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.
Our MLB DFS heat map 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 to identify the slate's best bats.
Let's look at the top stacks for this main slate.
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are hosting rookie Bryan Hoeing tonight, and they've been handed a 4.99 implied total, the slate's second-highest clip.
Hoeing, a righty, debuted last year but worked only 12 2/3 innings at the MLB level. This will be his first start of 2023. He logged 94 frames at Triple-A last season and recorded a meager 12.1% strikeout rate. While he's produced a much better 29.9% strikeout rate through 17 1/3 Triple-A innings this season, Hoeing has a very tall task in front of him today against a stout Atlanta offense, one that ranks third in wOBA (.345).
Ronald Acuna ($4,600), Matt Olson ($4,100), Sean Murphy ($3,500) and Austin Riley ($3,400) are the top bats for the Braves. Acuna is Acuna, but the salary is way up there. I'll mostly go to the other three. Our model ranks Murphy as the best Braves bat of the night. Riley donged on Monday, and Olson is the only one of these four who will have the platoon advantage versus Hoeing.
Eddie Rosario ($2,200) is a handy value play. He hits from the left side and boasts a huge 47.8% hard-hit rate so far in 2023. Projected to hit fifth, Rosario is one of the slate's best salary-savers.
Ozzie Albies ($3,100) and Sam Hilliard ($2,800) are also worth a look.
Arizona Diamondbacks
The night's top implied total -- as of early Tuesday -- belongs to the Arizona Diamondbacks (5.32). Arizona has been swinging it well of late, checking in sixth in wOBA over the past seven days (.349), and they can keep rolling versus Brady Singer.
Singer is off to a rough start in 2023, allowing a 42.6% hard-hit rate and 2.14 jacks per nine while striking out just 20.4% of hitters. Although Singer -- a righty -- was much better a year ago, oddsmakers think the D-Backs will have a lot of success today.
Even when Singer was performing better last season, lefties got to him for a 43.8% hard-hit rate and 1.43 homers per nine. I'll be prioritizing the Snakes' left-handers, specifically Josh Rojas ($3,100) and Ketel Marte ($3,000), who are forecasted to hit first and second, respectively.
Pavin Smith ($3,200), Alek Thomas ($2,600), Corbin Carroll ($3,200) and Geraldo Perdomo ($3,200) will also hit from the left side. Smith has generated a juicy .421 expected wOBA this season.
Righties Christian Walker ($3,100) and Lourdes Gurriel ($2,800) will likely be in the heart of the lineup. Walker has been on the bench for the past two games but made an appearance as a pinch-hitter last night, indicating he's likely close to a return to a starting gig.
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are showing an enticing 5.17 implied total for their home date with Mike Clevinger.
Long gone are the days of Clevinger being good. He's got a 5.68 SIERA and 17.2% strikeout rate this season. In 2022, he put up a 4.49 SIERA and 18.8% strikeout rate. Since the start of last year, he's been tagged for a 45.7% fly-ball rate and 1.48 homers per nine.
The Jays could go nuts tonight, and they have just three guys salaried over $3,100 -- Vladimir Guerrero Jr. ($4,000), Bo Bichette ($3,600) and Matt Chapman ($4,000). I'm interested in those three, but I'm particularly intrigued by two other Jays: George Springer ($3,100) and Daulton Varsho ($2,900).
Springer projects as the best Toronto bat tonight, according to our numbers. He sat out last night, but assuming he's back in his usual spot atop the order, Springer is a smashing play at his modest salary. As for Varsho, he'll have the platoon advantage, and he posted a .345 wOBA and 46.0% fly-ball rate in this split a year ago.
Brandon Belt ($2,400) is a sweet value pick. He may get pinch-hit for if he comes up against a lefty, but he can deliver versus Clevinger and offers nice cap relief.