Three MLB Stacks to Target: Friday, August 9th
Stacking has become a common strategy used in tournaments on FanDuel. The concept is simple – roster multiple players from teams with the best MLB odds to score the most runs.
This article will take a closer look at the three teams on FanDuel’s main slate with the highest implied run totals.
Houston Astros (6.6 implied run total)
Houston opened Friday with the slate’s highest implied run total (6.5) on the board as they travel to Baltimore to take on Dylan Bundy and a terrible Baltimore bullpen at hitter-friendly Camden Yards. The main appeal for me with Astros hitters is power as both Bundy (1.99 HR/9; 18.5% HR/FB) and the Orioles bullpen (1.99 HR/9; 20.2% HR/FB) have struggled to keep the ball in the yard this season. Matchup aside, this Astros lineup is littered with capable power hitters as five players in their projected lineup own ISO’s of .200 or higher against right-handed pitching over the last two seasons and Michael Brantley (.199 ISO) and Yuli Gurriel (.179 ISO) aren’t far behind. Power is king when stacking and the Astros have plenty of it.
On a different slate, and with different price tags, Houston players would be pure chalk but I’m not overly concerned with their ownership on Friday night. That’s not to say the Astros are going overlooked but their high price tags and strong slate alternatives should help lead to a bit of an ownership discount.
Kansas City Royals (5.8 implied run total)
What’s that? You thought Edwin Jackson’s Major League career was over? Nope…he’s back! Edwin Jackson is the fantasy gift that keeps on giving as stacking against him earlier this season was the most foolproof way to fantasy success. Jackson only pitched 28.1 innings for the Blue Jays this season but that’s all the time he needed to allow 35 (!!) earned runs and give up 12 HRs. Jackson has thrown a limited number of innings in the Minors this season and hasn’t had much success against weaker competition due to his general inability to miss bats and get outs.
The Royals aren’t the most exciting team to stack but they’re likely to be one of the higher owned teams on the slate due to accessible price tags and Jackson’s ineptness. In all fairness, there is some power upside in the top half of their lineup as Hunter Dozier (.230 ISO), Jorge Soler (.252 ISO), and Ryan O’Hearn (.247 ISO) have all shown plenty of pop against right-handed pitching over the last couple of seasons. Neither Whit Merrifield or Alex Gordon are a consistent source of power but both guys are solid offensive players and fully capable of racking up hits – and possibly swiping bags in the case of Whit – against Edwin Jackson and a poor Detroit Tigers bullpen.
Boston Red Sox (6.5 implied run total)
The Red Sox have left a sour taste in my mouth over the last couple of weeks. Boston continually finds themselves in posh matchups but have seemingly underwhelmed at every turn as they try to stay in the hunt for a Wild Card bid. They get yet another favorable matchup on Friday night as they’ll host Jaime Barria and the Los Angels Angels.
Barria has been #notgood for the Angels this season as he’s already given up 12 HRs in just 46.2 Big League innings pitched. Barria’s combination of low groundball rate (32.6%) and low soft-contact rate (11.1%) make him a prime candidate for opposing power and makes the likes of J.D. Martinez and Mookie Betts two of the top overall hitters on the slate. Other Red Sox hitters to target that have shown plenty of power against right-handed pitching over the last two seasons include Rafael Devers (.239 ISO), Xander Bogaerts (.243 ISO), and Mitch Moreland (.238 ISO). Andrew Benintendi and Jackie Bradley are other solid, lower-owned options.