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.
We don't have any pitchers in the $10k range today but we have numerous No. 1 team starters this afternoon. Paul Skenes stands out as one of our starred players in the optimizer as he has a significant advantage in projected fantasy points from the rest and we expect him to be rostered on over 40 percent of teams in GPPs.
We've also highlighted Shane Baz, Zac Gallen and Sean Burke. Burke is the punt play of the group as he checks in first in points-per-dollar due to his lowly $5k salary, but he certainly comes with risk and should be only considered in GPPs. Meanwhile, Baz has shown a high ceiling with at least 28 DK points in three of his five starts. Matthew Liberatore and Colin Rea also deserve a mention as they 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% |
| Paul Skenes | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
| Shane Baz | 2 | 6 | 2 | 13 |
| Kodai Senga | 3 | 5 | 8 | 12 |
| Tyler Mahle | 4 | 4 | 9 | 11 |
| Zac Gallen | 5 | 9 | 5 | 14 |
| Chad Patrick | 6 | 8 | 10 | 3 |
| Seth Lugo | 7 | 11 |
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.
We don't have any pitchers in the $10k range today but we have numerous No. 1 team starters this afternoon. Paul Skenes stands out as one of our starred players in the optimizer as he has a significant advantage in projected fantasy points from the rest and we expect him to be rostered on over 40 percent of teams in GPPs.
We've also highlighted Shane Baz, Zac Gallen and Sean Burke. Burke is the punt play of the group as he checks in first in points-per-dollar due to his lowly $5k salary, but he certainly comes with risk and should be only considered in GPPs. Meanwhile, Baz has shown a high ceiling with at least 28 DK points in three of his five starts. Matthew Liberatore and Colin Rea also deserve a mention as they 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% |
| Paul Skenes | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
| Shane Baz | 2 | 6 | 2 | 13 |
| Kodai Senga | 3 | 5 | 8 | 12 |
| Tyler Mahle | 4 | 4 | 9 | 11 |
| Zac Gallen | 5 | 9 | 5 | 14 |
| Chad Patrick | 6 | 8 | 10 | 3 |
| Seth Lugo | 7 | 11 | 12 | 4 |
| Jeffrey Springs | 8 | 13 | 11 | 7 |
| Matthew Liberatore | 9 | 3 | 7 | 2 |
| Colin Rea | 10 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| Andrew Abbott | 11 | 10 | 1 | 10 |
| Ben Lively | 12 | 12 | 13 | 5 |
| Simeon Woods Richardson | 13 | 7 | 6 | 9 |
| Sean Burke | 14 | 14 | 14 | 8 |
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 |
| Brewers | 5.5 | 9 | High |
| Rangers | 5.1 | 7 | High |
| Rays | 5.0 | 10 | Medium |
| Mets | 5.0 | 5 | Medium |
| Reds | 4.9 | 6 | High |
| Twins | 4.8 | 11 | Medium |
| Guardians | 4.7 | 4 | Medium |
| Cardinals | 4.5 | 8 | High |
| Pirates | 4.5 | 13 | Medium |
| Athletics | 3.8 | 3 | Low |
| White Sox | 3.4 | 12 | Medium |
| Cubs | 3.4 | 1 | Low |
| Royals | 3.3 | 14 | Low |
| Diamondbacks | 3.3 | 2 | Low |
My primary team stack targets
Cardinals vs. LHP Andrew Abbott (4.61 FIP vs. 3.60 ERA) Key pieces: Yohel Pozo, Willson Contreras, Nolan Arenado, Masyn Winn, Jordan Walker
Brewers vs. RHP Sean Burke (6.52 FIP, 1.48 WHIP) Key pieces: Brice Turang, Jackson Chourio, Christian Yelich, William Contreras, Sal Frelick
Rangers vs. LHP Jeffrey Springs (6.04 ERA, 1.62 WHIP) Key pieces: Jonah Heim, Josh Jung, Wyatt Langford, Marcus Semien, Adolis Garcia
Twins vs. RHP Ben Lively (4.77 FIP) Key pieces: Ty France, Edouard Julien, Carlos Correa, Trevor Larnach, Byron Buxton
Key Matchups and Batter vs. Pitcher Insights for DFS Success
Notable hitter matchups against the opposing starter today:
- Willson Contreras: 3-for-5, 1 HR; .600 BA, 1.950 OPS
- Marcus Semien: 6-for-13, 3 HR; .462 BA, 1.687 OPS
- Nolan Arenado: 6-for-13, 2 HR; .462 BA, 1.423 OPS
- Bryan Reynolds: 7-for-12, 1 HR; .583 BA, 1.583 OPS
- Luis Urias: 5-for-13, 3 BB; .385 BA, .962 OPS
