3 Daily Fantasy Baseball Stacks for Friday 8/11/23

Stacking is one of the most tried and true strategies in daily fantasy baseball. Targeting the most advantageous matchups and filling your lineup with the right offenses goes a long way toward getting into that top prize pool on FanDuel.

We've got you covered in this piece, examining the top matchups of the main slate and figuring out what stacks are worth going for. Upside is a huge part of that, although we don't want to ignore the math given baseball's variability.

Additionally, numberFire has a few key resources beyond the initial advice in this article: namely, the MLB DFS heat map and numberFire's daily fantasy baseball projections.

Without further ado, let's dive into the top stacks to target for Friday's main slate which kicks off at 7:05 p.m. (EST).

St. Louis Cardinals

Implied Total: 5.63 | Opposing Pitcher: Dylan Coleman (R)

The St. Louis Cardinals may not be the same level of contender we've grown accustomed to this year, but that's no fault of their offense. The Cardinals average the 12th-most runs per game for the season and they've only continued that over the second half -- ranking sixth with a .339 weighted on-base average (wOBA).

With a deep, talented lineup, the Cardinals have been a solid stack all season.

That holds especially true tonight given their matchup against the Kansas City Royals.

Kansas City trots righty Dylan Coleman out onto the bump. Coleman's been an easy target for opposing offenses, boasting a 5.52 skill-interactive ERA (SIERA) and allowing a 31.7% hard-hit rate. St. Louis has shredded righties this season, ranking sixth in wOBA (.331).

That said, Coleman is projected to serve as an opener for the Royals with southpaw Angel Zerpa handling the bulk of the innings. The Cardinals are slightly worse against lefties but still sit around league average with a 13th-ranked .163 isolated power (ISO) and 16th-ranked .326 wOBA.

With no set starter, we don't have to worry as much about splits, but looking at how the top of St. Louis' lineup hits against righties is still worthwhile.

That starts with Lars Nootbaar ($3,200), Paul Goldschmidt ($3,400), and Nolan Arenado ($3,300). All three boast wOBAs north of .355 against righties, while Nootbar and Arenado have plus-.200 ISOs in that split. Though Goldschmidt (and to a degree, Arenado) has been quiet of late, Nootbar has been red-hot -- registering a .441 wOBA while leading the team in home runs (7) and runs (19) since the All-Star break.

Nolan Gorman ($3,300) is the last of the Cardinals salaried over $3,000. Aside from a brutal slump in June, Gorman has broken out in his second MLB season. That's really come to fruition over the second half. Over his last 21 games, Gorman has a ridiculous 25% barrel rate -- slugging .618 and posting a .409 wOBA over that span.

At the back end of their lineup, the Cardinals have no shortage of sneaky value options to pair with, preferably, Nootbar and Gorman.

Willson Contreras ($2,800) has picked things up over the second half with a .381 wOBA since the All-Star break. He could really take advantage of the left-handed Zerpa considering his .859 OPS against southpaws.

The rest of their lineup is hard to project given the timeshares that exist in the St. Louis outfield. Pay attention to who starts and act accordingly.

I'm probably fading Jordan Walker ($2,700), Tommy Edman ($2,600), and Dylan Carlson ($2,400) if they make their way into the lineup. None of these three have played well over the second half with Walker's lefty splits (.270 wOBA) really giving me cause for concern.

On the other hand, if Andrew Knizner ($2,600) or Tyler O'Neill ($2,600) start, they deserve a serious look. Knizner has been on fire since the All-Star break with a staggering .343 ISO and he's coming off a 25.2-point fantasy performance last night. O'Neill hasn't been quite that explosive, but he still owns a .369 wOBA across his last 16 games and he's held his own against lefties.

The only real issue with stacking the Cardinals tonight is the potential for a rain postponement. Keep an eye on the weather but luckily, if the game were to get postponed, we have you covered with two other potential stacks.

Atlanta Braves

Implied Total: 5.35 | Opposing Pitcher: Tylor Megill (R)

Everyone's favorite stack, the Atlanta Braves, are back in action on Friday and they get a tantalizing matchup with the New York Mets' Tylor Megill. Atlanta has punked righties all season long, leading the league in wOBA (.353), ISO (.222), and hard-hit rate (38%) in that split.

Considering they rank third in runs per game (6.04) and lead the league in wOBA (.372) since the All-Star break, they're a natural stacking candidate in a soft matchup.

Megill already has his work cut out for him as a righty against the Braves, but he hasn't done himself any favors with a brutal 5.30 SIERA and 11.1% walk rate. Ranking in the bottom 5% of pitchers in expected batting average (.291) and expected wOBA (.380) allowed does not bode well for his chances tonight.

That does bode well for essentially the entire Atlanta offense.

You likely won't be able to fit both of these high-salaried stars into your lineup, but it wouldn't be a Braves stack without either Ronald Acuna ($4,900) or Matt Olson ($4,400). You can't go wrong either way as they both have at least a .420 wOBA and an OPS north of 1.000 against right-handed pitchers.

Somehow, they've been even better since the All-Star break. Across their last 22 games, Acuna is hitting .372 with 12 stolen bases and 22 runs while Olson has an absurd .473 wOBA to go along with league-best marks in homers (11) and RBI (29).

They've hardly been the only other Braves playing well.

Both Austin Riley ($3,900) and Michael Harris II ($3,000) have turned things around since the All-Star break with .439 and .438 wOBAs, respectively. Though they boast similar numbers against righties (.830 OPS for Riley, .808 for Harris), the reigning Rookie of the Year, Harris, carries a much more friendly salary.

Orlando Arcia ($2,800) has played well all season, but he's come out of the break extra hot with a .423 wOBA and 1.009 OPS.

Between Harris, Arcia, and Travis d'Arnaud ($2,900) you should be able to fit one of Atlanta's two studs into your lineup in spite of their massive salaries. d'Arnaud and Sean Murphy ($3,600) have essentially split the catching duties 50/50 over the last few weeks -- though, d'Arnaud did start yesterday.

Keep an eye on Atlanta's lineup. Murphy comes at a higher salary than d'Arnaud and he's slumped over the second half of the season but still owns a stellar .376 wOBA against right-handed pitchers.

There is nothing wrong with slotting in Ozzie Albies ($3,300), Marcell Ozuna ($2,900), or Eddie Rosario ($2,600) but none of them are playing particularly well over the second half and they all have worse right-handed splits compared to the guys listed above them.

Los Angeles Dodgers

Implied Total: 5.30 | Opposing Pitcher: Austin Gomber (L)

Like Atlanta, the Los Angeles Dodgers have become a staple in the stacking market this season.

That's for good reason as they consistently boast a high implied team total -- tonight ranking fourth at 5.3 runs.

The Dodgers haven't shown any signs of slowing down, either, slotting in as the second-highest-scoring team since the All-Star break (6.08 runs per game).

A home date with the Colorado Rockies' Austin Gomber could have the public fading this stack given Gomber's play over the last two months. Dating back to June 25th, Gomber has racked up a 5-1 record and a 2.63 ERA in eight starts. His expected stats tell a different story -- notably, a 4.74 SIERA and 4.59 expected Fielding Independent Pitching (xFIP). Regression is coming for the southpaw... likely tonight.

Freddie Freeman ($4,500) and Mookie Betts ($4,400) are the cream of the crop in Los Angeles. Both of them are averaging over 14 FanDuel points per game this season and have been lethal against lefties. In that split, Freeman boasts a .474 wOBA and 1.137 OPS while Betts has racked up a .436 wOBA and .398 ISO.

It would likely take an investment in Washington Nationals starter Joan Adon ($5,500) to fit both of LA's starts into your lineup, but given their absurd numbers against lefties, it's a tempting strategy. If you can only pick one of the two, go with Freeman considering he leads the league in wOBA (.529) and runs (29) since the All-Star break.

Max Muncy ($3,600) and Will Smith ($3,500) are both solid second options if you can't secure both of the Dodgers stars. While both have their merits, the lefty starter makes Smith a much more desirable option in this salary tier. Against lefties, Smith owns a .398 wOBA compared to a .289 wOBA for Muncy.

Rounding out your stack, James Outman ($2,900) and Amed Rosario ($2,800) are both viable options with salaries that won't break the bank. Outman is decent against lefties and he's started to heat up again in recent weeks. Since the All-Star break, he ranks second on the team with a .428 wOBA.

As for Rosario, he's been perfectly O.K. since arriving in LA with a .323 wOBA. However, he's hit much better against lefties on the season -- racking up a .830 OPS compared to a .616 OPS against righties.

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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.