3 Daily Fantasy Baseball Stacks for Monday 8/21/23

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 today's main slate.

Atlanta Braves

Implied Total: 6.06 | Opposing Pitcher: David Peterson (LHP)

It is and always was (at least, in 2023) the Atlanta Braves.

What is even left to say about the Braves' offense? Atlanta not only leads the league in runs per game (5.81) and wOBA (.359) for the season, but they've somehow gotten better over the second half of the year. Since the All-Star break, the Braves have averaged 6.35 runs per game, lapping the field with a .372 wOBA and .235 ISO over that span.

They've shown no signs of slowing down and shouldn't have any issues with the New York Mets' David Peterson.

A lefty, Peterson has struggled to a 5.05 xERA this season and is allowing a generous 44.2% hard-hit rate. Atlanta has been a lefty's worst nightmare this season -- leading the league with a .377 wOBA and .241 ISO against southpaws.

The biggest issue with stacking Atlanta is their salaries. They feature four players salaried at $3,900 or higher -- though the bottom of the Braves' lineup has more than a few capable options to round out your stack.

Ronald Acuna ($4,800) and Matt Olson ($4,300) kick things off for Atlanta. Garnering their services won't come without a monster salary hit, but they're well worth it. Olson (16.22 FanDuel points per game) has been hotter than Acuna (13.35) over their last 10, but Acuna is the preferred option tonight thanks to his lefty splits. For the season, he boasts a .397 wOBA against southpaws, compared to only a .359 wOBA for Olson.

Sean Murphy ($3,900) will be a shoo-in tonight if he starts thanks to his ridiculous.444 wOBA against lefties. However, Atlanta has alternated between Murphy and Travis d'Arnaud ($2,900) since the All-Star break, and tonight is d'Arnaud's turn behind the plate. d'Arnaud is no slouch in that split, either, batting .316 with a healthy .870 OPS.

Austin Riley ($3,900) rounds out the high-salary options for the Braves. Riley has really picked things up over the second half of the season -- trailing only Olson for the team lead in both wOBA (.425) and ISO (.355) in that time. However, he's been merely so-so against lefties with a .857 OPS. That's not bad by any means, but you probably want a little more from such a high salary.

Looking at some of the lower-salaried options to round out your stack, Orlando Arcia ($2,700) is a name that absolutely bears consideration. Arcia has been otherwordly against lefties this season, compiling a .466 wOBA and .339 ISO in the split -- both team-best marks.

Marcell Ozuna ($3,000) and Eddie Rosario ($2,800) have been scorching-hot of late -- averaging 13.46 and 16.71 FanDuel points per game across their last 10. Both have performed well against lefties with at least .370 wOBAs.

You can certainly take a shot on Michael Harris II ($3,100), but he hasn't provided much power over the last two weeks (.096 ISO; four extra-base hits) and doesn't fare as well against lefties (.345 wOBA) compared to the rest of Atlanta's low-salary options.

St. Louis Cardinals

Implied Total: 5.40 | Opposing Pitcher: Thomas Hatch (RHP)

Sure, the St. Louis Cardinals may be a dumpster fire, but that's no fault of their offense.

The Cardinals continue to boast a high-octane lineup, registering the fifth-highest wOBA (.333) while putting up the 14th-most runs per game (4.61) for the season. Despite averaging fewer runs per game (4.06) this month, they've seemingly taken things up a notch of late, bumping their wOBA up to .348 in August

They're in a good spot to put up runs tonight against the Pittsburgh Pirates. A slew of injuries has crushed Pittsburgh's starting rotation, and they've resulted in the Pirates using a handful of relievers to carry the load. Tonight, righty Thomas Hatch toes the rubber to start -- although we should expect lefty Bailey Falter to see a good chunk of the middle innings. Neither Hatch (4.01 SIERA) nor Falter (4.74 SIERA) has been especially impressive, and, in general, the Pirates have been hitter-friendly over the second half -- allowing the sixth-highest wOBA (.341) since the All-Star break.

That bodes well for a Cardinals team full of stackable hitters with manageable salaries.

It starts with Paul Goldschmidt ($3,600) and Nolan Arenado ($3,400) -- the only two Cardinals salaried over $3,000. While neither established star is having the best season of their career by any means, they remain plenty productive and are staples in any Cards stack tonight. They've both been pretty quiet over the second half of the season but still have season-long wOBAs north of .350. It doesn't hurt that Goldy is coming off a three-hit night that saw him homer and drive in three.

The rest of the St. Louis lineup is where things get fun. Tommy Edman ($2,900) and Willson Contreras ($2,800) have been red-hot over the second half of the season, posting .377 and .404 wOBAs, respectively. Over their last 10 games, those two have been the best Cardinals from a DFS perspective, with each of them averaging a tick over 12 FanDuel points per game. Contreras, in particular, has picked it up after a sluggish start as he leads St. Louis with a 46.4% hard-hit rate since the All-Star break.

Assuming Falter gets a decent amount of work tonight, Tyler O'Neill ($2,700) makes a ton of sense. O'Neill has crushed southpaws this season to the tune of a .414 wOBA and a .976 OPS. He's gotten pretty unlucky over the second half -- compiling a measly .279 BABIP since the All-Star break -- but did rack up four hits in their most recent series.

Speaking of unlucky, former top prospect Jordan Walker ($2,600) has a similarly low .273 BABIP over the second half, but he's still averaging a solid 9.62 FanDuel points per game across his last 10 outings.

If you're feeling lucky, St. Louis just called up MLB Pipeline's No. 32 prospect, Masyn Winn ($2,300). Winn has three hits through his first three games, and his salary won't set you back much. He pummeled lefties in Triple-A, posting a 1.064 OPS and cranking out 16 extra-base hits in 119 plate appearances.

Texas Rangers

Implied Total: 5.21 | Opposing Pitcher: Slade Cecconi (RHP)

The Texas Rangers had a rough weekend as they were swept at home by the Milwaukee Brewers and put up just three runs across the last two games.

However, that's no reason to fade them tonight, especially against rookie Slade Cecconi. Cecconi is in line for his third career start tonight, previously giving up four runs in two starts against the Colorado Rockies and San Diego Padres. The Arizona Diamondbacks' No. 14 prospect has decent stuff (notably, his 60-grade Slider) but isn't the type of prospect the Rangers should be afraid of.

If you're stacking Rangers, Corey Seager ($4,400) is the natural starting point. Seager's 2023 season has been nothing short of phenomenal, and he's only getting better as the season wanes on. Since the All-Star break, Seager has posted a robust .485 wOBA and .465 ISO -- both top marks among hitters with at least 90 plate appearances. With a 1.127 OPS against righties this season and 18.1 FanDuel points per game across his last 10, Seager is an absolute lock for any Texas stack.

Marcus Semien ($3,700) and Adolis Garcia ($3,700) carry moderately high salaries tonight. While Garcia is hitting just .226 over the second half, Semien has kept on chugging along -- posting a .389 wOBA while leading the team with 23 RBI since the All-Star break. Garcia's power hasn't disappeared, either, blasting 7 homers across his last 30 games.

Nathaniel Lowe ($3,400) and Mitch Garver ($3,100) are two of my favorite options to pair with Seager. Lowe has crushed righties this season with a .379 wOBA, but both hitters have been dialed in over the second half. Since the All-Star break, Garver owns a .399 wOBA and .235 ISO -- with Lowe right behind him at a .397 wOBA and .232 ISO.

Jonah Heim ($3,200) has been quiet since returning from IL, collecting just two hits in his last five games. He's been pretty lackluster against righties this season (.339 wOBA), so I'd stay away until he starts to heat back up.

The biggest issue with stacking Rangers tonight is their lack of quality low-salary options. Ezequiel Duran ($2,800) and Travis Jankowski ($2,500) have had moments this season, but both have sub-.300 wOBAs since the All-Star break. Leody Taveras ($2,700) has been even worse and is south of the Mendoza Line (.172 average) over his last 31 games. However, he's actually my favorite of this bunch. Taveras has still hit the ball hard over that span (44.6% hard-hit rate) and has crushed sliders this season to the tune of a .389 wOBA.

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.