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 10-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.
There are five pitchers priced $9k or above tonight and they are all our top five projected scorers. While Brandon Woodruff has the highest salary, Hunter Greene is projected for the most points. A matchup against the strikeout heavy Angels is always appealing, and five of Greene's 12 starts have gone for at least 27 DK points.
We've also highlighted Joe Ryan, Emmet Sheehan and Bryce Elder in our optimizer. If you're looking for a value option, Sheehan is our top point-per-dollar starter, and Elder gets a $1,300 discount compared to his FanDuel salary. Ryan has appeal as well, having allowed two runs or less in eight of his last nine starts. Note that Nick Pivetta, Carlos Rodon, Shane Baz and Shane Smith all rank well in the metrics below. Kai-Wei Teng is the lone starter that may 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% |
| Hunter Greene | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Joe Ryan | 2 | 2 | 4 | 11 |
| Nick Pivetta | 3 | 4 | 6 | 6 |
| Carlos |
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 10-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.
There are five pitchers priced $9k or above tonight and they are all our top five projected scorers. While Brandon Woodruff has the highest salary, Hunter Greene is projected for the most points. A matchup against the strikeout heavy Angels is always appealing, and five of Greene's 12 starts have gone for at least 27 DK points.
We've also highlighted Joe Ryan, Emmet Sheehan and Bryce Elder in our optimizer. If you're looking for a value option, Sheehan is our top point-per-dollar starter, and Elder gets a $1,300 discount compared to his FanDuel salary. Ryan has appeal as well, having allowed two runs or less in eight of his last nine starts. Note that Nick Pivetta, Carlos Rodon, Shane Baz and Shane Smith all rank well in the metrics below. Kai-Wei Teng is the lone starter that may 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% |
| Hunter Greene | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Joe Ryan | 2 | 2 | 4 | 11 |
| Nick Pivetta | 3 | 4 | 6 | 6 |
| Carlos Rodon | 4 | 8 | 5 | 7 |
| Brandon Woodruff | 5 | 5 | 1 | 18 |
| Emmet Sheehan | 6 | 3 | 7 | 2 |
| Jacob Lopez | 7 | 6 | 3 | 12 |
| Merrill Kelly | 8 | 7 | 9 | 19 |
| Shane Baz | 9 | 10 | 8 | 10 |
| Tanner Bibee | 10 | 11 | 12 | 16 |
| Jameson Taillon | 11 | 17 | 14 | 17 |
| Seth Lugo | 12 | 14 | 13 | 14 |
| Shane Smith | 13 | 9 | 10 | 8 |
| Bryce Elder | 14 | 16 | 15 | 9 |
| Eduardo Rodriguez | 15 | 12 | 11 | 15 |
| Walker Buehler | 16 | 19 | 17 | 3 |
| Tomoyuki Sugano | 17 | 15 | 19 | 4 |
| Kyle Hendricks | 18 | 13 | 18 | 5 |
| Kai-Wei Teng | 19 | 18 | 16 | 20 |
| Austin Gomber | 20 | 20 | 20 | 13 |
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 |
| Dodgers | 8.9 | 8 | High |
| Red Sox | 5.6 | 1 | High |
| Padres | 5.5 | 9 | Medium |
| Braves | 5.3 | 7 | High |
| Twins | 5.0 | 17 | Medium |
| Reds | 4.9 | 3 | Medium |
| Diamondbacks | 4.7 | 12 | Low |
| Yankees | 4.5 | 10 | Medium |
| Rangers | 4.5 | 19 | High |
| Royals | 4.4 | 16 | Medium |
| Orioles | 4.4 | 11 | High |
| Guardians | 4.2 | 20 | Medium |
| Angels | 4.0 | 14 | Low |
| Athletics | 3.9 | 6 | Low |
| Rays | 3.9 | 4 | Medium |
| White Sox | 3.6 | 18 | Medium |
| Rockies | 3.6 | 5 | High |
| Brewers | 3.5 | 2 | Low |
| Cubs | 3.3 | 15 | Low |
| Giants | 2.9 | 13 | Low |
My primary team stack targets
Twins vs. LHP Lopez (3.72 FIP vs. 3.30 ERA). Key pieces: Royce Lewis, Austin Martin, Byron Buxton, Ryan Jeffers, Luke Keaschall
Dodgers vs. LHP Gomber (6.15 FIP, 2.3 HR/9). Key pieces: Shohei Ohtani, Miguel Rojas, Mookie Betts, Teoscar Hernandez, Freddie Freeman
Braves vs. RHP Smith (4.26 FIP). Key pieces: Drake Baldwin, Michael Harris, Ronald Acuna, Matt Olson, Marcell Ozuna
Rangers vs. RHP Lugo (4.88 FIP, 1.6 HR/9). Key pieces: Rowdy Tellez, Marcus Semien, Josh Smith, Corey Seager, Wyatt Langford
Key Matchups and Batter vs. Pitcher Insights for DFS Success
Notable hitter matchups against the opposing starter today:
- Lawrence Butler: 2-for-2, HR; 1.000 BA, 4.000 OPS
- Shohei Ohtani: 4-for-13, 2 HR; .308 BA, 1.280 OPS
- Freddie Freeman: 6-for-16, 2 HR; .375 BA, 1.224 OPS
- Ke'Bryan Hayes: 9-for-21, 2 HR; .429 BA, 1.238 OPS
- Willy Adames: 5-for-16, HR; .313 BA, 1.171 OPS
- Yandy Diaz: 4-for-13, HR; .308 BA, .896 OPS
- Jose Ramirez: 7-for-27, 3 HR; .259 BA, .878 OPS
- Carlos Santana: 5-for-13, 2 BB; .385 BA, .851 OPS
- Mike Yastrzemski: 10-for-46, 4 HR; .217 BA, .881 OPS
For up-to-the-minute updates on injuries, lineups, roster changes and more, head to RotoWire's Fantasy Baseball News & Latest MLB Updates or follow @RotoWireMLB on X.
