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

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: 5.72 | Opposing Pitcher: Jose Quintana (LHP)

We've got something of a lighter main slate today with just 12 lineups to choose from in DFS.

This feels like I'm beating a dead horse, but the Atlanta Braves are far and away the top lineup to target.

Not only do the Braves boast the highest implied team total of the slate (5.72), but they're matched up with a lefty. Against left-handers, they are far and away the most dangerous lineup in baseball. In addition to generating the highest rate of hard contact (39.0%) against southpaws, the Braves lead the league in wOBA (.377), ISO (.242), and wRC+ (126) by wide margins.

There's no reason that success can't continue tonight given the matchup with Jose Quintana.

Don't let Quintana's numbers fool you at face value. Despite a 3.03 ERA, he boasts a 5.23 skill-interactive ERA (SIERA). Though he's done a great job limiting hard contact (23.9%), he's still giving up a healthy dose of fly balls (40.7%). Good luck stopping this Atlanta offense from roping the ball when you're allowing that many balls in the air.

Any Atlanta stack starts with either Ronald Acuna ($4,900) or Matt Olson ($4,200). You can't really go wrong with either slugger, but against lefties, Acuna is worth the slate-leading salary. In that split, he boasts a .398 wOBA and an absurd 52.0% hard contact rate. It doesn't hurt that numberFire projects him for 16.2 FanDuel points -- the highest batter projection of the slate.

It could be tricky pairing Acuna's monstrous salary with either of these next guys, but Sean Murphy ($3,800) should be back in the lineup after sitting yesterday along with Austin Riley ($3,800). Riley has had some troubles with lefties this season (.339 wOBA), but Murphy has thrived in that split. For the season, he's posted a .433 wOBA and a .262 ISO. Additionally, Murphy has feasted on curveballs -- Quintana's most-used breaking ball. He's posted a .419 wOBA and 64.3% hard-hit rate against curveballs in 2023.

Marcell Ozuna ($3,000) is scorching hot right now and is a natural fit in any Atlanta stack given his palatable salary. He's blasted three home runs in the first two games of the series and is batting .500 with 10 extra-base hits over his last 10 games. Stellar numbers against lefties (.406 wOBA; .363 ISO) and a healthy 9.9-point projection from numberFire only aid his case to be in your lineup tonight.

Michael Harris II ($3,000), Eddie Rosario ($2,800), and Orlando Arcia ($2,700) are capable, low-salary options to round out your stack. Though Harris carries the steepest salary, he's got the worst numbers against lefties in this group. It's up in the air whether Rosario starts tonight, but if he does he's a must-play. In addition to being strong against lefties (.377 wOBA), he's been red-hot this month (.356 BA, 15 RBI). Arcia hasn't faired nearly as well this month but absolutely pummels southpaws. In that split, he's posted a .475 wOBA and .333 ISO.

Neither Vaughn Grissom ($2,200) nor Kevin Pillar ($2,100) have incredible profiles, but they've been decent enough against lefties to warrant consideration at their measly salaries.

Los Angeles Dodgers

Implied Total: 4.95 | Opposing Pitcher: Xzavion Curry (RHP)

The Los Angeles Dodgers carry the second-highest implied team total of the slate and have a nice combination of high and low-salary options to choose from, making them my second-favorite stack of the night.

LA gets a solid matchup with the Cleveland Guardians' Xzavion Curry. Curry's 3.24 ERA isn't something we'd normally want to target, but his 4.93 SIERA is a much better indication of how he's actually pitched this season. His 16.9% strikeout rate doesn't scare me whatsoever, and the Dodgers should feast given Curry's 45.7% hard-hit rate allowed, which is in the ninth percentile across MLB.

LA has been one of the most prolific offenses in the league against righties, ranking fourth in wOBA (.336), second in ISO (.194), and fourth in wRC+ (113). In general, they've kept on chugging along of late, averaging 5.6 runs per game this month.

Your Dodgers stack will likely be headlined by either Mookie Betts ($4,500) and Freddie Freeman ($4,200). Both sluggers have posted wOBA's north of .390 against righties, but I lean Mookie between the two. He's been red-hot with a .529 wOBA this month and is averaging 15.01 FanDuel points across his last 10 games.

Will Smith ($3,500) and Max Muncy ($3,500) have been relatively quiet of late, but they both have solid numbers against righties. Muncy comes out ahead in that split thanks to a .366 wOBA and .291 ISO, but Smith's prowess against sliders could lead him to a strong night himself. That's Curry's second most-used pitch (35.5%), and for the season Smith has a .288 BA and .391 wOBA against it.

LA's lower-salaried options are a bit tricky, but there are a few specific players who really stand out tonight.

James Outman ($2,900) has started to heat back up this month, posting a .381 wOBA and 54.3% hard-hit rate. He's been decent enough against righties (.342 wOBA) to warrant consideration.

Jason Heyward ($2,500) has been solid against righties with a .353 wOBA and is in line for some positive regression considering his .283 BABIP. He's generated hard contact at a 37.0% clip this month -- the third-best mark on the Dodgers.

Miguel Rojas ($2,300) hasn't been great, but he's generated some decent power numbers this month -- namely a .212 ISO and 46% hard-hit rate. He's gotten incredibly unlucky over that span with a putrid .170 BABIP, so at that salary, I'm all for taking a swing on some positive regression.

There is a slight chance of rain tonight in Cleveland. I don't expect a rainout or delay, but keep your eye on the weather before lineups lock at 6:40 ET.

Tampa Bay Rays

Implied Total: 4.86 | Opposing Pitcher: Austin Gomber (LHP)

The Tampa Bay Rays close out a light stacking slate with a home matchup against the Colorado Rockies.

Austin Gomber toes the rubber for Colorado tonight. Gomber has actually pitched to a 3.59 ERA away from Coors' Field, so he's certainly no slouch. However, he has a 5.23 xFIP on the road and only a 14.5% strikeout rate for the season, so I'm not particularly worried.

While the Rays only rank 11th in wOBA (.330) and ISO (.169) against lefties this season, they have a deep enough lineup that we shouldn't have any shortage of capable options. Their 4.86 implied team total tonight isn't anything crazy, but it's good enough for the third-highest of the night given our short slate.

Tampa Bay lacks high-salary options, but there is a clear group that we want to target tonight.

That starts with Yandy Diaz ($3,600) and Randy Arozarena ($3,500). Diaz has pummeled lefties all year, posting a .388 wOBA and a team-leading 38.4% hard contact rate. Arozarena is right behind him with a .367 wOBA against lefties, but he's the hotter fantasy option of the two. Over his last 10 games, Arozarena has scored 13 runs thanks to a .429 OBP. He's averaging 14.96 FanDuel points per game over that span but does carry just a 10.8-point projection tonight compared to Diaz at 13.5.

Jose Siri ($3,100) doesn't have great numbers against lefties (.297 wOBA), but he comes into tonight having already blasted four home runs in August. Isaac Paredes ($3,100) has three homers himself this month, but he owns much better splits. Despite his .286 BABIP, Paredes owns a .340 wOBA against southpaws.

We have to touch on Harold Ramirez ($2,600). Ramirez absolutely destroys southpaws. Like, Terminator levels of destruction. In that split, Ramirez owns a .379 BA, a .417 wOBA, and a .575 SLG -- all of which lead the team. He's been playing well this month (.954 OPS) and carries a 10.3-point projection. Given his low salary, he's a logical addition to any potential Rays stack.

If you're really looking to fill your roster with low salaries, don't be afraid to take a swing at Osleivis Basabe ($2,400). The 22-year-old has collected eight hits in his last four games and averaged 10.74 FanDuel points in his first seven games. He'd posted a .277 BA against lefties in Triple-A as well, so he's certainly worth a look.

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.