MLB DFS Top Stacks: Monday, April 24
Keith Eyster walks you through the top stacks for the upcoming MLB main slate. Should we eat the chalk? Which team is a good pivot? Where can we find leverage? Find out below!
MLB DFS is complex. Most articles on MLB DFS picks are about the individual players most likely to succeed on any given day, but the MLB DFS picks most likely to succeed aren’t always the MLB DFS picks we should be most likely to play.
In this space, we will be looking at the MLB DFS process over the MLB DFS picks. And we’re looking at teams over individual players, using the features of the RotoGrinders Top Stacks tool. We’ll still look at the player projections available in LineupHQ. Still, we’ll be more focused on collective ownership, optimal scores, and matchups of full stacks within the context of game selection and leverage.
We have an interesting seven-game slate where we have Spencer Strider as the clear ace to spend up for. This presents a challenge in that we will need to both differentiate with our bats thanks to a very chalky top pitching option, and potentially save some money in the process. Only three teams have an implied total above five runs on this slate. Let’s see how we might be able to handle bats to make the pieces fit together today.
Chalk Stack – Angels
First, let’s break down why they have the highest team total on the slate. They are facing a young lefty in Ken Waldichuk who has struggled to figure out big league hitting in his first 11 career starts. This season he has managed just a 16.7% strikeout rate, while walking 10.4% of batters and allowing over 40% hard contact. In addition to a struggling starter, Oakland has perhaps the worst bullpen in MLB. They rank dead last in several key categories, including a 5.76 SIERA, 15.5% strikeout rate and 14.6% walk rate. The Angels set up extremely well against the lefty starter and they won’t be finished once they knock him out of the game with the terrible bullpen behind him.
I was hoping to be able to get a bit of an ownership discount on Shohei Ohtani in a lefty-lefty matchup, but unfortunately the field appears to be wise to just how awesome he has been. Ohtani and Mike Trout are the top two options, and I think you need to fade at least one of them if you are planning to use Strider as well – both for ownership and salary reasons. Hunter Renfroe has destroyed LHP in his career and paying up for him over Trout and/or Ohtani would be a way to differentiate. Taylor Ward is likely to leadoff and has a silly-low price on FanDuel. If you fade one of Trout/Ohtani and Ward on FD, I believe you have a decent pivot within your four-man Angels stack, but I would still make sure to be at least a bit off the board with my secondary stack if using Strider. On DK, I like punting the catcher position in my stack and Chad Wallach is a fine option for that. Zach Neto also presents a punt option at a middle infield spot. I think you can play an Angels stack in smaller contests as long as you are cognizant of differentiating a bit. For me, they clearly have the most upside on the slate.