MLB Daily Fantasy Stacks: Friday, April 12th, 2019

Welcome back to the MLB Daily Fantasy Stacks article. In this article, I will run you through the best stacks to build your cash and GPP lineups around and narrow down your player pool!

With the Masters taking away most of the attention from baseball yesterday, we look back to a massive MLB slate this Friday night, as we have 12 games on the main slate with a handful of aces and gas cans, as well as some top MLB Daily Fantasy Stacks!

Below are the matchups for the night with the respective team’s implied run totals as well:

Pittsburgh Pirates (3.5) @ Washington Nationals (4.5)

Chicago White Sox (3.6) @ New York Yankees (5.5)

Tampa Bay Rays (4.5) @ Toronto Blue Jays (4.1)

Philadelphia Phillies (4.6) @ Miami Marlins (3.5)

Baltimore Orioles (3.7) @ Boston Red Sox (5.9)

New York Mets (4.5) @ Atlanta Braves (4.6)

Oakland Athletics (5.5) @ Texas Rangers (5.1)

Cleveland Indians (4.2) @ Kansas City Royals (3.4)

San Diego Padres (4.4) @ Arizona Diamondbacks (4.2)

Milwaukee Brewers (3.7) @ Los Angeles Dodgers (4.4)

Houston Astros (5.0) @ Seattle Mariners (4.2)

Colorado Rockies (3.6) @ San Francisco Giants (4.0)

Yes, you read that right. There are FOUR teams with an implied total of 5 runs or higher. This should be an extremely exciting slate and with so many options to choose from, it’s hard to narrow it down to two stacks for each format.

With that being said, as a reminder, whether each stack is listed in cash or GPP formats, they are typically all worth rostering in most formats unless noted otherwise, with their primary focus being the noted format.

Also, now that we are 3 weeks into the season, I will start to use 2019 stats within the article. These are still subject to change and normalize a bit, but it gives us a great idea of the current profile of a player and whether they’re hot, cold or anywhere in between.

Let’s get into it!

MLB Daily Fantasy – Primary Cash Game Stack: Boston Red Sox

The Red Sox have been extremely inconsistent and for the most part, disappointing, to start the 2019 season. Lately, however, we’ve seen some signs of life and a matchup with David Hess of the Orioles should only help their case.

David Hess | BAL

K%: 24.5%

SwStr%: 7.1%

SIERA: 4.84

wOBA: 0.302 vs RHB / 0.149 vs LHB

FB%: 65.6%

Hard%: 31.3%

The numbers above reiterate the fact that we should still expect the 2019 numbers to normalize. His wOBA allowed to both right and left-handed hitters has been elite thus far, but seeing that last season he allowed a 0.347 wOBA to righties and 0.352 wOBA to lefties, I expect them to balloon. On top of that, his SIERA and FB% indicate early season regression on the way. Below are the Sox players I will look to use when attacking Hess;

(1) Andrew Benintendi (FD: $3,600 / DK: $4,600)

(2) Mookie Betts (FD: $4,800 / DK: $5,400)

(3) Mitch Moreland (FD: $4,000 / DK: $4,500)

(4) J.D. Martinez (FD: $4,500 / DK: $5,000)

Obviously these guys are not cheap, but I would always recommend spending up on some bats in cash and the Red Sox are a prime target tonight. Last season, both Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez posted wOBAs north of 0.440 and ISOs over 0.270 against righties. While they’ve both gotten off to slow starts this season, we can go back to the well with confidence.

Both Andrew Benintendi and Mitch Moreland hold the platoon advantage over Hess and Benintendi posted a 0.378 wOBA while Moreland crushed righties to the tune of a 0.204 ISO. On top of that, Benintendi only struck out 13.3% of the time with a 12.1% walk rate.

If you want to expand one step further and find some value, Rafael Devers held a 0.219 ISO against righties last season and is only $3,100 on Fanduel, but his spot in the batting order leaves a bit to be desired. Dustin Pedroia also comes in at minimum price on FanDuel and $3,700 on Draftkings – a $1,700 pricing discrepancy. That’s worth noting and he’s a player I have confidence in at such a low-cost given his track record.

MLB Daily Fantasy – Secondary Cash Game Stack: Oakland Athletics

There is not a hotter team in baseball right now than the Oakland Athletics and their prices are starting to reflect the hot streak. With that being said, a matchup with Drew Smyly should only extend their streak. Since his return from Tommy John this season, he’s only been able to log a shade over 6 innings. While that is FAR from a significant sample size, below are his 2019 stats of note;

Drew Smyly | TEX

K%: 17.1%

SwStr%: 0.459 vs RHB / 0.379 vs LHB

SIERA: 6.00

wOBA: 6.1%

FB%: 43.5%

Hard%: 56.5%

Again, take the above data with a grain of salt, but Smyly is getting hit and he’s getting hit HARD. This isn’t the most surprising thing in the world, as he is fresh off of a 2-year hiatus due to Tommy John. With how hot the A’s are, especially against lefties, this is an offense I want a ton of exposure to.

(1) Marcus Semien (FD: $3,900 / DK: $4,200)

(2) Matt Chapman (FD: $4,300 / DK: $4,600)

(4) Khris Davis (FD: $4,600 / DK: $4,900)

(5) Chad Pinder (FD: $3,200 / DK: $4,400)

Khris Davis is the hottest hitter in baseball as he’s slugged 4 home runs over his last two games with 7 RBIs and 4 runs. He posted a 0.265 ISO against lefties last season, so he has a solid chance to continue the streak tonight. His partner in crime Matt Chapman posted a 0.356 wOBA against lefties and makes for an equally strong play.

Marcus Semien has seen his price rise, but should see time in the leadoff spot with the platoon advantage and has posted 5 hits (2 HRs) over his last three games with 5 RBIs and 5 runs.

As you can see above, the prices shot up quickly in this stack. If you want to alleviate that issue, Chad Pinder makes the most sense and comes in close to a cash lock tonight. He posted a 0.372 wOBA against lefties last season with a 0.179 ISO. He’s posted 7 hits in his last 3 games and should be able to continue tonight.

MLB Daily Fantasy – Primary GPP Stack: New York Yankees

Putting the Yankees down as a GPP stack, especially against Lucas Giolito, just seems wrong, but this is what happens when you lose 4 of your key players. Combine the injuries with the inflated price tag and pair that with the fact that this slate is loaded offensively, I likely won’t be spending up for a ton of NYY bats (I WILL have exposure) in cash, but they make a ton of sense. Giolito’s 2019 numbers thus far are below;

Lucas Giolito | CWS

K%: 26.7%

SwStr%: 11.7%

SIERA: 3.87

wOBA: 0.277 vs RHB / 0.336 vs LHB

FB%: 17.9%

Hard%: 35.7%

The numbers above illustrate yet another reason that I am somewhat bullish to go all-in on the Yankees and will be reserving most for GPPs. Giolito has long been a highly-touted prospect, and his first impression in 2019 is starting to show why. He has, however, proven to be attackable, as evident by his 0.327 wOBA vs RHB and 0.361 wOBA vs LHB last season and his 5.37 SIERA. This may be more boom or bust than most think, but the “boom” is definitely worth the cost in tournaments. Below are the Yankees pieces that I want to target:

(2) Aaron Judge (FD: $4,800 / DK: $5,100)

(3) Luke Voit (FD: $4,100 / DK: $4,600)

(4) Gary Sanchez (FD: $4,000 / DK: $4,900)

(5) Greg Bird (FD: $2,800 / DK: $3,900)

In 2018, Aaron Judge posted a team high (at least 150 PAs) 0.384 wOBA and a 0.238 ISO against righties last season and comes in with arguably the most power upside on the slate. His teammate, Luke Voit, isn’t far behind with his 0.441 wOBA and 0.315 ISO, albeit in a smaller sample size of only 101 plate appearances.

Gary Sanchez had a down 2018, but has since bounced back over his first 39 plate appearances against righties in 2019, posting a 0.413 wOBA and a 0.432 ISO and should come virtually unowned on both sizes.

Greg Bird holds the platoon advantage and also currently holds a 0.200 ISO against righties this season. He comes at a cheap price tag across the industry and bats in the middle of the order, providing a ton of upside.

If you really want to get deeper, Clint Frazier has come to life as of late, posting a 0.384 wOBA against righties and a 0.360 ISO thus far. His $3,600 tag on FanDuel is a bit tough to swallow with his spot in the order, but makes for a prime GPP play.

MLB Daily Fantasy – Secondary GPP Stack: Texas Rangers

The Rangers are the epitome of a GPP team – tons of power, tons of strikeouts and incredibly inconsistent. They step into the box against Mike Fiers of the Oakland A’s in a game that should bleed runs. Fiers’ 2019 numbers are below;

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Mike Fiers | OAK

K%: 13.2%

SwStr%: 7.8%

SIERA: 5.96

wOBA: 0.30 vs RHB / 0.347 vs LHB

FB%: 43.6%

Hard%: 41.8%

After going 12 innings without surrendering a single run, the above numbers finally caught up with Fiers, as he only lasted 1.2 innings against the Astors, allowing 7 hits, walking 4 and giving up 6 earned runs. While this might not look like a menacing matchup for him at first glance, the implosion potential is massive and it’s evident by the Rangers IRT of 5+. Below are the key pieces to a GPP stack:

(2) Rougned Odor (FD: $2,800 / DK: $3,800)

(3) Elvis Andrus (FD: $3,400 / DK: $4,200)

(4) Nomar Mazara (FD: $3,500 / DK: $4,200)

(5) Joey Gallo (FD: $4,200 / DK: $4,900)

Joey Gallo comes in as my favorite GPP play on the board tonight, as he posted a 0.343 wOBA and a 0.292 ISO against righties last season. While his 36% strikeout rate is alarming, the hard contact rate and lack of strikeouts that Fiers is recording right now could completely negate that issue.

While Gallo possesses the most upside, Rougned Odor, Elvis Andrus and Nomar Mazara possess a power/speed combination that can help you vault to the top in a GPP. Both Odor and Mazara also posted ISOs over 0.170 against righties last season and while they’re both cold to start the season, this is a perfect matchup to get right.

This is not a safe stack by any means and is more-so centered around potential than anything else with the massive downside, but they have GPP-winning upside at what I project to be low ownership.

Thanks for reading the MLB Daily Fantasy Stacks article for the 12-game main slate on Friday, April 12th! For more MLB DFS Breakdowns, make sure to follow @FantasyCPR on Twitter and myself, @JMetz34, for any questions!