MLB DFS Pitcher & Team Stacks Guide for Friday, August 1

Ryan Pohle takes a deeper look into team stacks and pitchers for Friday's MLB slate, including Seattle's Logan Gilbert in a home matchup against the Rangers.
MLB DFS Pitcher & Team Stacks Guide for Friday, August 1

Top DFS Pitching and Team Stacking Strategies for DraftKings

In this article, I'm going to take a deeper dive into pitching and team stacking options. Let's take a look at our optimizer's rankings of the pitchers for the DraftKings 11-game main slate, sorted by projected fantasy points.

Visit RotoWire's MLB Daily Lineups to find out where the hitters slot in!

*No weather issues expected.

Friday's action has a solid slate of starters at the top with five pitchers priced $9,500 or higher. Logan Gilbert is our highest projected by a decent margin despite only being the third most expensive. He leads the slate in strikeout rate and has struck out 14 Rangers batters across 10.1 IP this year. 

We've also highlighted Kevin Gausman, Gavin Williams and Andrew Heaney in our optimizer. Heaney is our top point-per-dollar option given his $1,900 discount compared to his FanDuel salary. Meanwhile, Williams comes in with a 2.25 ERA across his last four starts and gets a Twins offense that is now much weaker after the trade deadline. 

Anthony DeSclafani carries risk as he hasn't pitched more than four innings across eight appearances (one start). Note that Hunter Brown ranks well in the metrics below.

Here's how each pitcher ranks in key categories (stats are from the 2025 season only):

PitcherFantasy PointsFIPK%Opponent K%
Logan Gilbert12110
Carlos Rodon211417
Hunter Brown3324
Joe Ryan45312
Nick Pivetta5

Top DFS Pitching and Team Stacking Strategies for DraftKings

In this article, I'm going to take a deeper dive into pitching and team stacking options. Let's take a look at our optimizer's rankings of the pitchers for the DraftKings 11-game main slate, sorted by projected fantasy points.

Visit RotoWire's MLB Daily Lineups to find out where the hitters slot in!

*No weather issues expected.

Friday's action has a solid slate of starters at the top with five pitchers priced $9,500 or higher. Logan Gilbert is our highest projected by a decent margin despite only being the third most expensive. He leads the slate in strikeout rate and has struck out 14 Rangers batters across 10.1 IP this year. 

We've also highlighted Kevin Gausman, Gavin Williams and Andrew Heaney in our optimizer. Heaney is our top point-per-dollar option given his $1,900 discount compared to his FanDuel salary. Meanwhile, Williams comes in with a 2.25 ERA across his last four starts and gets a Twins offense that is now much weaker after the trade deadline. 

Anthony DeSclafani carries risk as he hasn't pitched more than four innings across eight appearances (one start). Note that Hunter Brown ranks well in the metrics below.

Here's how each pitcher ranks in key categories (stats are from the 2025 season only):

PitcherFantasy PointsFIPK%Opponent K%
Logan Gilbert12110
Carlos Rodon211417
Hunter Brown3324
Joe Ryan45312
Nick Pivetta54619
Robbie Ray610715
Kevin Gausman78921
Gavin Williams8171013
David Peterson96149
Jacob Lopez1016518
Clayton Kershaw11122011
Jack Leiter1214135
Janson Junk131178
Michael Wacha1491622
Tyler Anderson1519187
Shane Baz16151114
Shane Smith1713122
Anthony DeSclafani181886
Matthew Liberatore1971520
Andrew Heaney2020191
Cooper Criswell21212216
Antonio Senzatela2222213

Analyzing Team Stack Rankings for Maximum DFS Impact

Here is how each team ranks in implied runs, BABIP (batting average on balls in play) and how popular we expect each team stack to be in GPPs:

TeamImplied RunsBABIPStack Popularity
Pirates6.712High
Rockies5.46High
Athletics5.37High
Angels5.315Medium
Dodgers5.19High
Yankees5.110Medium
Padres5.011Medium
Mariners4.913Low
Blue Jays4.95Medium
Diamondbacks4.716Medium
Astros4.53High
Mets4.519Low
Rays4.32High
White Sox4.220High
Red Sox3.91Medium
Guardians3.922Medium
Royals3.517Medium
Twins3.414Low
Giants3.418Low
Marlins3.34Low
Rangers2.921Low
Cardinals2.98Low

My primary team stack targets

White Sox vs. LHP Anderson (5.11 FIP, 1.6 HR/9). Key pieces: Edgar Quero, Colson Montgomery, Luis Robert, Andrew Benintendi, Miguel Vargas

Pirates vs. RHP Senzatela (5.51 FIP, 1.6 HR/9). Key pieces: Spencer Horwitz, Nick Gonzales, Andrew McCutchen, Bryan Reynolds, Tommy Pham

Astros vs. RHP Criswell (5.44 FIP, 1.7 HR/9). Key pieces: Yainer Diaz, Christian Walker, Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa, Jesus Sanchez

Rays vs. LHP Kershaw (4.10 FIP, 15.7 K%). Key pieces: Junior Caminero, Jonny DeLuca, Christopher Morel, Yandy Diaz, Brandon Lowe

Key Matchups and Batter vs. Pitcher Insights for DFS Success

Notable hitter matchups against the opposing starter today:

For up-to-the-minute updates on injuries, lineups, roster changes and more, head to RotoWire's Fantasy Baseball News & Latest MLB Updates or follow @RotoWireMLB on X.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ryan Pohle is a DFS Product Specialist at RotoWire and has written for the site since 2020.
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