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 main slate, sorted by projected fantasy points.
*5:20 EST update: The Red Sox/Guardians game has been postponed due to rain.
It's a star-studded group of pitchers at the top as we have three starters in the $10k range. We've highlighted Logan Gilbert in our optimizer, and he's expected to be the chalkiest pitcher on the slate with a ridiculous 38 percent strikeout rate this season and gets a matchup against a Marlins lineup that certainly knows how to swing and miss.
Pablo Lopez, Luis Severino and Tanner Houck are the other pitchers we've highlighted. Lopez is making his return from a stint on the IL, while Houck is a GPP only value option that is coming off a 20.5 DK point performance in his last start. You can certainly make the case to spend up on Yoshinobu Yamamoto or Paul Skenes, and Nathan Eovaldi and Andrew Abbott both rank well in the metrics below.
Here's how each pitcher ranks in key categories (stats are from 2025 season only):
| Pitcher | Fantasy Points | FIP | K% | Opponent K% |
| Logan Gilbert | 1 | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| Yoshinobu Yamamoto | 2 | 3 | 3 | 8 |
| Paul Skenes | 3 | 2 | 9 | 12 |
| Michael King | 4 | 10 | 7 | 14 |
| Chris Sale | 5 | 11 | 5 | 21 |
| Pablo Lopez | 6 | 7 |
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 main slate, sorted by projected fantasy points.
*5:20 EST update: The Red Sox/Guardians game has been postponed due to rain.
It's a star-studded group of pitchers at the top as we have three starters in the $10k range. We've highlighted Logan Gilbert in our optimizer, and he's expected to be the chalkiest pitcher on the slate with a ridiculous 38 percent strikeout rate this season and gets a matchup against a Marlins lineup that certainly knows how to swing and miss.
Pablo Lopez, Luis Severino and Tanner Houck are the other pitchers we've highlighted. Lopez is making his return from a stint on the IL, while Houck is a GPP only value option that is coming off a 20.5 DK point performance in his last start. You can certainly make the case to spend up on Yoshinobu Yamamoto or Paul Skenes, and Nathan Eovaldi and Andrew Abbott both rank well in the metrics below.
Here's how each pitcher ranks in key categories (stats are from 2025 season only):
| Pitcher | Fantasy Points | FIP | K% | Opponent K% |
| Logan Gilbert | 1 | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| Yoshinobu Yamamoto | 2 | 3 | 3 | 8 |
| Paul Skenes | 3 | 2 | 9 | 12 |
| Michael King | 4 | 10 | 7 | 14 |
| Chris Sale | 5 | 11 | 5 | 21 |
| Pablo Lopez | 6 | 7 | 13 | 4 |
| Luis Severino | 7 | 14 | 20 | 11 |
| Nathan Eovaldi | 8 | 6 | 8 | 10 |
| Andrew Abbott | 9 | 8 | 1 | 1 |
| Shane Baz | 10 | 9 | 4 | 24 |
| Zac Gallen | 11 | 16 | 11 | 7 |
| Hayden Wesneski | 12 | 17 | 6 | 20 |
| Seth Lugo | 13 | 20 | 17 | 15 |
| Jose Berrios | 14 | 21 | 15 | 2 |
| Justin Verlander | 15 | 15 | 14 | 19 |
| Matthew Liberatore | 16 | 1 | 10 | 17 |
| Chad Patrick | 17 | 13 | 12 | 16 |
| Ben Lively | 18 | 12 | 16 | 3 |
| Tanner Houck | 19 | 23 | 21 | 18 |
| Kyle Hendricks | 20 | 18 | 23 | 13 |
| Sean Burke | 21 | 24 | 22 | 23 |
| Carlos Carrasco | 22 | 22 | 19 | 22 |
| Cal Quantrill | 23 | 19 | 24 | 5 |
| Kyle Freeland | 24 | 5 | 18 | 9 |
Analyzing Team Stack Rankings for Maximum DFS Impact
Here is how each team ranks in implied runs, home run rate and how popular we expect each team stack to be in GPPs:
| Team | Implied Runs | HR Rate | Stack Popularity |
| Athletics | 6.5 | 5 | High |
| Mariners | 5.5 | 6 | High |
| Twins | 5.5 | 21 | High |
| Yankees | 5.3 | 1 | High |
| Reds | 5.2 | 10 | High |
| Braves | 4.8 | 7 | High |
| Dodgers | 4.8 | 2 | Medium |
| Guardians | 4.7 | 9 | Medium |
| Red Sox | 4.7 | 12 | Medium |
| Rockies | 4.7 | 18 | High |
| Cardinals | 4.5 | 16 | Medium |
| Astros | 4.3 | 17 | Medium |
| Padres | 4.1 | 14 | Low |
| Blue Jays | 4.1 | 23 | High |
| Diamondbacks | 4.0 | 4 | Low |
| Royals | 4.0 | 24 | Medium |
| Giants | 4.0 | 11 | Low |
| Rangers | 3.8 | 8 | Medium |
| Brewers | 3.8 | 13 | Medium |
| Rays | 3.2 | 15 | Low |
| White Sox | 2.9 | 22 | Low |
| Angels | 2.9 | 3 | Low |
| Pirates | 2.5 | 20 | Low |
| Marlins | 2.3 | 19 | Low |
My primary team stack targets
Blue Jays vs. RHP Carlos Carrasco (6.53 ERA, 2.2 HR/9). Key pieces: Alejandro Kirk, Vladimir Guerrero, Addison Barger, Bo Bichette, Anthony Santander
Twins vs. RHP Kyle Hendricks (5.02 FIP). Key pieces: Edouard Julien, Trevor Larnach, Byron Buxton, Carlos Correa, Ryan Jeffers
Mariners vs. RHP Cal Quantrill (8.31 ERA). Key pieces: Cal Raleigh, Rowdy Tellez, Jorge Polanco, Luke Raley, Julio Rodriguez
Rangers vs. RHP Justin Verlander (5.47 ERA, 1.5 HR/9). Key pieces: Marcus Semien, Josh Smith, Joc Pederson, Wyatt Langford, Adolis Garcia
Key Matchups and Batter vs. Pitcher Insights for DFS Success
Notable hitter matchups against the opposing starter today:
- Austin Hays: 2-for-3, 1 HR; .667 BA, 2.667 OPS
- Julio Rodriguez: 6-for-11, 2 HR; .545 BA, 1.636 OPS
- Austin Riley: 5-for-13, 1 HR; .385 BA, 1.275 OPS
- Matt Chapman: 3-for-12, 2 HR; .250 BA, 1.188 OPS
- Aaron Judge: 11-for-32, 4 HR; .344 BA, 1.202 OPS
- Andrew Benintendi: 12-for-33, 2 HR; .364 BA, 1.164 OPS
- Anthony Volpe: 4-for-13, 1 HR; .308 BA, 1.015 OPS
- Marcus Semien: 14-for-43, 2 HR; .326 BA, .860 OPS
- Ozzie Albies: 4-for-14, 1 HR; .286 BA, .833 OPS
- Jose Altuve: 4-for-11, 2 BB; .364 BA, .916 OPS
- Brendan Rodgers: 3-for-11, 1 HR; .273 BA, .909 OPS
- Randal Grichuk: 6-for-23, 2 HR; .261 BA, .857 OPS
- Oswaldo Cabrera: 6-for-16, 2 2B; .375 BA, .912 OPS
- Harrison Bader: 10-for-27, 4 2B; .370, .932 OPS
