MLB

Daily Fantasy Baseball Stacks for Thursday 5/18/23

Austan Kas  —  @AustanKas May 18th, 2023
Baltimore's right-handed bats are in a smash spot today versus Tyler Anderson. Which other lineups do you need to lock in on for this four-game main slate?

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, which starts at 12:35 p.m. EST.

Baltimore Orioles

The highest implied total on today's four-game main slate is the Baltimore Orioles' 4.82 clip. Not only is it the top mark of the slate, but no other team has an implied total above 4.33.

The O's are hosting left-hander Tyler Anderson. Anderson had a nice campaign with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2022, but things have gone south for him this season as he's struggled to a 5.78 SIERA and 14.4% strikeout rate. He's permitting a career-worst 44.4% fly-ball rate, and righties have stung him for 1.59 dingers per nine.

Outside of left-handed hitter Cedric Mullins ($3,800), who won't be a priority for me, Baltimore has no one salaried above $3,100. Adley Rutschman ($3,100), Anthony Santander ($3,000), Ryan Mountcastle ($3,000), Jorge Mateo ($3,000) and Austin Hays ($2,700) will all hit from the right side and are expected to occupy the first five spots in the order. Mountcastle's .379 expected wOBA is significantly ahead of his .320 wOBA, and he's tattooing lefties for a .430 wOBA.

James McCann ($2,100) is a sweet value dart throw as a righty

Tampa Bay Rays

The Tampa Bay Rays have been unreal offensively (and at everything else) this season, and they've got a nice matchup with Tylor Megill.

A year ago, Megill looked like a future stud as he pitched to a 3.45 SIERA and 25.5% strikeout rate over 47 1/3 frames. It's been a different story in 2023 as his numbers have cratered to a 5.44 SIERA and 17.3% strikeout rate, making him a good pitcher to attack.

Brandon Lowe ($2,900) is my favorite bat on this slate. He's been in a slump but donged last night and is getting plenty of lift (51.7% fly-ball rate). Against righties, he's amassed a 40.5% hard-hit rate and 51.9% fly-ball rate.

Randy Arozarena ($4,100), Josh Lowe ($3,800), Yandy Diaz ($3,900) and Wander Franco ($4,000) are at lofty salaries but are high-upside plays. Franco is my pick of the bunch. He's got 7 jacks with 14 steals and a .365 wOBA.

Isaac Paredes ($3,000) and Harold Ramirez ($3,100) are much easier to jam in salary-wise. Ramirez owns a .401 wOBA while Paredes has hit safely in six straight games, including a two-homer night on Tuesday.