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 weather issues expected.
Tonight's large slate only brings us four pitchers priced $9k or higher, with the standout elite option being Hunter Brown. He'll clearly be the most popular starter against the Rockies, who have an implied run total of only 2.1! Brown posted 25.1 DK points against Colorado last month and will benefit from this game not being at Coors Field this time around.
We've also highlighted Sean Manaea, Yusei Kikuchi and Andre Pallante in our optimizer. Manaea is the top point-per-dollar starter against a Phillies offense that tends to be boom-or-bust. I also like Pallante as a value option, as he went seven scoreless against the Pirates last month.
Osvaldo Bido will likely only go a few innings tonight, and I'm also hesitant to roster Jacob Misiorowski, who hasn't lasted more than four innings in his previous four starts. Note that Dylan Cease, Matthew Boyd and MacKenzie Gore 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% |
| Hunter Brown | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| Dylan Cease |
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 weather issues expected.
Tonight's large slate only brings us four pitchers priced $9k or higher, with the standout elite option being Hunter Brown. He'll clearly be the most popular starter against the Rockies, who have an implied run total of only 2.1! Brown posted 25.1 DK points against Colorado last month and will benefit from this game not being at Coors Field this time around.
We've also highlighted Sean Manaea, Yusei Kikuchi and Andre Pallante in our optimizer. Manaea is the top point-per-dollar starter against a Phillies offense that tends to be boom-or-bust. I also like Pallante as a value option, as he went seven scoreless against the Pirates last month.
Osvaldo Bido will likely only go a few innings tonight, and I'm also hesitant to roster Jacob Misiorowski, who hasn't lasted more than four innings in his previous four starts. Note that Dylan Cease, Matthew Boyd and MacKenzie Gore 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% |
| Hunter Brown | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| Dylan Cease | 2 | 6 | 2 | 4 |
| Luis Gil | 3 | 14 | 15 | 14 |
| Jacob Misiorowski | 4 | 4 | 1 | 18 |
| Matthew Boyd | 5 | 5 | 11 | 6 |
| Sean Manaea | 6 | 11 | 4 | 17 |
| MacKenzie Gore | 7 | 7 | 5 | 8 |
| Chris Bassitt | 8 | 15 | 10 | 11 |
| Yusei Kikuchi | 9 | 12 | 7 | 13 |
| Jesus Luzardo | 10 | 2 | 6 | 16 |
| Charlie Morton | 11 | 21 | 8 | 9 |
| Luis Castillo | 12 | 13 | 12 | 22 |
| Patrick Corbin | 13 | 19 | 16 | 1 |
| Mitch Keller | 14 | 8 | 18 | 19 |
| Bailey Ober | 15 | 23 | 17 | 24 |
| Michael Lorenzen | 16 | 18 | 13 | 10 |
| Brandon Pfaadt | 17 | 17 | 19 | 20 |
| Justin Verlander | 18 | 10 | 14 | 21 |
| Andre Pallante | 19 | 22 | 22 | 5 |
| Clayton Kershaw | 20 | 9 | 23 | 7 |
| Martin Perez | 21 | 3 | 9 | 23 |
| Nick Martinez | 22 | 16 | 20 | 12 |
| Tanner Gordon | 23 | 20 | 24 | 15 |
| Osvaldo Bido | 24 | 24 | 21 | 3 |
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 |
| Astros | 6.3 | 7 | High |
| Tigers | 6.2 | 4 | High |
| Dodgers | 5.8 | 11 | High |
| Yankees | 5.8 | 14 | High |
| Blue Jays | 5.5 | 5 | Medium |
| Athletics | 5.4 | 8 | High |
| Brewers | 4.9 | 1 | Medium |
| Royals | 4.5 | 21 | High |
| Angels | 4.5 | 20 | High |
| Cardinals | 4.5 | 9 | Medium |
| Cubs | 4.4 | 18 | Medium |
| White Sox | 4.3 | 22 | Medium |
| Rangers | 4.3 | 24 | High |
| Phillies | 4.3 | 3 | Low |
| Mariners | 4.3 | 16 | Low |
| Mets | 4.1 | 17 | Low |
| Padres | 4.1 | 12 | Medium |
| Pirates | 3.9 | 10 | Medium |
| Nationals | 3.6 | 13 | Low |
| Reds | 3.6 | 2 | Low |
| Diamondbacks | 3.5 | 15 | Low |
| Giants | 3.5 | 19 | Low |
| Twins | 3.4 | 23 | Medium |
| Rockies | 2.1 | 6 | Low |
My primary team stack targets
Royals vs. LHP Perez (career 4.43 FIP, 16.2 K%). Key pieces: Salvador Perez, Jonathan India, Bobby Witt, Nick Loftin, Randal Grichuk
Astros vs. RHP Gordon (7.11 ERA, 1.67 WHIP). Key pieces: Christian Walker, Carlos Correa, Yordan Alvarez, Jose Altuve, Jeremy Pena
Rangers vs. LHP Kikuchi (3.98 FIP, 1.42 WHIP). Key pieces: Ezequiel Duran, Wyatt Langford, Corey Seager, Adolis Garcia, Jonah Heim
Angels vs. LHP Corbin (4.45 FIP, 19.1 K%). Key pieces: Christian Moore, Luis Rengifo, Zach Neto, Taylor Ward, Mike Trout
Key Matchups and Batter vs. Pitcher Insights for DFS Success
Notable hitter matchups against the opposing starter today:
- Matt Wallner: 3-for-3, HR; 1.000 BA, 3.000 OPS
- Eugenio Suarez: 4-for-11, 2 HR; .364, 1.326 OPS
- Nick Castellanos: 5-for-15, 3 HR; .333 BA, 1.267 OPS
- Lars Nootbaar: 9-for-23, HR; .391 BA, 1.082 OPS
- Taylor Ward: 6-for-15, HR; .400 BA, 1.104 OPS
- Juan Soto: 5-for-15, HR; .333 BA, 1.100 OPS
- Brandon Nimmo: 5-for-15, HR; .333 BA, 1.012 OPS
- Corey Seager: 4-for-15, HR; .267 BA, .917 OPS
- Jorge Polanco: 6-for-20, HR; .300 BA, .962 OPS
- Wyatt Langford, 4-for-10, 2 BB; .400 BA, .900 OPS
- Bryce Harper: 3-for-10, HR; .300 BA, 1.000 OPS
- Ernie Clement: 3-for-10, HR; .300 BA, .900 OPS
- Adolis Garcia: 5-for-18, 2 HR; .278 BA, .889 OPS
- Willson Contreras: 7-for-24, HR; .292 BA, .955 OPS
- Nolan Gorman: 5-for-22, 2 HR; .227 BA, .865 OPS
- Trea Turner: 5-for-16, HR; .313 BA, .813 OPS
- Jonah Heim: 5-for-13, 4 RBI; .385 BA, .813 OPS
- Freddie Freeman: 2-for-11, HR; .182 BA, .812 OPS
- Ryan O'Hearn: 6-for-16, 4 RBI; .375 BA, .849 OPS
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