This article is part of our DFS MLB series.
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 12-game main slate, sorted by projected fantasy points.
Visit RotoWire's MLB Daily Lineups to find out where the hitters slot in!
*No postponements expected.
The large slate gives us a lot of options to work through tonight, and the lone pitcher priced in the $10k range is a viable one in Carlos Rodon. He features the highest strikeout percentage and the Yankees are the largest favorite at -205. Rodon has shown a high ceiling with four 30 DK point games including in each of his last two starts.
From there, you can see that we've also highlighted Spencer Strider, George Kirby and Yusei Kikuchi in our optimizer. Getting a $1,700 discount compared to his FanDuel salary, Kikuchi is a value option against the strikeout heavy Red Sox. Meanwhile, Kirby has had a rough go in his return thus far, but a home matchup against a struggling Orioles offense is a great place to get on track. Note that the Athletics have yet to announce a starter (we're projecting Osvaldo Bido), while the Tigers are going with Beau Brieske to open and possibly Sawyer Gipson-Long in bulk relief. Freddy Peralta and Shane Smith rank well in the metrics below and are worth consideration, too.
Here's how each pitcher ranks
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 12-game main slate, sorted by projected fantasy points.
Visit RotoWire's MLB Daily Lineups to find out where the hitters slot in!
*No postponements expected.
The large slate gives us a lot of options to work through tonight, and the lone pitcher priced in the $10k range is a viable one in Carlos Rodon. He features the highest strikeout percentage and the Yankees are the largest favorite at -205. Rodon has shown a high ceiling with four 30 DK point games including in each of his last two starts.
From there, you can see that we've also highlighted Spencer Strider, George Kirby and Yusei Kikuchi in our optimizer. Getting a $1,700 discount compared to his FanDuel salary, Kikuchi is a value option against the strikeout heavy Red Sox. Meanwhile, Kirby has had a rough go in his return thus far, but a home matchup against a struggling Orioles offense is a great place to get on track. Note that the Athletics have yet to announce a starter (we're projecting Osvaldo Bido), while the Tigers are going with Beau Brieske to open and possibly Sawyer Gipson-Long in bulk relief. Freddy Peralta and Shane Smith rank well in the metrics below and are worth consideration, too.
Here's how each pitcher ranks in key categories (pitchers with less than 10 IP not included):
| Pitcher | Fantasy Points | FIP | K% | Opponent K% |
| Hunter Greene | 1 | 5 | 2 | 15 |
| Pablo Lopez | 2 | 1 | 5 | 16 |
| Spencer Strider | 3 | 17 | 6 | 21 |
| Carlos Rodon | 4 | 3 | 1 | 14 |
| George Kirby | 5 | N/A | N/A | 2 |
| Freddy Peralta | 6 | 10 | 7 | 4 |
| Drew Rasmussen | 7 | 7 | 11 | 9 |
| Yusei Kikuchi | 8 | 11 | 12 | 3 |
| Tanner Bibee | 9 | 19 | 14 | 10 |
| Cristopher Sanchez | 10 | 6 | 4 | 24 |
| Zac Gallen | 11 | 13 | 8 | 12 |
| Tyler Mahle | 12 | 4 | 16 | 11 |
| Brayan Bello | 13 | 18 | 17 | 1 |
| Shane Smith | 14 | 9 | 10 | 5 |
| Ryan Bergert | 15 | N/A | N/A | 8 |
| Landen Roupp | 16 | 8 | 9 | 23 |
| Tylor Megill | 17 | 2 | 3 | 17 |
| Tomoyuki Sugano | 18 | 15 | 20 | 6 |
| Bowden Francis | 19 | 20 | 13 | 20 |
| Clayton Kershaw | 20 | 16 | 21 | 18 |
| Michael Lorenzen | 21 | 12 | 15 | 19 |
| Sawyer Gipson-Long | 22 | N/A | N/A | 7 |
| Osvaldo Bido | 23 | 21 | 19 | 13 |
| Andre Pallante | 24 | 14 | 18 | 22 |
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:
| Team | Implied Runs | BABIP | Stack Popularity |
| Twins | 6.7 | 13 | High |
| Braves | 5.6 | 9 | High |
| Cardinals | 5.5 | 2 | High |
| Red Sox | 5.5 | 1 | Medium |
| Tigers | 5.3 | 3 | High |
| Dodgers | 5.3 | 4 | Medium |
| Phillies | 5.2 | 5 | High |
| Yankees | 5.0 | 7 | Medium |
| Giants | 5.0 | 19 | Low |
| Reds | 4.5 | 6 | Medium |
| Angels | 4.4 | 23 | High |
| Rays | 4.4 | 10 | Medium |
| Mariners | 4.4 | 20 | Low |
| Blue Jays | 4.2 | 12 | High |
| Mets | 4.1 | 18 | Medium |
| Royals | 3.9 | 11 | High |
| Brewers | 3.8 | 15 | Low |
| Diamondbacks | 3.8 | 17 | Low |
| Athletics | 3.7 | 8 | Low |
| White Sox | 3.5 | 22 | Medium |
| Rangers | 3.4 | 24 | Low |
| Orioles | 3.4 | 14 | Low |
| Padres | 3.4 | 16 | Medium |
| Guardians | 2.8 | 21 | Low |
My primary team stack targets
Twins vs. RHP Bido (6.12 FIP, 2.1 HR/9). Key pieces: Ryan Jeffers, Ty France, Royce Lewis, Carlos Correa, Byron Buxton
Tigers vs. RHP Smith (3.67 FIP vs. 2.68 ERA). Key pieces: Gleyber Torres, Riley Greene, Parker Meadows, Kerry Carpenter, Spencer Torkelson
Royals vs. RHP Pallante (4.73 FIP, 15.9 K%). Key pieces: Salvador Perez, Jonathan India, Bobby Witt, Maikel Garcia, Vinnie Pasquantino
Angels vs. RHP Bello (5.05 FIP, 1.63 WHIP). Key pieces: Nolan Schanuel, Luis Rengifo, Jorge Soler, Taylor Ward, Mike Trout
Key Matchups and Batter vs. Pitcher Insights for DFS Success
Notable hitter matchups against the opposing starter today:
- TJ Friedl: 6-for-16, 1 HR; .375 BA, 1.162 OPS
- Austin Riley: 6-for-16, 1 HR; .375 BA, 1.162 OPS
- Gunnar Henderson: 4-for-10, 1 HR; .400 BA, 1.200 OPS
- Christian Yelich: 4-for-15, 2 HR; .267 BA, 1.086 OPS
- Willson Contreras: 4-for-15, 2 HR; .267 BA, 1.046 OPS
- Rob Refsnyder: 5-for-11, 1 RBI; .455 BA, .955 OPS
- Carlos Santana: 15-for-42, 2 HR; .357 BA, .985 OPS
- Freddie Freeman: 6-for-14; .429 BA, .857 OPS
- Rafael Devers: 4-for-18, 2 HR; .222 BA, .819 OPS
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.
