This article is part of our DFS MLB series.
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 main slate, sorted by projected fantasy points.
We have a pair of starters priced over $10k today in Tarik Skubal and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, but the pitcher that jumps out on the slate is Robbie Ray due to his $8,600 salary and matchup against the Rockies. Colorado ranks last in the MLB in team OPS at .632, which drops down to .546 away from Coors Field.
We've also starred Framber Valdez, Ben Brown and Gunnar Hoglund in our optimizer. Hoglund ranks as the best point-per-dollar option as he gets the minimum pitcher salary of $4k in his MLB debut. The 25-year-old has a 2.43 ERA and 1.06 WHIP in six starts at Triple-A this year. Valdez also stands out in matchup against the White Sox, who have the second lowest implied run total. I wouldn't blame anyone spending up for Skubal or Yamamoto, and it should also be noted that Joe Ryan and Jack Leiter rank well in all the metrics below.
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 | 5 | 3 | 3 |
| Robbie Ray | 2 | 17 | 7 | 1 |
| Yoshinobu Yamamoto | 3 | 3 | 1 | 10 |
| Framber Valdez | 4 | 11 | 14 | 11 |
| Joe Ryan | 5 |
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 main slate, sorted by projected fantasy points.
We have a pair of starters priced over $10k today in Tarik Skubal and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, but the pitcher that jumps out on the slate is Robbie Ray due to his $8,600 salary and matchup against the Rockies. Colorado ranks last in the MLB in team OPS at .632, which drops down to .546 away from Coors Field.
We've also starred Framber Valdez, Ben Brown and Gunnar Hoglund in our optimizer. Hoglund ranks as the best point-per-dollar option as he gets the minimum pitcher salary of $4k in his MLB debut. The 25-year-old has a 2.43 ERA and 1.06 WHIP in six starts at Triple-A this year. Valdez also stands out in matchup against the White Sox, who have the second lowest implied run total. I wouldn't blame anyone spending up for Skubal or Yamamoto, and it should also be noted that Joe Ryan and Jack Leiter rank well in all the metrics below.
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 | 5 | 3 | 3 |
| Robbie Ray | 2 | 17 | 7 | 1 |
| Yoshinobu Yamamoto | 3 | 3 | 1 | 10 |
| Framber Valdez | 4 | 11 | 14 | 11 |
| Joe Ryan | 5 | 10 | 2 | 4 |
| Max Fried | 6 | 6 | 13 | 12 |
| Sonny Gray | 7 | 12 | 9 | 22 |
| Bryan Woo | 8 | 9 | 10 | 18 |
| Ben Brown | 9 | 14 | 8 | 16 |
| Jose Soriano | 10 | 13 | 17 | 5 |
| Clay Holmes | 11 | 1 | 4 | 20 |
| Ryan Pepiot | 12 | 19 | 11 | 2 |
| Chris Bassitt | 13 | 4 | 5 | 17 |
| Michael Wacha | 14 | 7 | 15 | 8 |
| Jack Leiter | 15 | 2 | 6 | 6 |
| Gunnar Hoglund | 16 | N/A | N/A | 7 |
| Brayan Bello | 17 | 23 | 21 | 15 |
| Dean Kremer | 18 | 21 | 22 | 23 |
| Grant Holmes | 19 | 20 | 12 | 14 |
| Valente Bellozo | 20 | 8 | 18 | 21 |
| Quinn Priester | 21 | 16 | 20 | 19 |
| Jonathan Cannon | 22 | 18 | 16 | 13 |
| Logan Allen | 23 | 15 | 19 | 24 |
| Antonio Senzatela | 24 | 22 | 23 | 9 |
Analyzing Team Stack Rankings for Maximum DFS Impact
Here is how each team ranks in implied runs, home run rate and how popular we expect each team stack to be in GPPs:
| Team | Implied Runs | HR Rate | Stack Popularity |
| Yankees | 6.1 | 1 | High |
| Giants | 6.0 | 13 | High |
| Dodgers | 5.8 | 2 | High |
| Astros | 5.7 | 20 | High |
| Athletics | 5.6 | 6 | High |
| Orioles | 5.4 | 7 | Medium |
| Blue Jays | 5.3 | 23 | High |
| Tigers | 5.0 | 9 | Medium |
| Cubs | 4.9 | 4 | Medium |
| Red Sox | 4.7 | 8 | Medium |
| Twins | 4.7 | 22 | High |
| Mariners | 4.5 | 3 | Medium |
| Brewers | 4.5 | 19 | Medium |
| Rangers | 4.3 | 14 | Low |
| Marlins | 4.3 | 16 | Medium |
| Mets | 4.1 | 11 | Low |
| Royals | 4.0 | 24 | High |
| Cardinals | 3.8 | 15 | Low |
| Guardians | 3.6 | 12 | Medium |
| Braves | 3.5 | 10 | Low |
| Rays | 2.8 | 17 | Low |
| Angels | 2.8 | 5 | Low |
| White Sox | 2.6 | 21 | Low |
| Rockies | 2.4 | 18 | Low |
My primary team stack targets
Dodgers vs. RHP Grant Holmes (5.45 FIP, 1.6 HR/9) Key pieces: Will Smith, Max Muncy, Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman
Royals vs. RHP Dean Kremer (7.04 ERA, 2.1 HR/9) Key pieces: Vinnie Pasquantino, Michael Massey, Bobby Witt, Drew Waters, Jonathan India
Athletics vs. RHP Valente Bellozo (career 5.45 FIP, 1.8 HR/9) Key pieces: Shea Langeliers, Luis Urias, Jacob Wilson, JJ Bleday, Brent Rooker
Blue Jays vs. LHP Logan Allen (career 4.85 FIP, 1.49 WHIP) Key pieces: Vladimir Guerrero, Addison Barger, Anthony Santander, Bo Bichette, George Springer
Key Matchups and Batter vs. Pitcher Insights for DFS Success
Notable hitter matchups against the opposing starter today:
- Jorge Soler: 2-for-4, 2 HR; .500 BA, 2.714 OPS
- Ryan Mountcastle: 10-for-22, 3 HR; .455 BA, 1.433 OPS
- Juan Soto: 5-for-10, 1 HR; .500 BA, 1.400 OPS
- Alex Bregman: 6-for-12, 1 HR: .500 BA, 1.571 OPS
- Carlos Santana: 3-for-11, 2 HR; .273 BA, 1.338 OPS
- Marcus Semien: 5-for-11, 1 HR; .455 BA, 1.318 OPS
- Cedric Mullins: 9-for-23, 2 HR; .391 BA, 1.243 OPS
- Bobby Witt: 4-for-11, 1 HR; .364 BA, 1.053 OPS
- Adolis Garcia: 3-for-10, 1 HR; .300 BA, 1.017 OPS
- Ramon Urias: 5-for-16, 1 HR; .313 BA, 1.000 OPS
- Francisco Lindor: 7-for-26, 3 HR; .269 BA, .949 OPS
- Andrew Vaughn: 6-for-18, 1 HR; .333 BA, .929 OPS
- Adley Rutschman: 3-for-12, 1 HR; .250 BA, .891 OPS
