For my first “Stack The Deck” column, I’m going to highlight five of my favorite stacking combinations for today’s Sunday All-Day DFS MLB slate. Sunday’s tend to be interesting because managers like to use it as a day to rest some of their starters. I remember playing DFS MLB a few years ago and found Colorado games to be an absolute nightmare because Troy Tulowitzki would be benched almost every other Sunday. That wasn’t really a good situation to be in without late swap on FanDuel, but with the addition of late swap, it definitely makes those situations a little easier to deal with as long as you keep an eye on your players.

So yes, keep an eye on lineups by going to www.fantasyalarm.com/mlb/lineups. As a person, I am pretty straightforward and tell it like it is, and I can honestly and genuinely say that I think our lineups page is THE BEST in the business. When lineups come in, you’ll see them updated immediately. On top of that, you can sort through a number of very important statistics while you’re doing your lineup construction.

Nevertheless, in any sport, the first week or two of the season tends to have a little more variance because there’s definitely a lack of information available. For instance, Travis Shaw has been one of the biggest surprises through the first week of the season. He is batting .333/.440/.714 with six of his seven hits going for extra bases, largely due to a 46.2% Hard Hit Rate. Considering his career number is more like 32.3%, I’m thinking he’s probably going to regress a bit. But it doesn’t mean he isn’t legit. Only time will tell, and as of right now, I’m not sure what’s going to happen with him. 

Lack of information or not, it’s our job to give you the best possible information to help you construct your lineups. Let’s kick off the stacks!

CHALKY STACKS:

 

Los Angeles Dodgers

 

Yes, many DFS players have been absolutely screwed by the lack of run production that the Dodgers and Rockies have put together through the first two  games of their series at Coors Field. Vegas thinks that’s going to change today, and I don’t blame them. With a 11.5 O/U, the Dodgers are actually hovering around an expected run total of six today. For DFS, an expected run total of six is huge. If Marty McFly’s almanac told me every single team that would score six runs throughout the season, but didn’t tell me who drove in those runs, I would still stack that game. 

 

When you see guys like Jeremy Guthrie allowing 10 runs in less than one inning to the Phillies, you kind of get the impression that scoring runs is easy. I’ll tell you now that it’s not as easy as it seems. Situations like this, you’ll want to try your best to jump on it. The Dodgers are going to be popular, but one thing you can do is stack them while mixing in a few other stacking options that might be a little bit easier on the budget. They definitely don’t look as comfortable against left-handed pitching, but I think they’ll be fine against Tyler Anderson, who they were able to have a little success against in 2016. 

 

Players to consider in stack: Logan Forsythe, Corey Seager, Justin Turner, Yasiel Puig, Yasmani Grandal, and Franklin Gutierrez (keep an eye on other options once lineup cards are posted).

 

Colorado Rockies

 

At the other end of the diamond, you have the Rockies who are covering around a 5.5 expected run total. I actually wouldn’t be surprised if they’re a more popular option than the Dodgers. How can you blame anyone when you have guys like Nolan Arenado, Gerardo Parra, and Mark Reynolds who have been outstanding so far this season. If we’re talking about Parra, you should know that he’s only $3800 on DK and is close to a must play at that price given the way he’s been smoking the ball. 

 

While I prefer the Dodgers stack, the thing that makes the Rockies a little safer than the Dodgers is the fact that they’re probably a little less likely to start subbing guys like crazy if Dodgers Manager Dave Roberts takes out Kenta Maeda and inserts a left-handed pitcher. 

 

Players to consider in stack: Charlie Blackmon (ice cold, though), DJ LeMahieu, Carlos Gonzalez, Nolan Arenado, Gerardo Parra, Mark Reynolds, Trevor Story, and Dustin Garneau

 

SECONDARY OPTIONS:

 

Chicago Cubs

 

The Cubs had an impressive Saturday night at Miller Park, pounding the Brewers for 11 runs. Like I mentioned in the Playbook, Kris Bryant is going to be fine, and he definitely looked fine, putting together three hits, two doubles, and driving in three runs. Multi-hit games from Addison Russell, Javier Baez, and even the pitcher Kyle Hendricks certainly didn’t hurt, either. 

 

Zach Davies has had some good starts and someone I view as a little underrated, but his biggest issue is that he doesn’t get enough bats to swing and miss. It definitely didn’t help in his first start against the Rockies, which was his second worst start in his career. His worst start? Back in August against the Cubs. 

 

Players to consider in stack: Kyle Schwarber, Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Ben Zobrist, Addison Russell, and Willson Contreras

 

Oakland Athletics

 

For whatever reason, the A’s continue to put together some big games, and that’s largely through their power. Khris Davis has continued to rake at the plate, hitting three home runs over his first 21 at-bats. You also have five other players who have hit home runs this season, including two from Ryon Healy

 

You’re not going to have too many people fall in love with the A’s today. There’s too many other good options available for people to feel comfortable playing guys who are largely a who’s who of guys who other teams didn’t want. Yet, many of the A’s have had a lot of success against Martin Perez, including Davis, and Healy, who have each homered off of the Rangers southpaw.

 

Players to consider in stack: Rajai Davis, Jed Lowrie, Ryon Healy, Khris Davis, Trevor Plouffe, Marcus Semien, and Josh Phegley

 

FAVORITE SUPER-LOW OWNED STACK:

 

Seattle Mariners

 

The Mariners get to face Matt Shoemaker, who is making his return to the Majors after getting hit by a line drive off of his head to close out his 2016 campaign. His first outing back against the A’s wasn’t the worst, but he looked pretty rusty as a whole throughout Spring Training. The most alarming thing we saw from his first start was the fact that he allowed two home runs. 

 

It definitely helps that Seattle has a good history against Shoemaker. They’ve hit 10 home runs against Shoemaker over the last two seasons and in less than 40 innings. The thing that makes them really risky tonight is that their big names in Nelson Cruz and Robinson Cano have been ice cold. Regardless, they have a decent chance of improving on their 1-5 record today against Shoemaker.

 

Players to consider in stack: Jean Segura, Mitch Haniger, Robinson Cano, Nelson Cruz, Kyle Seager, Mike Zunino, and Leonys Martin.

 

If you have any questions, feel free to reach me via Twitter @kle18. Good luck!