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 eight-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
We don't have any starters in the $10k range but we do have a pair of team aces on the slate in Paul Skenes and Michael King. I have a slight preference towards King as he's posted two 35 DK point games to Skenes' zero, and faces an Angels team that is hitting a lowly .213 on the road on this year while also striking out at a high clip. We expect him to be the highest rostered pitcher on the slate.
We've also starred Tyler Mahle, Grant Holmes and Colin Rea in our optimizer. Rea checks in as the top point-per-dollar option as he's simply been really good with a 2.31 ERA and a .6 HR/9 ratio. Mahle also makes a lot of sense against the Rockies, who rank last in runs scored, xwOBA, and K rate. Note that David Peterson ranks in the top half of all the metrics below as well.
Here's how each pitcher ranks in key categories (stats are from 2025 season only):
| Pitcher | Fantasy Points | FIP | K% | Opponent K% |
| Paul Skenes | 1 | 2 | 3 | 14 |
| Michael King | 2 | 4 |
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 eight-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
We don't have any starters in the $10k range but we do have a pair of team aces on the slate in Paul Skenes and Michael King. I have a slight preference towards King as he's posted two 35 DK point games to Skenes' zero, and faces an Angels team that is hitting a lowly .213 on the road on this year while also striking out at a high clip. We expect him to be the highest rostered pitcher on the slate.
We've also starred Tyler Mahle, Grant Holmes and Colin Rea in our optimizer. Rea checks in as the top point-per-dollar option as he's simply been really good with a 2.31 ERA and a .6 HR/9 ratio. Mahle also makes a lot of sense against the Rockies, who rank last in runs scored, xwOBA, and K rate. Note that David Peterson ranks in the top half of all the metrics below as well.
Here's how each pitcher ranks in key categories (stats are from 2025 season only):
| Pitcher | Fantasy Points | FIP | K% | Opponent K% |
| Paul Skenes | 1 | 2 | 3 | 14 |
| Michael King | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2 |
| Tyler Mahle | 3 | 5 | 10 | 1 |
| Clarke Schmidt | 4 | 12 | 5 | 7 |
| Grant Holmes | 5 | 15 | 4 | 10 |
| Colin Rea | 6 | 1 | 8 | 4 |
| David Peterson | 7 | 7 | 6 | 5 |
| Merrill Kelly | 8 | 9 | 12 | 6 |
| Yusei Kikuchi | 9 | 11 | 7 | 16 |
| Michael Wacha | 10 | 3 | 13 | 11 |
| Justin Verlander | 11 | 10 | 9 | 13 |
| Ryan Gusto | 12 | 6 | 2 | 15 |
| Jake Irvin | 13 | 14 | 14 | 8 |
| Emerson Hancock | 14 | 8 | 15 | 3 |
| Chase Dollander | 15 | 16 | 11 | 12 |
| Cal Quantrill | 16 | 13 | 16 | 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 |
| Rangers | 6.5 | 9 | High |
| Cubs | 6.1 | 2 | High |
| Braves | 5.5 | 7 | High |
| Yankees | 4.8 | 1 | High |
| Padres | 4.7 | 11 | Low |
| Astros | 4.4 | 14 | Medium |
| Mets | 4.4 | 6 | Low |
| Diamondbacks | 4.3 | 5 | High |
| Giants | 4.0 | 8 | Medium |
| Royals | 4.0 | 16 | Medium |
| Mariners | 3.6 | 4 | Medium |
| Nationals | 3.4 | 10 | Medium |
| Pirates | 2.9 | 15 | Medium |
| Rockies | 2.9 | 13 | Low |
| Marlins | 2.7 | 12 | Low |
| Angels | 2.6 | 3 | Low |
My primary team stack targets
Rangers vs. RHP Dollander (7.71 ERA, 2.6 HR/9). Key pieces: Jonah Heim, Joc Pederson, Marcus Semien, Corey Seager, Evan Carter
Cubs vs. RHP Quantrill (7.11 ERA, 1.67 WHIP). Key pieces: Jon Berti, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Seiya Suzuki, Kyle Tucker, Michael Busch
Diamondbacks vs. RHP Verlander (4.45 FIP, 19.7 K%). Key pieces: Gabriel Moreno, Ketel Marte, Alek Thomas, Lourdes Gurriel, Corbin Carroll
Astros vs. RHP Wacha (18.4 K%, career 3.98 FIP). Key pieces: Christian Walker, Isaac Paredes, Jeremy Pena, Yainer Diaz, Victor Caratini
Key Matchups and Batter vs. Pitcher Insights for DFS Success
Notable hitter matchups against the opposing starter today:
- Kyle Tucker: 3-for-4, 1 HR; .750 BA, 2.250 OPS
- Ryan McMahon: 5-for-13, 2 HR; .385 BA, 1.462 OPS
- Willy Adames: 4-for-19, 2 HR; .368 BA, 1.084 OPS
- Isaac Paredes: 3-for-10, 1 HR; .300 BA, 1.117 OPS
- Martin Maldonado: 3-for-11, 1 HR; .273 BA, 1.012 OPS
- Mike Yastrzemski: 9-for-40, 3 HR; .225 BA, .886 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.
