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.
This is a slate void of an elite play with Jack Flaherty as our top projected pitcher, but his lofty salary at $10k is a deterrent as there is less than a six point projected difference between him and Ryan Feltner at $6k. We've highlighted Dustin May in our optimizer, and he's the pitcher I'd lean towards spending up on with the Dodgers being by far the biggest favorite on the slate in a soft matchup against the Marlins.
We've also starred Ronel Blanco, Nick Martinez and Will Warren. Warren should be a popular value play at the position considering the Orioles have six players in their lineup with an OPS under .700. Meanwhile, Blanco ranks favorably in all the metrics below and has gone for at least 20 DK points in two of his last three starts.
Here's how each pitcher ranks in key categories (stats are from 2025 season only):
| Pitcher | Fantasy Points | FIP | K% | Opponent K% |
| Jack Flaherty | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 |
| Dustin May | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 |
| Ronel Blanco | 3 | 6 | 5 | 4 |
| Nick Martinez | 4 | 5 | 6 | 11 |
| Bryce Elder | 5 | 12 | 11 | 1 |
| Edward Cabrera | 6 | 8 | 2 | 8 |
| Andre Pallante | 7 | 9 | 10 | 6 |
| Will |
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.
This is a slate void of an elite play with Jack Flaherty as our top projected pitcher, but his lofty salary at $10k is a deterrent as there is less than a six point projected difference between him and Ryan Feltner at $6k. We've highlighted Dustin May in our optimizer, and he's the pitcher I'd lean towards spending up on with the Dodgers being by far the biggest favorite on the slate in a soft matchup against the Marlins.
We've also starred Ronel Blanco, Nick Martinez and Will Warren. Warren should be a popular value play at the position considering the Orioles have six players in their lineup with an OPS under .700. Meanwhile, Blanco ranks favorably in all the metrics below and has gone for at least 20 DK points in two of his last three starts.
Here's how each pitcher ranks in key categories (stats are from 2025 season only):
| Pitcher | Fantasy Points | FIP | K% | Opponent K% |
| Jack Flaherty | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 |
| Dustin May | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 |
| Ronel Blanco | 3 | 6 | 5 | 4 |
| Nick Martinez | 4 | 5 | 6 | 11 |
| Bryce Elder | 5 | 12 | 11 | 1 |
| Edward Cabrera | 6 | 8 | 2 | 8 |
| Andre Pallante | 7 | 9 | 10 | 6 |
| Will Warren | 8 | 3 | 3 | 7 |
| JP Sears | 9 | 4 | 7 | 10 |
| Patrick Corbin | 10 | 10 | 9 | 12 |
| Tomoyuki Sugano | 11 | 11 | 12 | 2 |
| Ryan Feltner | 12 | 7 | 8 | 5 |
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 |
| Braves | 6.4 | 4 | High |
| Dodgers | 6.3 | 2 | Medium |
| Yankees | 5.5 | 1 | High |
| Reds | 5.2 | 6 | Medium |
| Rangers | 5.0 | 7 | High |
| Athletics | 5.0 | 3 | Medium |
| Cardinals | 4.7 | 10 | High |
| Orioles | 4.4 | 5 | Low |
| Astros | 4.1 | 12 | Low |
| Rockies | 4.1 | 11 | Medium |
| Tigers | 3.8 | 8 | Low |
| Marlins | 2.6 | 9 | Low |
My primary team stack targets
Athletics vs. LHP Patrick Corbin (5.42 FIP vs. 3.77 ERA this year). Key pieces: Shea Langeliers, Jacob Wilson, Brent Rooker, Lawrence Butler, Luis Urias
Rangers vs. LHP JP Sears (4.12 FIP vs. 3.21 ERA this year). Key pieces: Jake Burger, Marcus Semien, Josh Jung, Kevin Pillar, Wyatt Langford
Cardinals vs. RHP Nick Martinez (5.40 ERA in 2025). Key pieces: Pedro Pages, Willson Contreras, Nolan Gorman, Brendan Donovan, Lars Nootbaar
Yankees vs. Tomoyuki Sagano (1.9 HR/9) Key pieces: Oswald Peraza, Trent Grisham, Aaron Judge, Paul Goldschmidt, Jazz Chisholm
Key Matchups and Batter vs. Pitcher Insights for DFS Success
Notable hitter matchups against the opposing starter today:
- Brendan Donovan: 3-for-4, 1 HR; .750 BA, 2.300 OPS
- Kevin Pillar: 5-for-10, 1 HR; .500 BA, 1.445 OPS
- Michael Conforto: 4-for-10, 1 HR; .400 BA, 1.200 OPS
- Luis Urias: 5-for-13, 1 HR; .385 BA, 1.044 OPS
- Marcus Semien: 6-for-24, 2 HR; .250 BA, .833 OPS
