Welcome, RotoBallers, to a brand new MLB DFS article for the 2024 season! We will still be bringing you a full slate breakdown every day, but this companion piece is intended to help you determine which offenses you are going to stack in your tournament (GPP) lineups.
Since we get some of our biggest slates on Tuesdays and Fridays, that's when you can expect to see this additional DFS content. We will break down some of the more popular teams to stack and add some sneakier options, too!
This article will provide my favorite hitting stacks for daily fantasy baseball on DraftKings and FanDuel on 5/27/2024. Today's main slate kicks off at 7:20 PM EST on both sites. You can also read more DFS advice and lineup picks for MLB and other sports here. Don't forget to monitor injury news and today's MLB starting lineups!
MLB DFS: Chalky Stacks
New York Yankees vs. Griffin Canning (LAA)
Implied Team Total: 5.2 runs
The Yankees have been rolling lately, piling up wins behind some really strong pitching and an offense that has started to fire on all cylinders. New York owns the top wRC+ rating (143) against right-handed pitching over the last month and it's not even that close with Houston being a distant second at 128.
Aaron Judge has a very strong case for AL MVP right now pic.twitter.com/KAqsMwXtUv
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) May 27, 2024
Aaron Judge is red hot, but the other big righty bat in this lineup, Giancarlo Stanton, is now up to 13 home runs as well. Judge's main competition for MVP right now might be his own teammate, Juan Soto, who is hitting .310 with 14 homers of his own and a team-leading 44 RBI.
The top six of this lineup (including Volpe, Verdugo, and Rizzo) is a gauntlet for any pitcher to have to contend with, let alone a guy like Canning who has struggled to a 5.05 SIERA through the first two months.
Canning has been pounded by lefties, allowing seven home runs, a .307 average, and a .399 OBP. For that reason, I'd probably add Rizzo and Verdugo to the big three boppers and leave Volpe out tonight (since you can only use five hitters on DK and four on FanDuel). It's an expensive stack, so you will have to find some punt plays or roll with a value pitcher to squeeze them all into your builds.
Favorite Combo of Hitters:
Judge, Soto, Verdugo, Stanton, Rizzo
Cleveland Guardians vs. Ryan Feltner (COL)
Implied Team Total: 5.8 runs
The Guardians had a nine-game winning streak snapped by the Rockies yesterday when they fell 8-6 in Denver. They have been getting contributions from a number of different hitters, but Jose Ramirez - their best hitter - has been the hottest hitter (other than maybe Aaron Judge) in baseball over the last two weeks.
Ryan Feltner isn't a bad pitcher by any means, but his 4.05 SIERA still ranks in the bottom half of the starters on this slate. With just a 20% K% this season, he's going to give up plenty of contact to Cleveland today - a team that doesn't strike out often vs. RHP.
The bigger issue for Colorado is their bullpen, which ranks 29th in ERA (5.05) and 30th in WHIP (1.62). Feltner might slow down Cleveland for 4-5 innings, but they are still very likely to get to 6+ runs against this bad bullpen.
Like the Yankees, the Guardians are priced up and will be somewhat difficult to stack without punting elsewhere. On bigger slates, I often like to fade Coors Field because of the rostership it carries, but I do think Cleveland ends up one of the top-scoring offenses tonight.
Favorite Combo of Hitters:
Ramirez, Giminez, Freeman, Josh Naylor, Manzardo
Philadelphia Phillies vs. Spencer Howard (SFG)
Implied Team Total: 4.5 runs
The prodigal son returns! Howard, a former Philadelphia pitching prospect is making his 2024 debut tonight against his former team in San Francisco. I'm just not so sure it's going to end well for him. The Phillies have been mashing the baseball during their run to the top of the NL standings and have the 6th-best wRC+ against RHP over the last month (118).
Howard has been pitching at Triple-A Sacramento this season, making ten starts for the River Cats and sporting a 5.90 ERA and 1.54 WHIP. I know that the PCL is a tough league to pitch in with hitters' parks everywhere, but 44 hits (5 home runs) in 39 innings is a lot, even if Howard has struck out 57 hitters, too.
We don't have a lot of data on Howard as a major league pitcher as he made only a handful of starts for Philly and Texas between 2020 and 2023, however, he does seem to have traditional splits with lefties faring better against him. That means I'm starting with Schwarber, Harper, and Stott with Marsh being a potential fourth or fifth piece, too. Edmundo Sosa is still relatively cheap and red hot right now, so he would get my vote as a piece of this stack, too.
Edmundo Sosa is playing like a dude who needs to be in the lineup everyday and it’s an absolutely ridiculous revelation
Likes he’s been ELITE man
Unreal pic.twitter.com/nTt5uG38Z6
— Philly Sports Sufferer (@mccrystal_alex) May 25, 2024
The Giants bullpen ranks 24th in ERA, so it's a positive matchup for Philly hitters after Howard exits the game, too. I almost forgot to mention that the wind is blowing out tonight, which isn't good for a pitcher with a home run problem!
Favorite Combo of Hitters:
Harper, Schwarber, Stott, Sosa, Marsh
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MLB DFS: Contrarian Stacks
Milwaukee Brewers vs. Ben Brown (CHC)
Implied Team Total: 4.5 runs
Ben Brown has pitched well for the Cubs, but I still think we may see some regression from him sooner or later. He's allowing a 12% barrel rate and a 56% hard-hit rate, so his xERA is a full run and a half higher (4.76 vs. 3.20) than his ERA.
He has some pretty sharp splits as he's walking lefties 13% of the time, allowing a .250 AVG, 1.62 WHIP, and 4.71 xFIP. Milwaukee isn't loaded with lefties, but they have just enough of them to cause him some trouble.
Brown is also on a two-pitch pitcher, throwing his fastball 61% of the time and a hard curveball 37% of the time. It's not easy to dominate MLB hitters with just two pitches, though Brown's fastball and curveball are both above average pitches.
Milwaukee is just one of those teams that figures out a way to beat you. They find a way to get on base, steal bases, and manufacture runs. Or they can clobber you to death with some long balls, too. I am rolling with the lefties, but I can't leave out the best-hitting catcher in baseball - Contreras.
Favorite Combo of Hitters:
Yelich, Turang, Contreras, Bauers, Frelick
Toronto Blue Jays vs. Mike Clevinger (CHW)
Implied Team Total: 5.3 runs
Stacking the Jays is a scary proposition this season as they have been a relatively disappointing offense. But I think it's a shrewd move today as they face Mike Clevinger and a pretty bad Chicago bullpen.
Clevinger's 4.92 SIERA trails only Griffin Canning and Triston McKenzie on this slate as the third-worst mark. He's got serious walk issues, allowing nine free passes in just 16 innings pitched. He's been getting squared up quite often, allowing four home runs already and a massive 14% barrel rate.
He's been worse against RHH so far this season, although the sample size is small. So let's throw the platoon splits out and just focus on the best Jays hitters for our build. Davis Schneider has been solid since sliding into the leadoff role and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has been heating up of late. Daulton Varsho is a must for me with his power from the left side of the plate, while Bo Bichette in the clean-up spot has been productive, too.
If we need a fifth, then Danny Jansen or George Springer both make some sense depending on what positions you have available.
Favorite Combo of Hitters:
Varsho, Schneider, Guerrero Jr., Bichette, Springer
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