3 FanDuel MLB DFS Stacks for Wednesday 4/17/24

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3 FanDuel MLB DFS Stacks for Wednesday 4/17/24

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

Los Angeles Dodgers

Implied Total: 5.34 | Opposing Pitcher: Jake Irvin

Washington Nationals right-hander Jake Irvin has shown signs of improvement in his second year in the majors. He has dropped his home run rate allowed from 3.7% to 3.1% and has improved his strikeout rate from 18.7% to 21.5%.

It's been an encouraging sign for the 27-year-old's development, but those are still below-average rates in the bigs. He's still getting hit hard 40% of the time, and that's something you'd really rather avoid against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Dodgers' 5.34-run implied total is the most among teams on today's main slate, and their -255 moneyline odds on FanDuel Sportsbook are the shortest of any team playing today.

The top of the Dodgers' lineup should be well-equipped to handle Irvin as a right-hander. Both Shohei Ohtani ($4,400) and Freddie Freeman ($3,600) hit from the left side of the plate and are projected for 15.9 (most on the slate) and 12.7 FanDuel points, respectively. Ohtani's +220 odds to hit a home run in this one are tied with Aaron Judge for the league's shortest odds today.

Mookie Betts ($4,600) has been too good to ignore in DFS this year, so he has to be considered for a Dodgers stack despite his elevated salary. The 15.9 FanDuel points he's projected for today trail only Ohtani's 16.7 and somehow come in lower than his average of 18.4 FanDuel points per game this year.

Sluggers like Will Smith ($3,200) and Teoscar Hernandez ($3,400) have been hitting just after the Dodgers' incredible top three hitters this year and are of course solid options today. For what it's worth, Hernandez knocked a home run in his sole game against Irvin in 2023. He has +420 odds to hit a home run in this one.

Behind those core players for the Dodgers, left-handed bats like Max Muncy ($3,400) and James Outman ($2,700) should be in the lineup later today and are each projected for 11 FanDuel points.

Outman in particular looks like a good low-salaried option on today's slate. According to Statcast data he looks like a prime regression candidate, as well. He ranks top-30 in both SLG and wOBA under expectation heading into today's game.

Atlanta Braves

Implied Total: 4.76 | Opposing Pitcher: J.P. France

Houston Astros pitcher J.P. France was a bit of an enigma in his 2023 rookie season. Despite striking out opposing hitters at a below-average rate and allowing home runs at a slightly above-average rate, he still posted a 3.83 ERA while finishing the year with a strong 11-6 record. He wasn't your typical ace prototype, but he was getting things done.

Unfortunately for him, things have gotten off to a rough start in his second year. The 29-year-old is managing a disappointing 8.22 ERA through three games, with a well below-average 15.8% strikeout rate and 9.2% walk rate.

Those numbers are certainly influenced by facing the New York Yankees plus two games against the Texas Rangers. But I'm not expecting his numbers to suddenly improve after his Wednesday matchup with the Atlanta Braves.

Even with Ozzie Albies (fractured toe) out of the lineup for the near future, the Braves still put up six runs on the Astros last night. Their league-best offense is averaging an absurd 6.44 runs per game this season, so they should be a priority when looking for stacks this season until they prove otherwise.

Ronald Acuna Jr. ($4,300) is projected for a team-high 14.1 FanDuel points in tonight's game, but Marcell Ozuna's ($4,000) 14-point-projection isn't far behind.

Below the $4,000 salary mark, Austin Riley ($3,600) and Matt Olson ($3,900) look like appealing options. They're projected for healthy 13.6- and 12.9-point days, respectively.

In the Braves' first game without Albies, Michael Harris II ($3,100) jumped up to the two-hole. If that continues for today's game, he could end up being a tremendous value play in DFS.

Chicago Cubs

Implied Total: 4.63 | Opposing Pitcher: Brandon Pfaadt

Tonight's bout between the Chicago Cubs and the Arizona Diamondbacks has a 9.5 total, per the MLB odds on FanDuel Sportsbook -- the highest among today's games. Two of this season's best offenses squaring off against each other's fourth- or fifth-best pitchers? Sounds like a good place to look for stacks.

The Diamondbacks will have Brandon Pfaadt on the mound for this one. Pfaadt looks like a promising young pitcher but has shown a tendency to give up the long ball. He finished his 2023 rookie season with a 5.1% HR rate (giving up 22 dingers in 96 IP) and is back up to a 4.1% rate this season after allowing three knocks in his first three starts.

Batters facing Pfaadt have tallied a .294 batting average this season, as well as a .515 SLG. The Cubs' power hitters could be in play in DFS today.

While the loss of Seiya Suzuki (oblique) to the injured list certainly hurts, there are plenty of other Cubs who look good for today's slate. Some of the Cubs' top players also happen to look like solid values on today's slate, too.

Cody Bellinger has a $2,900 salary due to his slow start but is projected for 13.4 FanDuel points against Arizona, making him numberFire's fourth-highest value play among batters.

Christopher Morel ($3,100) has endured a bit of a slump after his electric start to the season but is still projected for 13.7 FanDuel points tonight. He's numberFire's seventh-best value play.

Michael Busch ($3,300) certainly caught fire last week when he hit home runs in five straight games. The projections at numberFire have him slated for 10.2 FanDuel points in this one, but he's been too hot to ignore. When a hitter with a 99th-percentile xSLG (.746) gets a matchup with a pitcher that gives up home runs, I want that hitter in my DFS lineups.

Rounding out the Cubs' lineup are Ian Happ ($3,000) -- who just hit a grand slam last night -- Dansby Swanson ($2,900) and Nico Hoerner ($2,700), who all have reasonable salaries and are projected for double-digit FanDuel points.

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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.