MLB DFS Pitcher & Team Stacks Guide for Friday, May 9

Ryan Pohle dives into team stacks and pitchers for Friday's MLB slate, including Toronto's Kevin Gausman in a matchup against the Mariners.
MLB DFS Pitcher & Team Stacks Guide for Friday, May 9
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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 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 have a pair of starters priced in the $10k range today in Hunter Brown and Max Meyer, but my preference tonight is Kevin Gausman. He's $2,000 cheaper than Brown and has shown a high ceiling, most recently posting his second 30 DK point performance of the season. 

We've also starred Aaron Nola, Will Warren and Tomoyuki Sugano in our optimizer. Warren checks in as the top point-per-dollar value on the slate as he gets a $1,000 discount compared to his FanDuel salary. Following a slow start to the season, Nola has given up just one run with 14 strikeouts over his last two starts combined. Note that Eduardo Rodriguez ranks well in the metrics below as well. I wouldn't blame anyone for spending up on Brown or Meyer, either.

Here's how each pitcher ranks in key categories (stats are from 2025 season only):

PitcherFantasy PointsFIPK%Opponent K%
Hunter Brown1117
Kevin Gausman24812
Luis Castillo361320
Max Meyer49210
Aaron Nola57417
Clay Holmes62

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 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 have a pair of starters priced in the $10k range today in Hunter Brown and Max Meyer, but my preference tonight is Kevin Gausman. He's $2,000 cheaper than Brown and has shown a high ceiling, most recently posting his second 30 DK point performance of the season. 

We've also starred Aaron Nola, Will Warren and Tomoyuki Sugano in our optimizer. Warren checks in as the top point-per-dollar value on the slate as he gets a $1,000 discount compared to his FanDuel salary. Following a slow start to the season, Nola has given up just one run with 14 strikeouts over his last two starts combined. Note that Eduardo Rodriguez ranks well in the metrics below as well. I wouldn't blame anyone for spending up on Brown or Meyer, either.

Here's how each pitcher ranks in key categories (stats are from 2025 season only):

PitcherFantasy PointsFIPK%Opponent K%
Hunter Brown1117
Kevin Gausman24812
Luis Castillo361320
Max Meyer49210
Aaron Nola57417
Clay Holmes62713
Gavin Williams714616
Will Warren811521
Nick Martinez951018
Jose Quintana1013148
Jordan Hicks113914
Jameson Taillon12101222
Chris Paddack1319179
Eduardo Rodriguez148311
Hunter Dobbins15121624
Michael Lorenzen1617114
Zack Littell17211815
Tomoyuki Sugano1816202
Bryse Wilson1924193
Kyle Hendricks2020226
Randy Vasquez2115241
Roki Sasaki22181519
Osvaldo Bido2322215
Antonio Senzatela24232323

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:

TeamImplied RunsHR RateStack Popularity
Padres7.219High
Yankees6.61High
Orioles5.78High
Diamondbacks5.56Medium
Brewers5.220High
Marlins5.215Medium
Astros5.017Medium
Dodgers5.02High
Red Sox4.99Medium
Athletics4.97Medium
Mets4.811Low
Giants4.813Medium
Rockies4.821High
Rays4.718High
Twins4.716Medium
Royals4.523Medium
Phillies4.412Low
Angels4.24High
Mariners4.15Low
Guardians3.910Low
White Sox3.724Low
Cubs3.63Low
Blue Jays3.222Low
Reds2.814Low

My primary team stack targets

Dodgers vs. LHP Rodriguez (5.92 ERA, 1.7 HR/9). Key pieces: Will Smith, Miguel Rojas, Freddie Freeman, Enrique Hernandez, Shohei Ohtani

Padres vs. RHP Senzatela (5.84 FIP, 2.1 HR/9). Key pieces: Luis Arraez, Jake Cronenworth, Jackson Merrill, Fernando Tatis, Manny Machado

Athletics vs. RHP Warren (5.65 ERA, 1.54 WHIP). Key pieces: Shea Langeliers, JJ Bleday, Tyler Soderstrom, Brent Rooker, Jacob Wilson

Giants vs. RHP Paddack (5.52 FIP, 1.7 HR/9). Key pieces: LaMonte Wade, Matt Chapman, Willy Adames, Mike Yastrzemski, Wilmer Flores

Key Matchups and Batter vs. Pitcher Insights for DFS Success

Notable hitter matchups against the opposing starter today:

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.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ryan Pohle is a DFS Product Specialist at RotoWire and has written for the site since 2020.
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