3 Daily Fantasy Baseball Stacks for Monday 8/14/23

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.

Today is a Coors Field day between the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks, so while you should of course look at those lineups (especially Arizona), we will focus on three other teams since we don't need to tell you what you already know there.

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

Atlanta Braves

Implied Total: 5.28 | Opposing Pitcher: Clarke Schmidt

Tell us if you've heard this one before: the Atlanta Braves offense is a top option today for DFS lineups.

Stacking the Braves isn't anything too surprising since they're almost always on this list unless they're not playing or are facing one of the premier arms of the sport. Otherwise, it's usually pretty reasonable to expect Atlanta on here -- and for good reason.

Today, they'll take on New York Yankees starter Clarke Schmidt. The righty has had a fine season for the Yankees. Through 115 innings, Schmidt as a 4.16 SIERA and 4.32 FIP while putting up fine but not scary strikeout numbers (22.2% rate). He hasn't gone more than six innings in his last four starts, meaning that the Braves should be looking to get to him early and often as they so often do.

When it comes to kicking off that Braves stack, it's tough to go with anyone other than Matt Olson ($4,400) right now. Olson currently leads the MLB in home runs with 43 long balls. Olson has just been everything the Braves have wanted in replacing Freddie Freeman (who has also been great) as he has a .415 wOBA, 161 wRC+, and .348 ISO -- all of which rank top five in the majors. He's the guy you want and is the top-projected player for Atlanta at 14.1 FanDuel points, per numberFire's model.

Ronald Acuna ($4,600), Austin Riley ($4,000), Ozzie Albies ($3,900), Sean Murphy ($3,600), Michael Harris II ($3,200), and Marcell Ozuna ($2,700) all slot in as potential options to stack along with Olson.

Texas Rangers

Implied Total: 5.04 | Opposing Pitcher: Patrick Sandoval

The Texas Rangers still have one of the best offenses in baseball and do well against lefties, making them another great option for stacking on today's slate.

Collectively, the Rangers' lineup has a .355 wOBA against lefties along with a .825 OPS. The matchup is against Los Angeles Angels hurler Patrick Sandoval.

Despite a respectable 3.86 ERA, Sandoval hasn't been all that great this season. The 26-year-old has an eye-opening 4.71 SIERA and doesn't take a lot of hitters down via the strikeout as he sits at a 19.2% rate. That's not a number that worries this Rangers squad.

Marcus Semien ($3,600) jumps off the page when looking for players to lead your stack. Semien is slashing a respectable .281/.352/.464 line with a .351 wOBA to boot. With how little he strikes out (13.1%), he should be putting the ball in play and that's when good things can happen -- especially with Sandoval not being a big strikeout pitcher as is. Semien is projected for 12.7 FanDuel points.

Another option to consider is Adolis Garcia ($3,700), who has been one of the best power bats in the sport this season. At 29 home runs, he's two away from match his career high and should have a new one by season's end. His own 46.3% flyball rate should benefit him even with Sandoval limiting the flyball (28.3%). Garcia has a wOBA of .375 against lefties, so this is as good a play as any in the Rangers lineup. numberFire has him projected for 11.6 FanDuel points.

Some others to consider for the three- or four-person stack are Nathaniel Lowe ($3,400), Mitch Garver ($2,900), Leody Taveras ($2,700), and Robbie Grossman ($2,600).

At a 5.04 implied total, this should be a night where the Rangers' bats having a loud, exciting night in the box score.

St. Louis Cardinals

Implied Total: 4.91 | Opposing Pitcher: JP Sears

2023 hasn't been the year the St. Louis Cardinals wanted, but their offense still packs a punch that is worth stacking against baseball's worst team.

The Cardinals welcome the Oakland Athletics to Busch Stadium, and it should equal a good opportunity for the Cardinals to succeed. The A's will be sending out JP Sears, who -- believe it or not -- hasn't been all too bad for Oakland.

For how bad the A's have been this season, a 4.47 SIERA is better than we're used to. Now, Sears also has a 5.02 FIP and has allowed 25 home runs, so yeah, it's not a season worth writing home about -- but the A's have been really bad.

St. Louis has a good shot to put up huge numbers, so they may be the best value stack there is.

Kick off your stack with Willson Contreras ($2,700), who has smashed against lefties this season. In 92 plate appearances, Contreras has a .374 wOBA and 140 wRC+. Those marks also include are four home runs, a .259 ISO, and .890 OPS. Frankly, Contreras has just been excellent at the plate in the second half; his .426 wOBA and .996 OPS through 19 games has squashed a cold start to the season. He's the top-projected Cardinals player on the slate at 12.7 FanDuel points.

If you're looking at the stars of the Cardinals lineup, then you can't go wrong with Nolan Arenado ($3,400). In what will go down as a lost season for both he and the Cardinals, he's still put together 24 home runs, 82 RBIs, and a .355 wOBA. He's still one of baseball's best. numberFire's model has him at 12.3 projected points.

Stacking either (or both) of those two any of Paul Goldschmidt ($3,300), Nolan Gorman ($3,200), Lars Nootbaar ($3,200), and Tyler O'Neill ($2,500) should do the trick for your DFS lineup.

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.