3 Daily Fantasy Baseball Stacks for Wednesday 8/16/23

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.

Chicago Cubs

Implied Total: 6.05 | Opposing Pitcher: Mike Clevinger (R)

Though they only managed three runs in yesterday's series opener, the Chicago Cubs project for an improved offensive outing tonight.

Chicago's north siders have been one of the hottest teams in baseball over the last month. Since the All-Star break, the Cubs have averaged 6.3 runs per game (2nd), registered a .360 wOBA (2nd), and posted a .208 ISO (4th). They have cooled off over the past week but have an excellent chance to get back on track against Mike Clevinger.

Don't let Clevinger's 3.55 ERA deceive you -- he has been one of the least effective starters in the league this season. His 5.13 skill-interactive ERA (SIERA) is a much better indication of how he's pitched, as is his bottom-five 5.46 expected fielding independent pitching (xFIP). A measly 19.2% strikeout rate doesn't scare anyone while his 9.0% walk rate is up to its highest level since 2017.

He has pitched better since returning from the injured list, but a pair of starts against the Cleveland Guardians and one against the New York Yankees will have anyone looking good at this point in the season.

If this matchup wasn't enough, strong winds blowing out at Wrigley Field have this game way up at a 6.05 implied team total.

The Cubs are especially intriguing from a stack perspective because of their manageable salaries.

Unlike some of the other top offenses, Chicago only features one player with a salary over $4,000 -- Cody Bellinger. Bellinger is a staple in any Cubs stack given his torrid second-half stretch. Since the All-Star break, Bellinger has the sixth-highest wOBA (.455) in the league, a mark that catapults up to second-highest (.510) against right-handed pitchers.

Chicago has a glut of solid hitters to choose from in the low-to-mid $3,000 range. Nico Hoerner ($3,600) is probably the most consistent of the bunch. In addition to averaging 11.6 FanDuel points per game over his last 10, Hoerner has a .436 wOBA against righties since the All-Star break.

Christopher Morel ($3,400) and Ian Happ ($3,300) are high-risk, high-reward plays. Happ did homer yesterday, but he's been inconsistent over the second half. Morel has been consistent... consistently cold. Since the All-Star break, he's batting just .237 with an astronomic 39.6% strikeout rate.

On the flip side, Jeimer Candelario ($3,300), Dansby Swanson ($3,200), and Mike Tauchman ($3,100) have been reliable fantasy options, with each averaging over 10 points per game across their last 10 games. All three have performed well against righties over the second half with each of them racking up wOBAs north of .400 in that split.

Don't sleep on Seiya Suzuki ($2,900), either. Suzuki homered last night to extend his hit streak to five games, and he's hit .288 against righties since the All-Star break.

As for Yan Gomes ($2,700), you can probably pass. His .295 wOBA against righties makes him unappealing even at his low salary.

Seattle Mariners

Implied Total: 5.17 | Opposing Pitcher: James McArthur (R)

The Seattle Mariners are worth stacking today... is this Opposite Day?

No, they're just up against the Kansas City Royals, a team the Mariners scored 16 runs on in the first two games of the series.

Aiding Seattle's case for another offensive explosion is opposing opener, James McArthur. The righty hasn't gone deeper than 2.0 innings this season but has allowed a run in three of five appearances. Though he pitched a scoreless inning yesterday, he did give up two hits.

Fellow righty Alec Marsh is expected to see the bulk of the innings after McArthur. Marsh has been incredibly hitter-friendly, racking up a 4.91 SIERA and allowing a bottom-2% .408 wOBA.

Seattle has quietly picked things up on the offensive end. Since the All-Star break, they rank 12th with 4.77 runs per game and 11th with a .330 wOBA.

The Mariners also benefit from being one of the most affordable DFS teams in the league. Julio Rodriguez ($3,800) is their only player with a salary north of $3,000. He should spearhead any potential Mariners stack. In addition to averaging 17.27 points per game over his last 10, J-Rod has inched his wOBA up to .354 since the All-Star break.

Cal Raleigh ($2,900) and Ty France ($2,900) are capable options and both players have hit better over the second half. While they're both averaging close to 10 points per game in their last 10 games, Raleigh would be the preferred option if you could only choose one. He's gotten unlucky with a .220 batting average on balls in play (BABIP) since the break but still leads the team with 9 homers and a .323 ISO over that span.

You'll likely be able to fit all of the first three names listed into your lineup, so you can take your pick from the rest of their low-salary options. Eugenio Suarez ($2,700), Cade Marlowe ($2,600), Teoscar Hernandez ($2,600), and Dylan Moore ($2,500) are the last of the names you should be looking at.

Of the four, I'm most interested in the young guys, Marlowe and Moore. Moore has been on fire since the All-Star break, posting a .454 wOBA and an absurd .413 ISO, albeit in a small sample size. As for Marlowe, he's thrived against righties this year with a .391 wOBA.

Atlanta Braves

Implied Total: 5.75 | Opposing Pitcher: Randy Vasquez (R)

It wouldn't be a stacking piece if we didn't touch on the Atlanta Braves.

Atlanta has far and away the most consistent and potent lineup in baseball -- and they've only gotten better as the season's waned on.

Since the All-Star break, the Braves lead the league with a downright silly 6.7 runs per game. Consequently, Atlanta also has the highest wOBA (.380) and ISO (.245) over that span.

After putting up 16 runs in the first two games against the New York Yankees, the Braves face off with rookie righty Randy Vasquez. New York's No. 14 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline, Vasquez has actually looked sharp, giving up just four runs in his first 19 MLB innings.

Still, he hasn't faced an offense of Atlanta's caliber yet, and he's gotten incredibly lucky with a .182 BABIP. That explains the 3.02 difference in his ERA (1.89) and xERA (4.91). With any luck, our Braves stack will inflate both of those numbers tonight.

Ronald Acuna ($4,800) and Matt Olson ($4,500) are the cream of the crop. Garnering both of their services will be hard, but make sure you have one of them if you're stacking Braves. Olson has been absolutely on fire over the second half, batting .349 and crushing 14 home runs over his last 30 games. Still, Acuna hasn't been bad himself, posting a .442 wOBA and racking up 14 stolen bases.

Austin Riley ($4,000) is the only other starter salaried at greater than $3,000. Pairing Riley and Olson/Acuna with two low-salary options seems like the play tonight. You really don't want to miss out on his hot streak -- since the All-Star break, Riley owns a .438 wOBA and has blasted 13 home runs.

With Sean Murphy out of the lineup, Travis d'Arnaud ($2,900) is a quality option. He has been cold over the second half but has a .321 wOBA and .218 ISO against righties on the season.

Michael Harris II ($2,900) still carries too low of a salary compared to how well he's playing, so take advantage while you still can. Since the All-Star break, the reigning Rookie of the Year is batting .356 with 5 stolen bases. With a .338 wOBA, Harris has been reliable against righties all year.

Both Marcell Ozuna ($2,700) and Orlando Arcia ($2,700) are swinging a hot bat right now as well. Both low-salary options have wOBAs north of .345 and ISOs north of .230 since the break. Ozuna has been slightly better against righties, sporting a .332 wOBA compared to Arcia's .311.

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.