3 FanDuel MLB DFS Stacks for Tuesday 4/30/24

20d

Stacking is an integral part of daily fantasy baseball. Correlation drives upside, giving your lineups a slate-winning ceiling when your stacks explode.

This piece will do the digging and the dirty work each day to determine which stacks are worth rostering on FanDuel's main slate. While we want upside, we also need to factor in game theory, especially in a sport as random as baseball.

The MLB DFS heat map at numberFire is a quick way to get a feel for the overall slate and which offenses are in a good spot. You can also check out our daily fantasy baseball projections -- which are powered by numberFire -- to identify the slate's best bats.

Let's look at the top stacks for today's main slate.

MLB DFS Stacks

Minnesota Twins

Implied Total: 4.68 | Opposing Pitcher: Michael Soroka

According to FanGraphs' Skill-Interactive ERA (SIERA) metric, no qualified pitcher in baseball is having a worse season than Chicago White Sox starter Michael Soroka -- his 6.11 mark ranks dead last in the game. He has given up an AL-high 7 home runs across his 29 innings this season, including two in his matchup with the Minnesota Twins five days ago. Injuries seem to have sapped Soroka of what made him look like one of the most promising young pitchers in the league back in 2019.

In particular, left-handed hitters have been crushing him this season, posting a .909 OPS against the veteran over 71 plate appearances. That makes me want to target the Twins' left-handed platoon batters for today's FanDuel slate.

Alex Kirilloff ($2,900) has been hitting leadoff against righties and is projected for a strong 13.3 FanDuel points in this one. He and Max Kepler ($2,600) look like two of the best value plays, according numberFire's metrics.

Edouard Julien ($3,300) is on a power kick recently and has been barreling up balls at the eighth-best rate in the league (17.2%). He's projected for a team-high 13.5 FanDuel points today and has been batting second most days against righties.

With the Twins getting such an appealing matchup, you can make cases for a number of Minnesota's other hitters. Ryan Jeffers ($3,500) has been mashing lately and is projected for 13.3 points while Trevor Larnach ($3,200) has hit cleanup in both of the Twins' last two matchups with right-handers.

Philadelphia Phillies

Implied Total: 4.69 | Opposing Pitcher: Tyler Anderson

While Soroka has fared the worst among qualified starters in SIERA, Los Angeles Angels left-hander Tyler Anderson isn't too far behind. His 5.07 SIERA ranks third-worst in the Majors. Between that and Anderson's 4.87 FIP, it's pretty clear his stellar 1.78 ERA is on the lucky side. According to Baseball Savant, Anderson has out-performed his expected wOBA by the 10th-highest rate this year.

His luck has begun to turn in recent performances, and Anderson has given up four home runs over his last three games with 10 walks in those outings, as well. He could struggle in today's matchup versus the Philadelphia Phillies, who have posted the third-best OBP versus left-handed pitchers this season.

Bryce Harper ($3,500) should absolutely be on our radar, even against a left-hander. The All-Star has destroyed Anderson in their previous meetings, taking him for three home runs across 12 plate appearances. He has a career 2.47 OPS against Anderson and should be a priority in any Phillies stack. He's also sitting at +300 odds to hit a home run on FanDuel Sportsbook, something he's done in three of four meetings with Anderson.

After Harper, we need to mention Alec Bohm ($3,700), who has been crushing lefties this year. He's somehow striking out just 10% of the time against left-handers while slugging an insane .657 against them.

You can fill out the rest of a Phillies stack with any number of familiar faces. Nick Castellanos ($2,600) is projected for 12.8 FanDuel points and rates out as the fourth-best point-per-dollar value play in numberFire's model. Trea Turner ($3,600) is looking great and is projected for a team-high 14.7 FanDuel points alongside J.T. Realmuto ($3,100). Kyle Schwarber ($3,300) and could get in on the fun as well and is projected for 13.6 in this one. Whit Merrifield ($2,300) is a viable value.

Cleveland Guardians

Implied Total: 4.36 | Opposing Pitcher: Hunter Brown

If Hunter Brown is on the mound for the Houston Astros, there's a good chance I want to stack against him. I'm personally rooting for the second-year pitcher to work out, but he's struggling to a 9.68 ERA through five starts so far this season.

Even if we take out his meltdown performance against the Kansas City Royals -- where he coughed up 11 hits and 9 earned runs before getting yanked in the first inning -- Brown is still the owner of a 5.29 ERA and 1.88 WHIP on the season. He has had a rough start, and the opportunity for another meltdown makes him a good pitcher to target in DFS. Plus, given that the Astros' bullpen has recorded the seventh-worst ERA (4.95) as a unit on the season, things could get out of hand quickly if Brown gets into trouble again today.

The Cleveland Guardians are pretty reliant on the top half their lineup for production, but there are some values behind studs like Jose Ramirez ($4,000) and Josh Naylor ($3,600) on today's slate. A Guardians stack should start with those two -- and should probably feature Steven Kwan ($3,200), as well -- but who you turn to after that can depend on what you want to do with the rest of your lineup.

Andres Gimenez is the only other Guardians batter with a $3,000 salary or higher. Each of David Fry ($2,800), Tyler Freeman ($2,900), and Will Brennan ($2,800) come in under that mark, making the Guardians an easy team to stack. Fry and Brennan are both managing slugging percentages over .400 while Fry's .354 expected wOBA trails only Naylor's excellent .394 mark for the team lead. Fry isn't playing every day, but when he has made the lineup, he's been very productive.

Want to play MLB DFS? Head over to FanDuel’s daily fantasy baseball lobby to see all the offerings for today’s slates.

The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.