Top DFS Pitching and Team Stacking Strategies for DraftKings
In this article, I'm going to take a deeper dive into pitching and team stacking options. Let's take a look at our optimizer's rankings of the pitchers for the DraftKings five-game main slate, sorted by projected fantasy points.
Visit RotoWire's MLB Daily Lineups to find out where the hitters slot in!
*No postponements expected.
It's a small slate tonight as is often the case on Thursdays, with Tarik Skubal being the standout starter. I like the idea of spending up on him, and we expect him to be rostered on over half of GPP teams against a revamped Twins offense that scored seven total runs in their recent three-game series against the Yankees.
We've also highlighted Jesus Luzardo and Brad Lord in our optimizer. Luzardo faces off against one of the worst teams in the league in the Nationals, and he struck out 11 batters in his only meeting against them this year. On the other side of this game, Lord is a GPP value option that posted 15 DK points against the Phillies earlier this year. Note that Kodai Senga and Edward Cabrera rank well in the metrics below. None of tonight's starters are expected to be on a limited pitch count.
Here's how each pitcher ranks in key categories (stats are from 2025 season only):
| Pitcher | Fantasy Points | FIP | K% | Opponent K% |
| Tarik Skubal | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Jesus Luzardo | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 |
| Kodai Senga | 3 | 5 | 4 |
Top DFS Pitching and Team Stacking Strategies for DraftKings
In this article, I'm going to take a deeper dive into pitching and team stacking options. Let's take a look at our optimizer's rankings of the pitchers for the DraftKings five-game main slate, sorted by projected fantasy points.
Visit RotoWire's MLB Daily Lineups to find out where the hitters slot in!
*No postponements expected.
It's a small slate tonight as is often the case on Thursdays, with Tarik Skubal being the standout starter. I like the idea of spending up on him, and we expect him to be rostered on over half of GPP teams against a revamped Twins offense that scored seven total runs in their recent three-game series against the Yankees.
We've also highlighted Jesus Luzardo and Brad Lord in our optimizer. Luzardo faces off against one of the worst teams in the league in the Nationals, and he struck out 11 batters in his only meeting against them this year. On the other side of this game, Lord is a GPP value option that posted 15 DK points against the Phillies earlier this year. Note that Kodai Senga and Edward Cabrera rank well in the metrics below. None of tonight's starters are expected to be on a limited pitch count.
Here's how each pitcher ranks in key categories (stats are from 2025 season only):
| Pitcher | Fantasy Points | FIP | K% | Opponent K% |
| Tarik Skubal | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Jesus Luzardo | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 |
| Kodai Senga | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3 |
| Tanner Bibee | 4 | 6 | 6 | 9 |
| Edward Cabrera | 5 | 3 | 3 | 5 |
| Bailey Ober | 6 | 9 | 8 | 2 |
| Eduardo Rodriguez | 7 | 7 | 5 | 1 |
| Brad Lord | 8 | 4 | 7 | 6 |
| Bryce Elder | 9 | 8 | 9 | 7 |
| Bradley Blalock | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
Analyzing Team Stack Rankings for Maximum DFS Impact
Here is how each team ranks in implied runs, BABIP (batting average on balls in play) and how popular we expect each team stack to be in GPPs:
| Team | Implied Runs | BABIP | Stack Popularity |
| Diamondbacks | 8.1 | 7 | High |
| Mets | 5.7 | 9 | High |
| Phillies | 5.6 | 4 | Medium |
| Tigers | 5.1 | 2 | Medium |
| Rockies | 5.0 | 3 | High |
| Guardians | 4.1 | 10 | Medium |
| Marlins | 3.7 | 1 | Low |
| Nationals | 3.3 | 6 | Low |
| Braves | 3.2 | 5 | Medium |
| Twins | 2.8 | 8 | Low |
My primary team stack targets
Diamondbacks vs. RHP Blalock (5.90 FIP, 1.9 HR/9). Key pieces: Adrian Del Castillo, Tyler Locklear, Alek Thomas, Corbin Carroll, Ketel Marte
Rockies vs. LHP Rodriguez (4.72 FIP, 1.7 HR/9). Key pieces: Kyle Farmer, Kyle Karros, Ezequiel Tovar, Brenton Doyle, Jordan Beck
Phillies vs. RHP Lord (3.63 FIP vs. 3.28 ERA). Key pieces: J.T. Realmuto, Bryce Harper, Otto Kemp, Harrison Bader, Brandon Marsh
Key Matchups and Batter vs. Pitcher Insights for DFS Success
Notable hitter matchups against the opposing starter today:
- Gleyber Torres: 2-for-6, 2 HR; .333 BA, 1.667 OPS
- Zach McKinstry: 7-for-16, HR; .438 BA, 1.250 OPS
- Riley Greene: 5-for-16, HR; .313 BA, .951 OPS
- Colt Keith: 4-for-13, HR; .308 BA, .824 OPS
- Kerry Carpenter: 3-for-13, HR; .231 BA, .795 OPS
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