Wednesday night’s main fantasy baseball slate includes 20 teams taking the field under the lights, with contests getting underway at 7:07 p.m. ET. While there are a few strong starting pitchers to avoid, there are also some juicy matchups to attack. In this post, we’ll break down some of those favorable spots for offense, where it makes sense to consider building MLB DFS stacks.
In case you’re new to the term, a “stack” is a fantasy lineup that is built around multiple players from the same MLB lineup. The strategy can pay off big-time if you catch the right team in the right spot, since most run-scoring plays score fantasy points for more than one player. Teams that stack up runs create a strong positive correlation between players in the same section of the lineup and usually land several players near the top of the overall leaderboard. Using this strategy connects your lineup more, which does increase the risk of a bust, but it also lifts the ceiling of your lineup and can catapult you to the top of the leaderboard. The key to a successful stack is finding the right matchup to attack.
Here are the three spots I like the most for MLB DFS stacks this Monday.
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1. Houston Astros
Jose Altuve ($5,200)
Isaac Paredes ($4,800)
Jake Meyers ($4,400)
Cam Smith ($4,200)
Victor Caratini ($3,700)
The Astros have the highest implied run total on the board by over a full run, as they continue their series in the rarified air of Coors Field. The Rockies will give the ball to lefty Austin Gomber ($4,200), who has had a couple of good outings sandwiched around an awful one against the Dbacks. The lefty has allowed righties to hit .354 against him with a .444 wOBA in his limited action this season, but he has held lefties to a .091 batting average and .132 wOBA. Those splits are definitely dramatic due to the small sample size, but they continue the trend from throughout his career. It’s definitely a night to lean into the right-handed side of the Astros’ stack. Righties had 21 homers against Gomber last year and posted a .373 wOBA against him at Coors Field.
I highlighted Cam Smith’s recent form in my top home run props for the day, and he’s an excellent MLB DFS option at his affordable salary after averaging 9.0 fantasy points over his last dozen contests. Paredes has slid into the leadoff spot with Jeremy Pena (rib) on the injured list, while Meyers has moved to the top of the order as well, in front of Smith and Altuve.
Altuve averaged just 4.9 fantasy points over his last 10 games but homered on Sunday and chipped in four fantasy points on Tuesday in the first game of this series. He typically hits well against lefties, so he’s worth a look. A strong option that can help fill your catcher spot is Victor Caratini, who homered on Tuesday and has averaged 8.6 fantasy points per game over his last 10 with four homers during that stretch.
2. Los Angeles Dodgers
Shohei Ohtani ($6,400)
Will Smith ($4,800)
Max Muncy ($4,600)
Teoscar Hernandez ($4,500)
Andy Pages ($4,200)
The Dodgers are almost always a strong option to consider for MLB DFS stacks at home, but with the White Sox in Los Angeles, they almost have enough juice to overcome the Astros’ advantage of playing at Coors Field. The White Sox are planning to start Brandon Eisert ($4,000) as an opener, primarily to face the lefties at the top of the Dodgers’ order, before handing the ball to bulk reliever Sean Burke ($5,500). Eisert won’t be around long, and Burke has been very beatable on the road. In his 34 road innings, Burke has a 5.82 ERA, 5.47 FIP, and a 1.65 WHIP. If he allows that much traffic on the bases, the Dodgers should score plenty of runs on this warm SoCal night with the wind blowing out.
I highlighted Will Smith as one of my top MLB DFS plays of the day, and I also love the value that Pages brings after producing double-digit fantasy points in four of his last nine games and averaging 7.8 fantasy points in his last 10 contests. He had two hits and a double in each of his last two games. Muncy has stayed hot since starting to wear his glasses while batting, and he has averaged 12.8 fantasy points over his last 10 contests.
Ohtani hit home run No. 30 on Tuesday and finished with 14 fantasy points. He has averaged 11.8 fantasy points per game for the season and 15.1 fantasy points per game over his last eight. He’s always a strong anchor piece to build around when the Dodgers are at home if you can afford his hefty price tag.
3. Milwaukee Brewers
Christian Yelich ($5,300)
Jackson Chourio ($4,800)
Sal Frelick ($4,300)
Isaac Collins ($3,400)
Caleb Durbin ($3,100)
The Brewers claim the final spot in my MLB DFS stacks, with honorable mention going to the Angels, Yankees and Cubs. Milwaukee gets a good matchup against Blade Tidwell ($5,000) in the nightcap of its doubleheader against the Mets at Citi Field. Tidwell is replacing Griffin Canning (Achilles) in the rotation, but he has struggled in his limited action in the majors this season. Tidwell has a 10.13 ERA, 6.44 FIP and a 2.44 WHIP in 10 2/3 innings across his three games (two starts). In Triple-A, he has a 4.76 ERA and 4.25 FIP in 62 1/3 innings.
Most of Tidwell’s trouble in the majors has come against lefties, who are hitting .438 against him with a .494 wOBA. It’s a ridiculously small sample size, but makes options like Yelich, Frelick and the switch-hitting Collins even more attractive.
Collins and Durbin are good value plays and come in with nice momentum after helping fuel the Brew Crew’s recent surge, but most of the production has come from the top three in the order of Frelich, Yelich and Chourio. Yelich is averaging 13.5 fantasy points per game in his last 10 coming into the doubleheader, and Chourio is averaging 10.0 fantasy points during that same span. Frelick has settled into the leadoff spot ahead of those two hitters and produced double-digit fantasy points in six of his last nine games, averaging 11.0 fantasy points per game during that productive stretch.
