84 (.226) with 14 extra-base hits. Santana has also hit safely in four of his last five games, including a grand slam last Wednesday, when he earned 20 fantasy points. Naylor and Arias are solid bargain ways to round out the stack, and Kwan is a solid midrange play from his typical spot atop the order. The Guardians are pretty affordable as a whole and should have low enough ownership to be a solid differentiator in today’s MLB Stacks.
