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 10-game main slate, sorted by projected fantasy points.
Visit RotoWire's MLB Daily Lineups to find out where the hitters slot in!
*The Guardians at Twins game has been postponed. Possible rain for Mariners at White Sox as well. Proceed accordingly!
It's a little bit of a messy pitching slate with only nine pitchers in the 10-game slate priced in the $8k+ range. The Orioles and Mariners are both going the opener/bulk reliever route, and then when you consider that Hayden Birdsong hasn't gone more than three innings this season and Ryne Nelson hasn't last more than 4.1, we have a bunch of guys we can essentially rule out right away. Tarik Skubal stands out as the top option and although the Cardinals aren't the ideal matchup, he's has been close to matchup-proof this year.
We've also starred Jesus Luzardo, Will Warren and Brandon Walter in our optimizer. Warren is the top point-per-dollar option as he's getting a $900 discount compared to his FanDuel salary and gets a matchup against a Rangers offense that only scored 12 runs in their four-game series against the Astros this past weekend. It's also hard not to go back to the well with Jesus Luzardo against the Rockies, whose offensive struggles have been well documented.
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 10-game main slate, sorted by projected fantasy points.
Visit RotoWire's MLB Daily Lineups to find out where the hitters slot in!
*The Guardians at Twins game has been postponed. Possible rain for Mariners at White Sox as well. Proceed accordingly!
It's a little bit of a messy pitching slate with only nine pitchers in the 10-game slate priced in the $8k+ range. The Orioles and Mariners are both going the opener/bulk reliever route, and then when you consider that Hayden Birdsong hasn't gone more than three innings this season and Ryne Nelson hasn't last more than 4.1, we have a bunch of guys we can essentially rule out right away. Tarik Skubal stands out as the top option and although the Cardinals aren't the ideal matchup, he's has been close to matchup-proof this year.
We've also starred Jesus Luzardo, Will Warren and Brandon Walter in our optimizer. Warren is the top point-per-dollar option as he's getting a $900 discount compared to his FanDuel salary and gets a matchup against a Rangers offense that only scored 12 runs in their four-game series against the Astros this past weekend. It's also hard not to go back to the well with Jesus Luzardo against the Rockies, whose offensive struggles have been well documented. Note that Logan Henderson ranks well in all the metrics below, albeit in a limited sample size.
Here's how each pitcher ranks in key categories (stats are from 2025 season only):
| Pitcher | Fantasy Points | FIP | K% | Opponent K% |
| Tarik Skubal | 1 | 1 | 2 | 19 |
| Jesus Luzardo | 2 | 2 | 8 | 2 |
| Yoshinobu Yamamoto | 3 | 3 | 4 | 20 |
| Logan Henderson | 4 | 4 | 1 | 3 |
| Dylan Cease | 5 | 6 | 5 | 18 |
| Will Warren | 7 | 7 | 6 | 12 |
| Gunnar Hoglund | 8 | 15 | 12 | 1 |
| Erick Fedde | 9 | 9 | 16 | 6 |
| Chris Bassitt | 10 | 5 | 10 | 22 |
| Hayden Birdsong | 11 | 12 | 11 | 21 |
| Michael Lorenzen | 12 | 10 | 13 | 7 |
| Zack Littell | 14 | 18 | 17 | 16 |
| Patrick Corbin | 15 | 13 | 14 | 9 |
| Brandon Walter | 16 | N/A | N/A | 5 |
| Bryse Wilson | 17 | 20 | 19 | 8 |
| Kyle Hendricks | 18 | 17 | 18 | 17 |
| Casey Lawrence | 19 | 16 | 21 | 4 |
| Ryne Nelson | 20 | 8 | 9 | 14 |
| Chayce McDermott | 21 | 21 | 3 | 11 |
| Antonio Senzatela | 22 | 19 | 20 | 15 |
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 |
| Phillies | 8.2 | 3 | High |
| Dodgers | 6.7 | 4 | High |
| Athletics | 6.6 | 11 | High |
| Yankees | 5.8 | 5 | Medium |
| Mariners | 5.6 | 16 | High |
| Rays | 5.1 | 7 | High |
| Brewers | 5.0 | 15 | Medium |
| Tigers | 4.8 | 1 | Medium |
| Giants | 4.8 | 14 | Low |
| Padres | 4.4 | 6 | Low |
| Angels | 4.3 | 22 | Medium |
| Astros | 4.3 | 8 | High |
| Blue Jays | 3.9 | 9 | Low |
| Orioles | 3.9 | 18 | Medium |
| Royals | 3.6 | 13 | Medium |
| Rockies | 3.3 | 17 | High |
| White Sox | 3.3 | 20 | Medium |
| Diamondbacks | 3.2 | 12 | Low |
| Rangers | 3.0 | 21 | Low |
| Cardinals | 3.0 | 2 | Low |
My primary team stack targets
Rays vs. LHP Walter (6.26 ERA across 23 MLB innings). Key pieces: Danny Jansen, Yandy Diaz, Jose Caballero, Jonathan Aranda, Junior Caminero
Mariners vs. RHP Wilson (6.46 ERA, 2.2 HR/9). Key pieces: Rowdy Tellez, Jorge Polanco, J.P. Crawford, Randy Arozarena, Julio Rodriguez
Astros vs. RHP Littell (5.58 FIP, 2.2 HR/9). Key pieces: Victor Caratini, Christian Walker, Jose Altuve, Isaac Paredes, Jake Meyers
Angels vs. RHP Hoglund (5.14 FIP, 2.2 HR/9). Key pieces: Zach Neto, Jorge Soler, Taylor Ward, Yoan Moncada, Logan O'Hoppe
Key Matchups and Batter vs. Pitcher Insights for DFS Success
Notable hitter matchups against the opposing starter today:
- Javier Baez: 4-for-8, 2 HR; .500 BA, 1.975 OPS
- Wilmer Flores: 7-for-14, 3 HR; .500 BA, 1.676 OPS
- Rowdy Tellez: 5-for-14, 2 HR; .357 BA, 1.295 OPS
- Bryce Harper: 5-for-15, 2 HR; .333 BA, 1.244 OPS
- Nick Castellanos: 4-for-10; 2 XBH; .400 BA, 1.155 OPS
- J.T. Realmuto: 6-for-13, 1 BB; .462 BA, .962 OPS
- Trea Turner: 7-for-15, 1 2B; .467 BA, 1.000 OPS
- Kyle Schwarber: 3-for-10, 1 HR; .300 BA, 1.000 OPS
- Michael Conforto: 3-for-11, 1 HR; .273 BA, .970 OPS
- Anthony Santander: 5-for-16, 1 HR; .313 BA, .915 OPS
- Aaron Judge: 2-for-10, 1 HR; .200 BA, .933 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.
