MLB Daily Fantasy Stacks: Wednesday, April 24th, 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!

After a week and a half away from writing, I am excited to be back for a 7-game MLB Daily Fantasy main slate on FanDuel and DraftKings!

My initial thought when looking at the schedule for today was going to be to split the article in half between the early/afternoon games and the main slate, seeing as there are 14 total games. After looking at how the slates were split on the sites, I was disappointed to see that FanDuel’s early-only slate only included 3 games, as they complete ignored the mid-afternoon contests…typical.

With that being said, I figured due to the slate discrepancy on the sites, I would stick to the 7-game main slate. The games are listed below with the respective implied run totals (IRTs) as well:

Arizona Diamondbacks (3.8) @ Pittsburgh Pirates (4.3)

Chicago White Sox (5.0) @ Baltimore Orioles (5.1)

Philadelphia Phillies (4.4) @ New York Mets (4.2)

Detroit Tigers (4.0) @ Boston Red Sox (5.7)

Los Angeles Dodgers (N/A) @ Chicago Cubs (N/A)

Minnesota Twins (N/A) @ Houston Astros (N/A)

New York Yankees (4.2) @ Los Angeles Angels (4.4)

At the time of writing this (roughly 9pm ET on Tuesday night), two games still do not have implied totals and the Minnesota Twins starter is up in the air. While this could affect the direction we go with stacking on the slate, I am going to recommend the stacks I believe are the best options regardless of how the Vegas data shifts.

Due to the size of the slate, I am going to narrow down the options to 3 stacks; a primary and secondary (viable in all formats, primarily for cash games), followed by the top leverage/GPP stack.

MLB Daily Fantasy – Primary Stack: Boston Red Sox

After playing in a day/night double-header yesterday due to inclement weather on Monday, the Red Sox turn their attention to Tyson Ross, whose surface stats so far this season seem to be covering up some regression on the horizon. His 2019 numbers through his first 24 innings are below;

Tyson Ross | DET

K% / SwStr%: 17.0% / 8.0%

SIERA: 4.83

wOBA: 0.362 vs RHB / 0.219 vs LHB

FB% / Hard%: 25.7% / 35.1%

Ross has proven himself to be an extreme reverse-splits pitcher early this season, which bodes extremely well for the stars in the Red Sox lineup. With that being said, over his career he’s allowed a 0.328 wOBA to lefties, so I’m fine with targeting players from both sides of the plate, as the Red Sox hold a Coors-like IRT of 5.7 runs.

(2) Mookie Betts (FD: $4,000 / DK: $4,800)

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

(4) J.D. Martinez (FD: $4,100 / DK: $5,200)

(5) Xander Bogaerts (FD: $3,500 / DK: $4,300)

Over the 2018-19 season, both Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez have posted wOBAs over 0.420 and ISOs over 0.250 against right-handed pitching. On top of that, both are absolutely destroying the ball against RHP with hard-contact rates of 44%+ and average EVs over 92mph. These are two staples for lineup construction tonight and I will be centering my lineups around them.

Mitch Moreland and Xander Bogaerts are both priced at $3,500 on FanDuel and provide a bit more of a reasonable route to Red Sox exposure. Both have wOBAs over 0.350 against righties and bat between Betts and Martinez, giving them a heap of opportunity. Moreland also holds a 0.242 ISO against righties, giving him a ton of power upside.

Also consider: Rafael Devers, Andrew Benintendi

MLB Daily Fantasy – Secondary Stack: Philadelphia Phillies

After getting dominated by Zack Wheeler and the Mets last night, the Phillies turn their attention to a much more enticing matchup against seasoned lefty Jason Vargas, who’s 2019 numbers through his first 10.1 IP;

Jason Vargas | NYM

K% / SwStr%: 10.9% / 7.2%

SIERA: 6.64

wOBA: 0.473 vs RHB / 0.408 vs LHB

FB% / Hard%: 50.0% / 64.3%

Every single sign above is pointing to stacking the Phillies in all formats and the main reason I have them behind the Red Sox is Vegas. They have the Phillies pegged for less than 4.5 runs, but I expect this to be due to the fact that Vargas may not pitch deep into the game. Below are the key cogs to a Phillies stack with their cumulative 2018-19 numbers:

(1) Andrew McCutchen (FD: $4,400 / DK: $4,500)

(3) Bryce Harper (FD: $4,700 / DK: $4,800)

(4) Rhys Hoskins (FD: $4,300 / DK: $4,700)

(5) Maikel Franco (FD: $3,900 / DK: $4,400)

Over the last two seasons, only Bryce Harper has an ISO over 0.200 against leties, but both he and Andrew McCutchen hold wOBAs over 0.350. I do not expect Harper to be very chalky, especially given the L/L matchup, making this a prime spot to target him in.

If looking primarily at 2019 numbers, Rhys Hoskins easily jumps off the page as the top option here, as he’s posted a 0.462 wOBA, 0.278 ISO and a 25% walk rate thus far against lefties. Staying with the 2019 numbers, Maikel Franco has seen quite the resurgence, posting a 0.328 wOBA and 0.250 ISO against southpaws. The most noteworthy part? His 5.3% strikeout rate.

Also Consider – J.T. Realmuto

MLB Daily Fantasy – Primary GPP Stack: Baltimore Orioles

I’ll be the first to admit that I never expected to write-up the Orioles in a stacking article this season, but here we are! Both teams in this game hold IRTs north of 5 runs and while I expect the White Sox to be the more popular stack, I think Baltimore is the perfect leverage choice. Ervin Santana has been a shell of himself for years and his 2019 numbers are below:

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Ervin Santana | CWS

K% / SwStr%: 9.1% / 5.0%

SIERA: 7.19

wOBA: 0.661 vs RHB / 0.409 vs LHB

FB% / Hard%: 52.9% / 32.4%

If this offense was anyone other than the O’s, this would be the top stack of the slate. With that being said, the volatility of this team makes them a GPP-only stack, but they come with a ton of promise, starting with the core below:

(1) Jonathan Villar (FD: $3,700 / DK: $4,700)

(2) Trey Mancini (FD: $4,100 / DK: $5,000)

(3) Dwight Smith Jr. (FD: $3,800 / DK: $4,700)

(4) Renato Nunez (FD: $3,300 / DK: $4,600)

Those are some high prices, but I promise you they’re warranted. This season alone, both Jonathan Villar and Trey Mancini have wOBAs of 0.410 against righties while Mancini has a 0.266 ISO. They both possess a valuable power/speed combo atop the lineup and could very-well see 5 ABs, giving them a ton of potential.

Looking towards the 3-4 hitters, both Dwight Smith Jr. and Renato Nunez hold wOBAs of 0.343 and ISOs over 0.200. Nunez’s 42.9% hard-contact rate is supported by his 91.4mph average exit velocity, showing he’s smashing the baseball at a reasonable price. I think he will carry the lowest ownership of the 4 and we could see it below 3-5%.

This is a prime GPP stack with plenty of upside (and downside), but could be the leverage you need to take a down a tournament.

Also Consider: Chris Davis (large-field GPP dart only)

Thanks for reading the MLB Daily Fantasy Stacks article for the 7-game main slate on Wednesday, April 24th! For more MLB DFS Breakdowns, make sure to follow @FantasyCPR on Twitter and myself, @JMetz34, for any questions!