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 14-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 about as big of a slate as you're going to find with all but two teams (Mets and Pirates) a part of it. It's not very top heavy with only five starters priced $9k or higher, and my preference if you don't want to spend up on Logan Gilbert is to go towards the middle-tier with Will Warren. His 2.87 FIP compared to his 4.66 ERA means he's due for some positive regression, and he's posted at least seven strikeouts in six of his last 10 games.
We've also starred Ryan Pepiot, Jose Soriano and Eury Perez in our optimizer. Perez is the top point-per-dollar option as he gets a $1,200 discount compared to his FanDuel salary. Meanwhile, Pepiot has a 2.83 road ERA this season and a 2.29 ERA across his last 11 starts in addition to a good matchup against the Orioles. Nathan Eovaldi makes his return from a triceps injury that sidelined him for a month, but there's some risk that he won't go deep into the game. Note that Dylan Cease, Sonny Gray and Landen Roupp rank well in
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 14-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 about as big of a slate as you're going to find with all but two teams (Mets and Pirates) a part of it. It's not very top heavy with only five starters priced $9k or higher, and my preference if you don't want to spend up on Logan Gilbert is to go towards the middle-tier with Will Warren. His 2.87 FIP compared to his 4.66 ERA means he's due for some positive regression, and he's posted at least seven strikeouts in six of his last 10 games.
We've also starred Ryan Pepiot, Jose Soriano and Eury Perez in our optimizer. Perez is the top point-per-dollar option as he gets a $1,200 discount compared to his FanDuel salary. Meanwhile, Pepiot has a 2.83 road ERA this season and a 2.29 ERA across his last 11 starts in addition to a good matchup against the Orioles. Nathan Eovaldi makes his return from a triceps injury that sidelined him for a month, but there's some risk that he won't go deep into the game. Note that Dylan Cease, Sonny Gray and Landen Roupp rank well in 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% |
| Logan Gilbert | 1 | 3 | 1 | 14 |
| Will Warren | 2 | 2 | 2 | 16 |
| Dylan Cease | 3 | 5 | 3 | 6 |
| Merrill Kelly | 4 | 8 | 8 | 18 |
| Sonny Gray | 5 | 6 | 5 | 10 |
| Ryan Pepiot | 6 | 16 | 9 | 4 |
| Nathan Eovaldi | 7 | 1 | 4 | 8 |
| Landen Roupp | 8 | 12 | 12 | 5 |
| Jose Soriano | 9 | 7 | 15 | 22 |
| Jose Quintana | 10 | 22 | 26 | 2 |
| David Festa | 11 | 26 | 10 | 9 |
| Jose Berrios | 12 | 17 | 13 | 3 |
| Eury Perez | 13 | 4 | 14 | 25 |
| Sawyer Gipson-Long | 14 | 18 | 20 | 15 |
| Brandon Walter | 15 | 10 | 7 | 24 |
| Luis L. Ortiz | 16 | 15 | 6 | 23 |
| Cade Horton | 17 | 14 | 23 | 19 |
| Bryce Elder | 18 | 23 | 17 | 21 |
| Dustin May | 19 | 21 | 11 | 27 |
| Aaron Civale | 20 | 27 | 28 | 12 |
| Jake Irvin | 21 | 24 | 25 | 1 |
| Mitch Spence | 22 | 13 | 16 | 7 |
| Brayan Bello | 23 | 20 | 21 | 28 |
| Mick Abel | 24 | 28 | 18 | 13 |
| Nick Martinez | 25 | 19 | 22 | 26 |
| Noah Cameron | 26 | 11 | 19 | 20 |
| Tomoyuki Sugano | 27 | 25 | 27 | 11 |
| Kyle Freeland | 28 | 9 | 24 | 17 |
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 |
| Braves | 6.1 | 13 | High |
| Brewers | 5.9 | 11 | High |
| Yankees | 5.8 | 8 | Medium |
| Dodgers | 5.8 | 7 | High |
| Diamondbacks | 5.5 | 19 | Medium |
| Giants | 5.5 | 24 | High |
| Angels | 5.3 | 26 | High |
| Padres | 5.1 | 17 | High |
| Tigers | 5.0 | 3 | Medium |
| Rays | 4.9 | 1 | High |
| Cardinals | 4.8 | 10 | Medium |
| Red Sox | 4.7 | 4 | Medium |
| Twins | 4.4 | 20 | High |
| Reds | 4.3 | 9 | Medium |
| Astros | 4.3 | 5 | Medium |
| Blue Jays | 4.3 | 16 | Medium |
| Royals | 4.2 | 22 | High |
| Cubs | 4.1 | 18 | Low |
| Guardians | 4.1 | 27 | Low |
| Orioles | 4.0 | 21 | Low |
| White Sox | 4.0 | 25 | Medium |
| Phillies | 3.8 | 6 | Medium |
| Mariners | 3.8 | 14 | Low |
| Nationals | 3.6 | 23 | Low |
| Rangers | 3.5 | 28 | Low |
| Marlins | 3.4 | 2 | Low |
| Rockies | 3.0 | 15 | Low |
| Athletics | 2.6 | 12 | Low |
My primary team stack targets
Royals vs. RHP May (4.55 FIP). Key pieces: Salvador Perez, Vinnie Pasquantino, Jonathan India, Bobby Witt, Drew Waters
Giants vs. RHP Civale (5.52 FIP, 1.9 HR/9). Key pieces: Rafael Devers, Mike Yastrzemski, Heliot Ramos, Jung Hoo Lee, Willy Adames
White Sox vs. RHP Roupp (3.73 FIP, 1.42 WHIP). Key pieces: Kyle Teel, Chase Meidroth, Mike Tauchman, Andrew Benintendi, Luis Robert
Padres vs. RHP Martinez (4.38 FIP, 17.8 K%). Key pieces: Luis Arraez, Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts, Jackson Merrill, Fernando Tatis
Key Matchups and Batter vs. Pitcher Insights for DFS Success
Notable hitter matchups against the opposing starter today:
- Michael Toglia: 2-for-3, 2 HR; .667 BA, 3.333 OPS
- Jarren Duran: 10-for-21, 3 HR; .476 BA, 1.619 OPS
- Jorge Polanco: 5-for-11, 3 RBI; .455 BA, 1.091 OPS
- Vladimir Guerrero: 10-for-24, 2 HR; .417 BA, 1.273 OPS
- Xander Bogaerts: 5-for-13, HR; .385 BA, 1.082 OPS
- Rhys Hoskins: 5-for-14, 3B; .357 BA, .857 OPS
- Steven Kwan: 7-for-23, 3 XBH; .304 BA, .855 OPS
- Bo Bichette: 5-for-13, 2B; .385 BA, .962 OPS
- Cal Raleigh: 4-for-14, HR; .286 BA, .946 OPS
- Julio Rodriguez: 5-for-16, HR; .313 BA, .813 OPS
- Corey Seager: 7-for-23, 3 XBH; .304 BA, .838 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.
