3 Daily Fantasy Baseball Stacks for Monday 7/24/23

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 numberFire's daily fantasy baseball projections to identify the slate's best bats.

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

San Diego Padres

Implied Total: 5.07 | Opposing Pitcher: Quinn Priester

Despite posting meh numbers -- a 4.29 expected fielding independent pitching (xFIP) and 22.9% strikeout rate -- at Triple-A this season, Quinn Priester got the call to the bigs last week. It did not go well, as he was tagged for seven earned runs over 5 1/3 frames. And that came in a date with the Cleveland Guardians, an offense that sits 25th in weighted on-base average (wOBA).

Priester has a much tougher matchup today because he's on the road to face the San Diego Padres. The Padres boast the night's top implied total (5.07) and are one of the slate's premier stacking options.

The trio of Juan Soto ($4,000), Manny Machado ($3,800) and Fernando Tatis Jr. ($4,200) all rank inside the top six bats for tonight, per numberFire's model. Of the three, Soto will be the top priority for me. He's mauling righties to the tune of a .426 wOBA and 41.6% fly-ball rate. With that said, Tatis has the game's best homer odds (+360), per the MLB odds at FanDuel Sportsbook.

Ha-Seong Kim ($2,900), Xander Bogaerts ($3,000) and Jake Cronenworth ($2,700) are all quality modest-salaried options. Kim is forecasted to lead off while Cronenworth owns a 45.6% fly-ball rate with the platoon advantage. Bogaerts has been heating up of late, amassing a .356 wOBA in July.

Trent Grisham ($2,700) and Gary Sanchez ($2,700) are two other viable salary-savers. Grisham usually hits ninth, which stinks, but he's been on fire lately, recording a .374 wOBA and 50.0% fly-ball rate in the second half. Sanchez has shown good pop since coming to San Diego, putting up 9 homers and a 41.9% fly-ball rate across 155 plate appearances.

Cleveland Guardians

Implied Total: 4.80 | Opposing Pitcher: Ryan Yarbrough

The Guardians aren't an offense we turn to often in MLB DFS, but we can feel good about doing so tonight due to their matchup with Ryan Yarbrough.

A lefty, Yarbrough has long been a low-strikeout pitcher, and he's taken it to new lows this season, registering a 14.3% strikeout rate en route to a 5.02 SIERA through 38 innings. He's allowing a 44.3% fly-ball rate to righties and a 42.5% fly-ball rate overall.

Jose Ramirez ($3,900) is the main attraction on Cleveland. The star switch-hitter has mashed his way to a 46.8% fly-ball rate against lefties, although this is his worse split. If you're willing to fade Ramirez, you can stack the Guardians very economically.

Amed Rosario ($2,800) and Josh Bell ($2,800) are the only guys in the top five of Cleveland's expected lineup who will hit from the right side against Yarbrough. This is the better side for the switch-hitting Bell, as he has a .331 wOBA and 38.4% fly-ball rate in the split this year. Rosario has a .321 wOBA against lefties and will likely hit second.

Myles Straw ($2,400) and Tyler Freeman ($2,200) are value pieces who are worth a look if they get a start. By no means should we cross off lefties Steven Kwan ($3,000) and Josh Naylor ($3,500). Kwan will probably lead off, and Naylor has been immense this year, racking up a .364 expected wOBA (xwOBA).

Toronto Blue Jays

Implied Total: 4.61 | Opposing Pitcher: Michael Grove

The Toronto Blue Jays could fly under the radar a bit. Their 4.61 implied total is tied for only the fifth-highest number, and they may drop even lower down the list once the betting lines are posted for the St. Louis Cardinals-Arizona Diamondbacks affair.

I really like the Jays against Michael Grove. The rookie righty hasn't been as bad as his 6.40 ERA suggests, but he hasn't been good, either. He's sporting a 4.41 xFIP along with a 4.41 skill-interactive ERA (SIERA). He's striking out just 20.4% of hitters and giving up 1.56 dingers per nine.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. ($3,600), Bo Bichette ($3,500), Brandon Belt ($2,900) and George Springer ($3,300) are projected to occupy the first four spots in the lineup. While Belt is a pinch-hit risk if he sees a southpaw later in the game, he's easy to love at this salary. Vladdy has slugged his way to a .397 wOBA in the second half. Springer actually carries the best dinger odds on the Jays (+320).

Daulton Varsho ($2,800), Matt Chapman ($3,000) and Whit Merrifield ($3,000) are salaried modestly and check some boxes. I always like getting exposure to Varsho if I'm stacking Toronto versus a righty. In the split this year, Varsho has a 49.0% fly-ball rate, although it hasn't translated to much in terms of results (.269 wOBA).

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.