How to stack a lineup in MLB DFS

If you are new to MLB DFS, or just need a reminder, you almost always “stack” two teams. A “stack” refers to using multiple players from the same team in an attempt to correlate and maximize your fantasy production. This means you want four hitters from two different teams to fill out your lineup. The only time I might stray away from stacking only two teams is on a two-game slate where I am predicting two low-scoring games.

An example of a two-team stack would be four Yankees bats and four Mets bats. The pitcher you choose is unrelated to your hitters, but obviously you do not want any bats going against your pitcher. 

Why do you stack in MLB DFS? 

The answer is because MLB DFS scoring correlates for hitters and baserunners in baseball. If a batter gets an RBI, you also want the runner(s) on the bases, as they are the ones that are likely going to cross home plate. 

For example, if the bases are loaded and your batter hits a grand slam, you get a ton of points (four RBIs and the homer), which is great. However, if you don’t have the three players on the bases, you are missing out on three hits/walks (depending on how the bases got loaded) and the three runs. Not only are you missing out on these points, but it’s more likely than not that your competition stacked and got the points. Therefore, while you are moving up the rankings, you are still getting passed by the people who stacked, making it nearly impossible to get first place. 

MLB DFS is very dependent on momentum. If a pitcher is getting lit up, momentum builds as players round the bases and the offense smells blood. Every batter wants a piece of the pitching, and running up the score is on the table. Also, once a team is winning by a lot, the bullpen (BP) is no longer putting in their best arms in an attempt to get a win. In fact, the manager could even let a developing, unproven arm come in the game to take his lumps while working through a high-pressure situation. If you stacked against that situation, it is an absolute dream scenario.

How do I know who to stack in MLB DFS? 

I try to pick my pitcher first. If your pitcher fails, you will most likely not be cashing, so that should be your main focus. Once you have your pitcher, write down your top 6 teams. I personally write down the starting lineup for each of the six teams I prefer and go through the entire lineup in order of where each player is hitting. I cross out any batter that has poor splits against the pitcher, depending on if he is a righty or a lefty. I mainly look at ISO, WOBA, weather and home runs. I will glance at BvP (batter versus pitcher), but it is not something I focus too heavily on.

Once you have the hitters you are considering from your top 2 teams, see if you can fit them in a lineup with the pitcher you have selected. If one of your hitting combos in your second-favorite team is not fitting, then it does not work and you are going to need to move on to your third. Continue going through your preferred teams until you find a clean fit of the hitters you like. If you can’t fit your favorite team, that also means your competition won’t be able to either. 

Baseball is a high-variance sport. Chalk tends to fail more in baseball than any other sport, in my opinion. I hardly ever play high-priced chalk in baseball because of this. A home run for a player that costs $5,000 gets you the same amount of fantasy points as a home run from someone who cost $3,000. 

Why batting order matters

Try and lump your batters together as best as you can. If you can take the 1-4 hitters, that’s ideal. But it’s not 100 percent necessary. Everyone tries to get the top 4 hitterd, so they will usually be featured in more lineups than the 5-9 hitters. There is no issue moving on to the 2-5 hitters. Going with 3-6 works, and so on. You can also skip a player you don’t like, but you still want them to be somewhat close together.

Do not stack a team by skipping too many batters, as going with 1, 3, 5 and 7 would not correlate well. You can even go the route of stacking 8, 9, 1 and 2. This will be owned by fewer players because you are taking two guys from the back of the lineup. However, you are still getting batters that are hitting one after the other. 

There will be times where you try and stray from stacking in GPP contests. This is a mistake. Your main focus should be picking your pitcher and stacking two teams. Cherry-picking from different lineups is not the answer.