DFS MLB Stacks: August 1

As we have passed the trade deadline and flip the calendar to August, we are searching for new ways to win at DFS baseball. One proven way to win is by stacking the right players to give yourself an edge on the competition. Let’s take a different approach this time around. Instead of stacking certain teams, let’s go back to something we did early in the season and put together a “Volume Stack”. The principle behind this strategy is to load up on hitters at the top of the order. If we can successfully do this, we can add the chance to get more plate appearances and, incidentally, more opportunities for points.

This doesn’t mean that we need to abandon power hitters. Luckily, a few MLB managers write in players with power potential in that top spot. We can also look at the two-hole to get a couple of these hitters in our lineups and fill in with leadoff hitters in good situations today. That’s another key point. It’s not just identifying the hitters that are consistently written in at the top of the order, it’s about doing so with players in good situations as well. We can still use the Vegas Odds tool to identify the teams that are expected to succeed. We can look at historicals and wOBA splits here as well.

With a full slate of games, all being late starts, we can develop our strategy early on and then adjust based on when the lineups come out. We will eventually lock in a volume stacked lineup for DraftKings and FanDuel tonight.

First, let’s identify a couple of the hitters with that power potential hitting in the leadoff or second spot in the order. So, let’s look at some other guys with some pop, hitting in the first spot in the order. We’ll also take a look at their matchup and projected value to identify two to build around.

David Peralta (ARZ) - vs. Jon Lester - we don’t like the L/L matchup, so we’ll pass.

Mookie Betts (BOS) - vs. Carlos Carrasco - can shut anybody down at any time.

Bradley Zimmer (CLE) - vs. Chris Sale - another L/L matchup and facing the best pitcher in the game. No thanks.

Charlie Blackmon (COL) - vs. Steven Matz - Yet ANOTHER L/L matchup as we are noticing a trend here.

Brian Dozier (MIN) - vs. Jhoulys Chacin - Finally one that we like.

Jose Bautista (TOR) - vs. Mike Pelfrey - Yes. We have our two.

So, we have our two power guys at the top of the lineup with solid matchups. Now, let’s shift our focus to some teams that are expected to score some runs tonight and take a look at projected lineups to get as many 1-2 hitters in there as possible:

1. Colorado vs. Steven Matz (NYM) at Coors Field - 7.03 Implied Run Total (IRT)

2. New York (A) vs. Anibal Sanchez (DET) at Yankee Stadium - 5.78 IRT

3. Baltimore vs. Ian Kennedy (KC) at Oriole Park - 5.78 IRT

4. Rangers vs. Erasmo Ramirez (SEA) at Globe Life Park - 5.75

5. New York (N) vs. Jeff Hoffman (COL) at Coors Field - 5.47

So, from these players we can come up with a semi-full lineup, with the exception of catcher and first base (common problem with this type of stack). To fill up the catcher and first base slots, let’s search around for anybody in those positions that hits towards the top of the order recently. Matt Carpenter leads off for the Cardinals and Brewers slugger Eric Thames has been hitting 2nd a lot for the Brewers. We can go with either of them at first. Russell Martin hits second for the Blue Jays and appears to be the only option at the position with this strategy.

C - Russell Martin (TOR)

1B - Matt Carpenter (STL) or Eric Thames (MIL)

2B - DJ LeMahieu (COL)

3B - Manny Machado (BAL)

SS - Elvis Andrus (TEX) or Asdrubal Cabrera (NYM)

OF - Brett Gardner (NYY) or Shin-Soo Choo (TEX)

OF - Clint Frazier (NYY) or Michael Conforto (NYM)

OF - Adam Jones (BAL)

This is a good start, I’ll be back later - after we see some lineups - to construct a Volume Stack lineup for both DraftKings and FanDuel tonight…