Often when I decide which stacks to play for DFS, I let the pitchers dictate my lineup. I find a couple of pitching values I really like, and then use the best stack or stacks I can afford with the remaining salary. For Monday’s slate, I think I will choose my hitters first and choose some pitchers around them. The Astros just stand head and shoulders above the other stacks, and there are enough solid pitchers that I think you may regret it if you try building around another stack. Just keep in mind there is weather in the forecast, so you may need to pivot to another stack. In that case, it may be best to go with a cheaper stack and pay up for somebody like Jacob deGrom.

Here are my stacks for Monday, July 24, listed in order of preference:

Houston Astros @ Philadelphia Phillies (Vince Velasquez, R)

Jose Altuve, Josh Reddick, Evan Gattis, Marwin Gonzalez, Yulieski Gurriel, George Springer

The Astros are a stacking candidate pretty much every time out, but all of the signs point towards a big day for Houston. Astros hitters have an .892 OPS on the road this season, and they are batting .339 against right-handed pitchers over the last 30 days. The Astros have scored in at least three different innings in 62.9 percent of their games this season, tops in MLB.

Individually, there is something to like about every Astro in our stack. Evan Gattis has a 1.681 OPS against righties over the last 30 days while Jose Altuve has a 1.046 OPS on the road since the start of 2016. Yulieski Gurriel has a .341 well-hit average over the last 30 days. Josh Reddick has come to the plate with runners in scoring positions in 42.5 percent of his at-bats over the last 30 days. Marwin Gonzalez has reached safely in each of his last 26 games, the longest active streak in baseball.

As for their opponent, Vince Velasquez has a 5.14 ERA, 1.39 WHIP and 5.11 FIP. He has allowed five earned runs or more in three of his ten starts this season. He has allowed at least one home run in each of his last four starts. The Astros are not cheap, but you should still get pretty decent value for your money, especially on FanDuel

Oakland Athletics @ Toronto Blue Jays (Francisco Liriano, L)

Matt Chapman, Adam Rosales, Ryon Healy, Rajai Davis, Khris Davis, Marcus Semien, Jed Lowrie

The Athletics have a chance to be a great value stack, especially on FanDuel. Athletics hitters have a 32.5 percent line drive rate against left-handed pitchers over the last 30 days. Jed Lowrie has a 32.2 percent line drive rate against lefties since the start of 2016; only Michael Bourn has been better. Rajai Davis is 12-for-33 with a home run against Francisco Liriano while Khris Davis is 6-for-17 with two homers and seven RBI. Ryon Healy has a 1.048 OPS against left-handed pitchers this season.

I would love to have a left-handed hitter or two in this stack, but the A’s will probably only have one in their lineup, and Francisco Liriano has been far worse against right-handed hitters this season. Liriano has allowed a .394 wOBA against right-handed batters and a .300 wOBA against lefties. Liriano has probably been better than his 6.15 ERA and 1.73 WHIP indicate, but not too much better. If the A’s knock Liriano out of the game early, they should still be in good shape. Toronto’s bullpen has allowed a .339 wOBA against right-handed batters. Only the Orioles and Mets have been worse.

Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Minnesota Twins (Bartolo Colon, R)

Cody Bellinger, Joc Pederson, Corey Seager, Chase Utley, Justin Turner, Chris Taylor, Yasmani Grandal

It will be interesting to see who leads off for the Dodgers. Chris Taylor 13-for-24 with two home runs over the last seven days, but Chase Utley has led off the last two times the Dodgers have faced a righty, despite going 2-for-11 over the last week. On the other hand, Utley is 11-for-23 against Bartolo Colon.

Colon has allowed a .386 wOBA against left-handed batters and a .420 wOBA against right-handed batters, so both Taylor and Utley could be in for big days. Whoever leads off should probably be part of your stack unless Logan Forsythe gets the day off, in which case a middle-of-the-order stack could be more valuable.

Kansas City Royals @ Detroit Tigers (Justin Verlander, R)

Eric Hosmer, Salvador Perez, Mike Moustakas, Jorge Bonifacio, Whit Merrifield, Brandon Moss

Verlander has a 4.54 ERA, 4.19 FIP and 4.71 xFIP, so this shouldn’t be an unreasonable stack. On the other hand, he has allowed three runs or fewer in nine of his last 10 starts, including all three of his starts against the Royals over that span.

The Royals have an .824 OPS since the All-Star break, led by Whit Merrifield and Mike Moustakas, who are each 10-for-28 with three home runs over the last seven days. Eric Hosmer is 9-for-24 with three home runs of his own over the last week while Brandon Moss is 8-for-19 with two home runs and eight RBI during his five-game hitting streak. Jorge Bonifacio has homered in each of his last two games, and he is 4-for-10 in his career against Justin Verlander. Salvador Perez is 25-for-61 against Verlander.

Others Receiving Votes:

St. Louis Cardinals vs. Colorado Rockies (Antonio Senzatela, R)

Dexter Fowler, Kolten Wong, Paul DeJong, Randal Grichuk, Tommy Pham, Matt Carpenter