MLB DFS Season Preview: National League

National League

NL East

Atlanta Braves

New Faces: Cole Hamels, Marcell Ozuna, Travis d’Arnaud, Will Smith

Significant Departures: Josh Donaldson

Projected Win Total: 97

Fantasy Spin: Losing Josh Donaldson was a significant blow for the offense but Marcell Ozuna is an ample replacement who owns a career .356 wOBA versus left-handed pitchers (LHP) in his own right. The offense is headlined by the duo of Ronald Acuna Jr. and Freddie Freeman who should both be off the board by pick 20 in yearly fantasy baseball drafts regardless of format. Ozzie Albies is not far behind the team’s elite duo in terms of fantasy value as he upped his hard hit percentage by exactly eight percentage points last year and improved his wOBA by 30 percentage points over his 2018 total. The rotation is headlined by Mike Soroka who posted a career-best GB/FB rate at any professional level last year. He is not a pitcher with dominant, overpowering type stuff and he posted an identical SIERA last year to Jose Berrios, which seems like a good comparison for his potential upside. Max Fried and Mike Foltynewicz are the other fantasy-relevant pitchers in the rotation with Fried possessing fantasy SP2 upside. Foltynewicz took a step back last year but managed a career-best 10.5-percent swinging strike rate. His velocity was down, and if that continues, he will be difficult too trust. However, if the velocity returns, Foltynewicz should have the opportunity to post a SIERA in the low-4.00s, and he has already posted a 200-plus strikeout season in his young career.

Miami Marlins

New Faces: Corey Dickerson, Francisco Cervelli, Jesus Aguilar, Jonathan Villar, Yimi Garcia

Significant Departures: Bryan Holaday, Starlin Castro, Wei-Yin Chen

Projected Win Total: 57

Fantasy Spin: Undoubtedly, the Marlins improved an offense that averaged just 3.8 runs per game last year (second to last in the MLB behind only the Tigers). Jonathan Villar brings a combination of speed and power that the top of the lineup had been missing (the team stole the sixth fewest bases last season) and Dickerson/Aguilar bring some additional pop to a lineup that hit the fewest homers. Not much has changed with the rotation but at least the debut of star pitching prospect Sixto Sanchez (ranked 22nd on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 Prospects) is on the horizon. When he joins the squad, his presence will be a significant upgrade over the likes of Jose Urena, and Caleb Smith is a solid back-end fantasy starter with strikeout upside. Despite the improvements, there is still not much to get excited about with the Marlins, but at least there are bits and pieces worth targeting.

New York Mets

New Faces: Dellin Betances, Jake Marisnick, Michael Wacha, Rick Porcello

Significant Departures: Juan Lagares, Joe Panik

Projected Win Total: 86

Fantasy Spin: Not much changed for the Mets comparatively to last year except the team added depth to the starting rotation in response to injuries seemingly year after year. Neither Michael Wacha nor Rick Porcello is going to set the world on fire so the fantasy allure here is the 1-2-3 starters remaining healthy: Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard and Marcus Stroman. While deGrom is clearly a fantasy monster, Syndergaard has struggled with BABIP throughout the course of his career and Stroman is drastically underappreciated in fantasy circles. Moving from the American League to the National League led to an uptick in K rate for Stroman as he improved from a 7.01 K/9 rate with the Blue Jays to a 9.01 K/9 rate with the Mets. Currently being drafted as P81 in NFC leagues, there is clear profit potential above the draft spot. Michael Conforto is dealing with an oblique strain but moving back the start of the MLB season is only going to help his cause. Jeff McNeil broke out in a big way last year and Yoenis Cespedes is now expected to be ready for the opener as well. Over the course of the last three years, Cespedes has not played more than 132 games in any season, and he has missed a combined 205 games over the course of the past two seasons. Until last year, there did not seem to be a dip in production when healthy, but his K rate spriked to over 30-percent last year and his wOBA dropped to well below his career average. He is one of the most puzzling players in drafts this year but remains a legitimate upside play later in drafts when the risk is low. If he can return to anywhere near 2017/2018 form, he would prove to be a steal. The Mets are not the most talented team in the league and their 86.5 win Vegas over/under seems about right (assuming a full MLB season).

Philadelphia Phillies

New Faces: Didi Gregorius, Zack Wheeler

Significant Departures: Cesar Herrnandez, Jason Vargas, Maikel Franco, Pat Neshek

Projected Win Total: 81

Fantasy Spin: The big offseason acquisition for the Phillies was Zack Wheeler who will replace the likes of Jason Vargas and/or Nick Pivetta in the rotation. In other words, Wheeler’s presence is welcomed in a rotation that posted the seventh worst FIP and 15th worst xFIP a season ago. After striking out a career-high 195 batters last year, projection systems expect slight regression in both the inning and HR/9 departments (switching to a more hitter-friendly park), but around a 24-percent K rate and 1.25 WHIP still seems to be the consensus. Last year, the Phillies’ bullpen ranked eighth worst in FIP and team beat writer Todd Zolecki speculates injuries leave the team with just two locks to make the Opening Day bullpen: Hector Neris and Jose Alvarez. Presumably, the season being pushed back helps this cause, and will create a healthier bullpen situation than originally expected. Sans Cesar Hernandez, Jean Segura should slide into the leadoff spot (although Andrew McCutchen has been discussed as an option) and Didi Gregorius gives the team another power left-handed bat to hit towards the top of the lineup. Bryce Harper is coming off a season in which he struck out at a career-worst 26.1-percent. 2019 marked the third straight year in which Harper’s K rate has risen but he also has improved his HR production each year during that span. Projection systems are bullish on a massive system from Harper, projecting him for between 36-41 HRs and 99-102 RBI with double-digit steals. He should be the first Phillies player off draft boards in seasonal drafts. J.T. Realmuto and Rhys Hoskins are amongst the top power options at their respective positions but Scott Kingery is an interesting somewhat under-the-radar player on the Phillies. He slowed down following a first half in which he posted a .369 wOBA but still hit 19 homers and stole 15 bases. Regardless of site, he should feature multi-positional eligibility and is a 20/15 candidate available after pick 150 in most drafts. 

Washington Nationals

New Faces: Eric Thames, Starlin Castro, Will Harris

Significant Departures: Anthony Rendon 

Projected Win Total: 93

Fantasy Spin: No team suffered a more significant single-player loss than the Nationals this offseason who saw superstar Anthony Rendon sign with the Angels. Filling his void in the lineup is a virtually impossible task but the team brought in two respectable bats in Eric Thames and Starlin Castro. The combination of Thames, Ryan Zimmerman and Howie Kendrick will combine for some sort of platoon at first base with Kendrick able to play other infield positions if called upon. The presence of all three limits all their fantasy values despite their inherent talent if they were to awarded everyday roles. The Nationals are not lacking in fantasy talent, however, with Trae Turned and Juan Soto both being taken in the top 11 according to ADP. The team reportedly is going to experiment with hitting Trea Turner third which could limit his steal potential. Projection systems range anywhere from 38-44 projected steals for Turner over a full season (which for him is around 149 games) which would equate to nearly the same per-game steals pace as last year (about 0.29 steals per game). If he falls short of that projection due to the switch in lineup spot, he would prove to be a shaky first round option. On the other hand, Juan Soto is amongst the best young hitters in the history of the game, posting a 34-110-12 season at just Age 20 last year. Only 11 players posted a superior wRC+ last year than Soto and he remained consistently excellent throughout the year (posting exactly a .394 wOBA, 142 wRC+ in both the first and second halves). Stephen Strasburg’s contract was extended for seven-years in the offseason which means he, Max Scherzer and Patrick Corbin will remain together for a long time at the top of the rotation. Scherzer should be one of the top few pitchers off the boards in drafts with Strasburg (ADP of 26) and Patrick Corbin (ADP of 46) not far behind. 

NL Central

Chicago Cubs

New Faces: Jeremy Jeffress, Jharel Cotton, Ryan Tepera, Steven Souza Jr.

Significant Departures: Addison Russell, Ben Zobrist, Brandon Kintzler, Brandon Morrow, Cole Hamels, Nick Castellanos, Pedro Strop, Steve Cishek

Projected Win Total: 84

Fantasy Spin: The Cubs’ offseason resulted in the team losing more significant players than they added and there are plenty of questions surrounding this ball club:

• Who will start at second base?
• Who will start in center field?
• Is Craig Kimbrel done?
• Can Tyler Chatwood solidify the fifth starter spot in the rotation?
• Is Yu Darvish an ace once again?

All of these questions will need to be answered this year all while the Cubs head into the year with one of the most uncertain bullpens in all of baseball. Other than Craig Kimbrel, the Cubs lost most of their crunchtime relievers from a year ago, leaving them with the likes of Rowan Wick, Kyle Ryan and Jeremy Jeffress in setup roles. FanGraphs projects both Wick and Ryan for over a 4.00 ERA in the 2020 season and these are pitchers with ugly career numbers (Wick owns a career 4.97 ERA while Ryan has posted a career 1.35 WHIP). Other than struggling to finish games, there is uncertainty elsewhere on the Cubs roster, including the starting rotation. Yu Darvish is the one pitcher to be excited about on this entire roster as he drastically cutdowns the walks in the second half last year and morphed back into a top tier starter. After producing a 26.5-percent K rate, 5.31 FIP and 4.25 xFIP in the first half, Darvish improved to a ridiculous 37.8-percent K rate, 2.83 FIP and 2.37 xFIP after the All-Star Break. In both 2013 and 2016, Darvish had posted K rates over 31-percent, so last night was not exactly an anomaly in his career. Since the beginning of the year, the fantasy baseball market has begun to get bullish on Yu Darvish, as he is now being selected as P20 in drafts (and SP19). To us, he is clearly a top 20 pitcher, and we would consider taking him even earlier. Although Spring Training has been halted, Chatwood was looking like an improved pitcher. In 2019, he posted a career-best K rate and quietly finished with the second lowest xFIP of his career. Consistency from the five spot in the rotation would go a long way for a team with aging veterans. The Cubs lineup remains solid but will almost assuredly rely on youngster Nico Hoerner at second base and some sort of committee in center field (between Albert Almora Jr., Ian Happ and Jason Heyward). Manager Joe Maddon’s departure does not clear up the logjam in the outfield and all involved will have days off due to the Cubs extensive depth at all the outfield positions (especially if Kris Bryant continues to sporadically play left field). This team is a bit of a fantasy mess but Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant and Javier Baez should all be drafted in the top 70.

Cincinnati Reds

New Faces: Mike Moustakas, Nate Jones, Nick Castellanos, Shogo Akiyama, Travis Jankowski, Wade Miley

Significant Departures: Jose Iglesias

Projected Win Total: 75

Fantasy Spin: Well, the Reds outfield is loaded, both in terms of quantity of players and talent. The team took it upon themselves to sign Nick Castellanos, Shogo Akiyama and Travis Jankowski this offseason, muddying the potential playing time for guys like Jesse Winker and Artisides Aquino (who was sent down to Triple-A). The power-friendly nature of the park will always bring allure to the hitters but the congestion of the Reds outfield is similar to that of the Cubs where players will be given days off due to the sheer amount of players who deserve to play. In the Japanese League, Akiyama posted a career .301/.376/.454 slash line to go along with 116 homers in 1,207 games. Essentially, he averaged about 15.5 HRs per 162 games, and projection systems only expect him to play anywhere from 104-139 games (with 139 being the extremely aggressive model on him). Despite the strong numbers overseas, he is nothing more than a late-round investment in NL Only leagues, as Great American Park is unlikely to turn him into a 20-plus homer guy perennially. Mike Moustakas should be a nice fit for this park and he goes from a subpar power park for lefties to one of the best. Over the course of the past three seasons, Moustakas has averaged 32.7 HRs per season, and it would not be shocking for him to flirt with 40 bombs in this upgraded hitting atmosphere. In the pitching department, Trevor Bauer went from being considered one of the top pitchers in the league to a guy who allowed a 1.89 HR/9 rate over the course of the second half ot the season. He posted a minuscule 65.1-percent LOB rate during the second half and actually improved upon his xFIP comparatively to the first half. Unfortunately, Bauer started allowing harder contact and more fly balls, which did not translate well to either of the parks he pitched in last year. He has fallen to 80th overall in ADP, or just above Jose Berrios, and he is the true definition of risk/reward. No one pitches deeper into games than Bauer and projection systems do expect positive regression in HR/9 rate, ERA and FIP. After posting back-to-back seasons of a sub-4.00 SIERA, he posted a SIERA 14 percentage points above his career average last year, so there are a wide variety of outcomes for the Reds starter, and most of them are worth taking a shot on by pick 80.

Milwaukee Brewers

New Faces: Avisail Garcia, Brett Anderson, Eric Lauer, Eric Sogard, Jace Peterson, Jedd Gyorko, Justin Smoak, Logan Morrison, Luis Urias, Omar Narvaez, Ronny Rodriguez, Ryon Healy

Significant Departures: Chase Anderson, Eric Thames, Gio Gonzalez, Hernan Perez, Jimmy Nelson, Jordan Lyles, Mike Moustakas, Travis Shaw, Trent Grisham, Yasmani Grandal, Zach Davies

Projected Win Total: 89

Fantasy Spin: Holy offseason movement for a Brewers squad that won 89 games a season ago. Other than Keston Hiura, the team seem primed to fill holes at all other infield positions. Prior to the stoppage of Spring Training, Arica was starting to look like a new man at the plate; he had already launched five homers in 23 plate appearances and had only struck out twice. For the record, the players he had homered off included Sean Manaea, Scott Blewett, Yu Darvish, Taylor Hearn and Kenyan Middleton so it was a bit of a mixed bag. The issue here is prospect Luis Urias is likely going to eat into his at-bats so neither are worthwhile targets in mixed leagues under 14-to-16 teams. The Brewers infield is loaded with options and the players once again seemed prime to platoon as was the concern quite often for daily fantasy players last year. Although lefties would start the ballgame against right-handed pitchers (RHP), they would be pinch-hit for at the first sign of a left-handed reliever, and the same went for righties starting against left-handed pitchers (LHP). Other than Christian Yelich, Lorenzo Cain and Lorenzo Cain, the rest of the lineup, including the catchers, are at constant risk of being pinch-hit for. As per usual, that makes this team a difficult one to stack in daily fantasy. Other than star closer Josh Hader, the other pitchers worthy of fantasy attention are Brandon Woodruff and Adrian Houser. The two of them possess the necessary strikeout upside for mixed leagues and Woodruff is being drafted immediately after the likes of Trevor Bauer and Jose Berrios. Not only does Woodruff average over 96.0mph on his fastball but he mixes in three other pitches and has done a superb job of limiting hard contact (33.9-percent) over the course of his MLB career. Inducing ground balls and missing bats (11.6-percent swinging strike rate last year) is a winning combination and the reason for his ascention up fantasy baseball draft boards.

Pittsburgh Pirates

New Faces: Guillermo Heredia, Luke Maile, Jarrod Dyson

Significant Departures: Dario Agrazal, Elias Diaz, Starling Marte

Projected Win Total: 69

Fantasy Spin: The Pirates are betting on the health of Gregory Polanco after dealing Starling Marte to the Diamondbacks for two prospects. They also likely are playing for the future and are assuming a down year from a team lacking high-end pitching options and depth to the lineup. Bryan Reynolds broke out last year by posting a line drive rate significantly higher than any of the totals he had posted in the minors since 2016. Essentially, it is no surprise that projection systems expect a regression in the average department for a hitter that relied heavily on average for fantasy value. He is not a threat for 25-plus homers and he almost assuredly will not steal double-digit bases so the difference between a .280 average (projection systems’ expectation) and .314 average (his exact average last year) is a huge distinction for his fantasy prospects. Gregory Polanco is the definition of a buy-low candidate as he is being drafted outside the top 250 after being drafted inside the top 100 the year before. He was off to a strong start in Spring Training, hitting .333 with four-extra base hits, and it only a year removed from 23 homers and 12 steals in 130 games. Projection systems expect around a 20-plus homer 10-steal season, but he features upside beyond both those numbers (as evident by his not so distant past). In the pitching department, the starting staff is filled with completely different types of pitchers with unique arsenals and pitch usages. Whereas Mitch Keller relied extremely heavily on his fastball last year, Jameson Taillon, Chris Archer and Joe Musgrove relied heavily on their offspeed stuff, with Taillon/Archer throwing sliders over 30-percent of the time. Musgrove, the staff’s remaining ace, is being drafted at pick 211 on average and outside the top 80 of pitchers in general. Mitch Keller consistently posted K rates in the high-20s-to-low-30s in the minors so his 28.6-percent K rate at the MLB level was not a surprise. He proved to be a mixed bag but one who suffered through bad luck; he posted an ERA almost four runs higher than his FIP and three and a half runs higher than his xFIP. If looking for a pitcher with surprise 200-plus K upside, Keller would be the guy, if he can pitch deeper in games (partially by avoiding a BABIP in the .400s). PNC Park is a pitcher-friendly environment and the masses seem to be sleeping on the talent potential of Keller. 

St. Louis Cardinals

New Faces: Austin Dean, Kwang Hyun Kim

Significant Departures: Jose Martinez, Marcell Ozuna

Projected Win Total: 91

Fantasy Spin: Not much changed for a Cardinals team that won 91 games last year and is being predicted to win 91 games once again this year by the FanGraphs projection system. Other than losing Jose Martinez and Marcell Ozuna, these are the same old Cardinals who will now have an everyday role for second half breakout Tommy Edman. It only took Edman 92 games to post 11 HRs and 15 steals while slashing .304/.350/.500 and scoring 59 runs. Undoubtedly, Edman will hit towards the top of the lineup once again, and, considering he stole 30 bases in 2018 and 24 amongst all levels in 2019, he should steal around 20 bases (assuming health). All projection systems expect him to hit double-digit homers but they do not expect him to exceed his 2019 total by much although he is being projected for around 30-40 more games (depending on projection system). In the minors, Edman did not flash much pop, but he did post respectable line drive rates and he finished 2019 with a 41.1-percent hard hit rate. Edman is being drafted outside the top 130, and he qualifies at multiple positions, so there is certainly value to selecting this feisty hitter around the 11th round in 12 team leagues. Paul Goldschmidt and his career .428 wOBA against LHP remains the cream of the crop on this team and his ADP has dropped to 68 after a slow 2019. He has been chosen as early as pick 25 in NFC baseball leagues and he seems to be a candidate for a rising ADP as the season nears. Buy now in early drafts while you still can as he posted a .271 ISO in the second half (after a .172 ISO in the first half last season). Kwang Hyun Kim projects as a backend starter for a Cardinals rotation that projects as a middle-of-the-road staff. Jack Flaherty is a true ace but Dakota Hudson has long struggled versus LHHs, Miles Mikolas pitches to contact and is likely nothing more than a 4.35 SIERA sort of starter and Adam Wainwright is entering the final days of his career. Flaherty is being drafted in the second round of 12 team leagues and he is probably the only name worth keeping in mind from this rotation in typical mixed leagues.

NL West

Arizona Diamondbacks

New Faces: Starling Marte, Madison Bumgarner, Kole Calhoun

Significant Departures: Steven Souza Jr, Adam Jones, Jarrod Dyson, Taijuan Walker

Projected Win Total: 79

Fantasy Spin: The Diamondbacks made strong signings this offseason, adding Starling Marte, an above average outfielder, and Madison Bumgarner. Bumgarner’s run prevention isn’t going to get any better at this stage of his career and his strikeout numbers have also peaked. His K rate was at 24% last season and that’s his career average as well. However, he’s proven to be extremely durable, tossing at least 200 innings in 7 of his 10 seasons at the major league level. Whether he can continue that trend remains to be seen as he embarks in his 11th season, but that’s something the Diamondbacks could clearly use. Robbie Ray is often hurt and Zac Gallen is coming off a strong rookie season but he only pitched 80 innings. It’s possible that Gallen could double that number this season but that’s a best case scenario of sorts. Ultimately, the Diamondbacks offense is going to be dynamic enough where you can consider stacking them in the right environments. With that said, they’re unlikely to warrant much attention in their home ballpark given that they’re playing in a below average hitting environment thanks to the addition of the humidor last season. 

Colorado Rockies

New Faces: Ubaldo Jimenez, Chris Owings

Significant Departures: Tyler Anderson, Chad Bettis

Projected Win Total: 75

Fantasy Spin: The Rockies went out this past offseason and added… Ubaldo Jimenez and Chris Owings. Jimenez is 36 years old and doesn’t belong in a major league rotation anymore. Owings is at best a fringe utility player. This goes without saying but the Rockies had a very underwhelming offseason and they’re destined to have a below .500 record. Nolan Arenado, Trevor Story and Charlie Blackmon are going to remain elite DFS targets but the depth around them is very concerning. David Dahl hasn’t played more than 100 games in a season thus far. He’s posted a 111 wRC+ through 921 career PAs. Half of his games are in Coors Field and he’s performed at an above average clip as expected, but road games tell a different story (.329 wOBA, 103 wRC+ vs. RHP). Ultimately, Dahl should be considered an above average hitter against RHP specifically. Daniel Murphy just posted a 86 wRC+ last season while playing half of his games at Coors Field. There’s clearly going to be plenty of interest in stacking Rockies and stacking against their pitching staff at home given that they’re playing in the best hitting environment in all of baseball. When the Rockies go on the road, the appeal of stacking their bats will go away. 

Los Angeles Dodgers

New Faces: Mookie Betts, David Price, Brusdar Graterol, Alex Wood, Jimmy Nelson, Blake Treinen

Significant Departures: Hyun-Jin Ryu, Rich Hill, Kenta Maeda, Alex Verdugo, Russell Martin

Projected Win Total: 97.2

Fantasy Spin: The Dodgers are the favorites to win the World Series this season and if they’re healthy, that’s likely what they’ll do. Mookie Betts is the best fielding right fielder in all of baseball and has cemented himself over the last few seasons as the second best player in baseball. Last season, which was considered a down season for Betts’ standards, he hit for a .295/.391/.524 slash line along with 29 HRs and 16 SBs. And that’s a “down” season. Add Betts to a core that already featured reigning NL MVP Cody Bellinger, Max Muncy, Joc Pederson’s usual 30 HRs, Justin Turner, Corey Seager and Gavin Lux? That’s simply unfair and unnecessary. Hyun-Jin Ryu is gone but they replaced him with David Price. What if Blake Treinen and Jimmy Nelson somehow return to form? This Dodgers team is scary and their offense will be a focal point of DFS lineups regularly. 

San Diego Padres

New Faces: Drew Pomeranz, Zach Davies, Tommy Pham, Trent Grisham, Jurickson Profar, Juan Lagares, Brian Dozier

Significant Departures: Hunter Renfroe, Manuel Margot, Eric Lauer, Travis Jankowski

Projected Win Total: 83.7

Fantasy Spin: The Padres should be able to compete for a wild card spot this season. Fantasy wise, there’s still plenty of appealing names here. On the hitting side, Fernando Tatis Jr. is coming off a .398 wOBA, 22 HR, 16 SB rookie season. He’s 21 years old. Manny Machado is going to be in year two of his contract with the Padres. Machado is coming off a down season, partly because his BABIP (.274) was a bit lower than it’s been throughout his career (.298). We’re expecting a bounceback. Newly acquired Tommy Pham should hit towards the top of this lineup and he’s posted a .373 OBP throughout his career. On the pitching side, we’re excited for the training wheels to come off for Chris Paddack, who threw 140 innings in his rookie season. The expectation should be closer to the 165-170 range this time around for the 24 year old, who posted a 3.33 ERA/3.95 FIP and a 26.9% K rate/5.5% BB rate in his first season. If newly acquired Drew Pomeranz pitches anywhere near his 30% K rate/3.88 xFIP last season mostly as a reliever, that would be a big help for the bullpen. With that said, stacking this offense in DFS should continue to be a spotty proposition given that there’s only one above average hitting environment in their division (Coors Field). 

San Francisco Giants

New Faces: Kevin Gausman, Hunter Pence, Wilmer Flores, Tyson Ross, Drew Smyly

Significant Departures: Madison Bumgarner, Will Smith, Kevin Pillar

Projected Win Total: 68.6

Fantasy Spin: The Giants are projected to have the fifth worst record in baseball this season. Let’s face it – losing Madison Bumgarner in the offseason along with Will Smith is going to hurt this pitching staff tremendously. The other challenge is they’ve been replaced by fliers. Trevor Cahill (career worse 5.98 ERA/5.11 xFIP last season) and Drew Smyly (career worse 6.24 ERA/5.21 xFIP last season) are coming off awful seasons. Kevin Gausman is a bit more intriguing but he’s never settled as a sure thing at this level. All things considered, Gausman is likely the best pitcher the Giants acquired this offseason but he’s not going to fill Bumgarner’s void entirely. And that’s just their pitching issues. The Giants are also going to struggle to generate average offense. For starters, their home ballpark is always an issue and they’re forced to play half of their games in a pitcher’s paradise. The other glaring part is they lack offensive punch given the quality of players they have in their offense. Brandon Belt, Buster Posey and Hunter Pence can still be quality hitters but they can’t be your best hitters. Unfortunately, that’s the situation that the Giants are facing on offense and as a result they’ll remain difficult to stack in DFS outside of the obvious instances where they’re receiving massive park shifts in their favor.