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

Houston Astros

Implied Total: 4.84 | Opposing Pitcher: Bowden Francis

The Houston Astros have begun the 2024 campaign with an 0-4 record after getting swept by the New York Yankees in their opening series. After getting swept at home to begin the season, the Astros will begin another series against the Toronto Blue Jays at home on Monday.

The Blue Jays will be handing the baseball to Bowden Francis on Monday to make his first career start in the majors. Across 36.1 innings as a relief pitcher for Toronto last season, Francis posted a 1.73 ERA and 0.83 WHIP with a 25.7% strikeout rate.

On the other hand, Francis also allowed a 41.3% hard-hit rate, 10.9% barrel rate, and a 50.5% flyball rate.

Despite the slow start to the season, the Astros still possess a potent lineup that could do damage on both sides of the plate. When stacking Houston, we'll want to include the usual candidates like Jose Altuve ($3,800), Yordan Alvarez ($4,200), Kyle Tucker ($3,600), and Alex Bregman ($3,300).

Of that group, Alvarez owns the highest projection (15.2 FanDuel points) in FanDuel Research's projections for the main slate, and he has +240 odds to hit a home run on FanDuel Sportsbook.

Besides the well-known names, Chas McCormick ($3,000) and Yainer Diaz ($2,700) are also worth consideration in Astros stacks. While the Astros burned a lot of people -- including myself -- in their opening series versus the Yankees, we'll keep a short memory and continue to play them in advantageous matchups.

New York Yankees

Implied Total: 5.12 | Opposing Pitcher: Ryne Nelson

Speaking of the Yankees, they couldn't have asked for a better start to the season. We'll be treated to a matchup between two of the hottest teams to begin the season with the Yankees traveling to face the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday.

While stacking this game could certainly be a fruitful strategy, the Yankees can do plenty of damage against right-hander Ryne Nelson. Nelson pitched to a 5.24 skill interactive ERA (SIERA), 1.42 WHIP, 42.6% hard-hit rate, and 11.6% barrel rate in 2023.

Additionally, Nelson finished in just the sixth percentile in strikeout rate (15.5%) and ninth percentile in whiff rate (20.3%). The 26-year-old righty should have a tough time getting the ball past a lethal New York lineup that now features Juan Soto ($4,100).

Soto has recorded 12.5-plus FanDuel points and has registered an RBI in each of his first four games in pinstripes. What makes the Yankees' start to the season even more impressive is the fact they haven't yet gotten much out of Gleyber Torres ($3,200) and Aaron Judge ($4,000).

FanDuel Sportsbook seems to believe Judge could hit his first long ball of the season today, giving him +176 odds to hit a home run on Monday.

Don't ignore the bottom-of-the-order bats on the Yankees as Anthony Volpe ($2,800) and Oswaldo Cabrera ($2,700) are both averaging 17-plus FanDuel points per game to begin the 2024 campaign.

Los Angeles Dodgers

Implied Total: 4.93 | Opposing Pitcher: Keaton Winn

It feels somewhat lazy to once again write up the Los Angeles Dodgers as one of my favorite stacks, but they are a facing a pitcher who doesn't consistently generate swings-and-misses with Keaton Winn starting for the San Francisco Giants.

In his first 42.1 innings pitching in the majors last season, Winn logged a 20.3% strikeout rate, 47.6% hard-hit rate, and 10.5% barrel rate. Winn made just one start -- and two appearances -- in Spring Training and tallied a 1.24 WHIP and three strikeouts in 5.2 innings pitched.

The top of the order for the Dodgers rivals any lineup in the league with Mookie Betts ($4,700), Shohei Ohtani ($4,300), Freddie Freeman ($4,100), and Will Smith ($3,400) wreaking havoc on pitchers. Before putting up zero points on Sunday, Betts notched 21-plus FanDuel points in four consecutive games.

Despite it being a somewhat slow start for Ohtani, he has reached safely in five of his first six games with the Dodgers.

Aside from the usual suspects, one way to differentiate your Dodger stacks is to use a wraparound stack with guys like James Outman ($2,900), Jason Heyward ($2,400), and Gavin Lux ($2,700). Winn surrendered 1.62 HR/9 and .336 wOBA to left-handed hitters in 2023, so those three bats could come alive on Monday night.

Outman recorded the 23rd-best ISO (.238) and 34th-best wOBA (.359) versus right-handed pitchers a season ago.

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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.