DFS MLB Stacks: July 4

Published: Jul 04, 2017

For the Fourth of July version our DFS MLB Stacks article, we’ll focus on a favorite pastime on this great holiday - fireworks. So, we’ll put together a different kind of stack today. A power stack. We’ll see how many fireworks we can set off inside of one lineup. We know how important hitting long balls is to a tournament lineup. Why not load up on the most likely to do just that? Remember, this is a strategy that should only be used in tournaments/GPP’s. When you have a bunch of players who focus on hitting home runs, the whiffs are sure to surround them early and often as well.

So, to do this, we’ll take a look at a few important metrics to build out a lineup and then go position-by-position to identify players who fit the mold. From there, you can build your “fireworks stack” any way you wish.

Here are the metrics we’ll focus on:

ISO (Isolated Power) over the last two weeks.
FB% (fly ball rate) on the season.
Opposing starting pitcher FB% on the season (combined with No. 2)
Ballpark factors (read: Coors Field)

CATCHER

Martin Maldonado (.364 ISO over last two weeks; ranks 1st amongst catchers); Willson Contreras (.333 ISO over last two weeks; ranks 2nd amongst catchers); Tony Wolters (Coors Field vs. Homer Bailey)

FIRST BASE

Brandon Belt (.457 ISO over last two weeks; ranks 3rd); Joey Votto (.439 ISO over last two weeks; ranks 4th); Yonder Alonso (41.4 FB% + James Shields’ 46.3 FB%); Mike Napoli (66.7 FB% + David Price 39.8 FB%); Mark Reynolds (Coors Field vs. Homer Bailey)

SECOND BASE

Robinson Cano (.417 ISO over last two weeks; ranks 7th); Jed Lowrie (42.9 FB% + Shields’ 46.3 FB%)

THIRD BASE

Travis Shaw (.385 ISO over last two weeks; ranks 1st amongst third basemen); Nolan Arenado (Coors Field vs. Homer Bailey)

SHORTSTOP

Chris Owings (.419 ISO over last two weeks; ranks 6th); Trevor Story (Coors Field vs. Homey Bailey)

OUTFIELD

Curtis Granderson (.561 ISO over last two weeks; ranks 1st); Joc Pederson (.469 ISO over last two weeks; ranks 2nd); Josh Reddick (.424 ISO over last two weeks; ranks 5th); Michael Taylor (.400 ISO over last two weeks; ranks 8th); Adam Duvall (.396 ISO over last two weeks; ranks 9th + Coors Field); Khris Davis (.388 ISO over last two weeks; ranks 10th + 41.4 FB% with Shields’ 46.3 FB%); Carlos Gomez (50 FB% + Price 39.8 FB%); Carlos Gonzalez (Coors Field vs. Homer Bailey)

From this list, we can come up with any combination of hitters with better chances of finding the seats today. Here is an example lineup for both DraftKings and FanDuel:

DraftKings:

C - Martin Maldonado - $2,400

1B - Mike Napoli - $3,400

2B - Jed Lowrie - $4,400

3B - Nolan Arenado - $5,000

SS - Trevor Story - $4,300

OF - Josh Reddick - $4,300

OF - Khris Davis - $4,700

OF - Adam Duvall - $5,200

$8,150 left per pitcher for two of them.

FanDuel:

C - Martin Maldonado - $2,300