3 FanDuel MLB DFS Stacks for Friday 4/26/24

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3 FanDuel MLB DFS Stacks for Friday 4/26/24

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 our daily fantasy baseball projections -- which are powered by numberFire -- to identify the slate's best bats.

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

MLB DFS Stacks

Atlanta Braves

Implied Total: 4.89 | Opposing Pitcher: Logan Allen

The Atlanta Braves are playing their third consecutive series at home on Friday, beginning a three-game home stand versus the Cleveland Guardians. It will be Logan Allen on the bump for the Guardians, which could lead to an explosive outing from the Braves' bats.

Allen is currently in the 12th percentile in chase rate (22.4%), the 34th percentile in whiff rate (22.6%), and 27th percentile in strikeout rate (18.6%) through his first five starts in 2024. The young southpaw is also in the 28th percentile in average exit velocity (90.1 MPH), 37th percentile in hard-hit rate (41.0%), and 19th percentile in barrel rate (10.8%).

Those metrics are a recipe for disaster when facing a loaded lineup like the Braves.

Although it's still early in the season, Atlanta has seemingly picked back up from where they left off last season, producing the fifth-best wOBA (.350), second-best ISO (.186), and seventh-best wRC+ (119) to left-handed pitching. Given the fact that Allen is giving up a .382 wOBA and .553 SLG to righties compared to a .310 wOBA and .389 SLG to lefties, we'll want to focus on the right-handed bats of the Braves.

With Ozzie Albies still sidelined due to a toe injury, Ronald Acuna Jr. ($4,500), Orlando Arcia ($2,900), Austin Riley ($3,600), and Marcell Ozuna ($4,400) are the primary targets in Atlanta's lineup. Ozuna is pacing the Braves in HRs (9) and RBIs (29) while averaging 16.3 FanDuel points per game to begin the campaign.

Despite his hot start, Ozuna is tied for the second-shortest odds to hit a home run (+370) in Friday's Guardians-Braves showdown.

Travis d'Arnaud ($3,200) and Adam Duvall ($2,700) are also viable options in Atlanta's batting order against a lefty. Amid the absence of Sean Murphy, d'Arnaud has three multi-hit performances and five combined HRs in his last five contests.

Baltimore Orioles

Implied Total: 4.59 | Opposing Pitcher: Ross Stripling

Ross Stripling of the Oakland Athletics is going to be a starting pitcher I target quite a bit this season given his inability to miss bats. The experienced righty is in the ninth percentile in whiff rate (17.7%) and 23rd percentile in strikeout rate (17.6%) in his first five starts to begin the year.

Additionally, Stripling has surrendered three-plus earned runs in four of his first five starts, which isn't ideal when hitting the road to face the Baltimore Orioles. Seeing that Stripling has permitted a barrel rate of 9.2% or higher in each of the previous four seasons, his 2.1% barrel rate in 2024 is more of an anomaly than what we should expect from him on the mound.

Through their first 24 games of the season, the Orioles are posting the fourth-best wOBA (.337), the best ISO (.207), the third-best wRC+ (124), and the ninth-lowest strikeout rate (20.5%) versus right-handed pitchers. While Baltimore will deploy plenty of lefties against a right-handed starter, Stripling has held reverse splits throughout his career.

Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman ($3,200), Ryan O'Hearn ($2,700), and Anthony Santander ($3,100) should all be the first four batters at the plate for the Orioles. Among players with 70-plus batted ball events, Henderson has the highest average exit velocity (96.0 MPH) and the 11th-most barrels (11) while O'Hearn's salary is too low for a player who has 19-plus FanDuel points in four of his last seven appearances.

Even though all nine batters are viable for the Orioles, Jordan Westburg ($3,500) shouldn't go overlooked near the bottom of the order with the second-most RBIs (18) on the roster. Westburg will also be one of the only right-handed bats that Baltimore deploys versus a reverse-split pitcher like Stripling.

San Francisco Giants

Implied Total: 4.33 | Opposing Pitcher: Quinn Priester

Oracle Park might be considered a pitcher-friendly venue for the San Francisco Giants, but they have a stellar matchup versus right-handed Quinn Priester on Friday. Priester made his debut in the majors with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2023, finishing in the third percentile in xERA (6.28), fifth percentile in strikeout rate (15.4%), and fourth percentile in hard-hit rate (47.0%) across eight starts.

While Priester has made just one start for the Pirates this year, it looks like it will be more of the same for him in 2024. Against the Boston Red Sox in his season debut, Priester permitted seven hits and four earned runs in 4.1 innings pitched, along with a 16.7% barrel rate.

A mixture of Priester's tendency to give up hard contact -- coupled with the fact that there is expected to be around 20 MPH winds blowing out at Oracle Park tonight -- makes the Giants an enticing team to stack. There is value to be had in San Francisco's lineup with Jung Hoo Lee ($2,800), LaMonte Wade Jr ($2,700), and Michael Conforto ($3,100) all being lefties at affordable salaries.

Conforto leads the Giants in HRs (5) and RBIs (16), and is currently on a five-game hitting streak. Jorge Soler ($3,000) and Matt Chapman ($2,900) are right-handed batters who can do damage against a pitcher like Priester.

Assuming Priester does start, Mike Yastrzemski($2,300) has recorded double-digit FanDuel points in three of his last five outings. Using the Giants will allow us to fit the expensive bats into our lineups while also paying up at pitcher.

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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.