3 Daily Fantasy Baseball Stacks for Friday 8/25/23

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 numberFire's daily fantasy baseball projections to identify the slate's best bats.

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

Los Angeles Dodgers

Implied Total: 5.33 | Opposing Pitcher: Kutter Crawford

The Los Angeles Dodgers are headed east for a three-game series with the Boston Red Sox, one that should be a high-scoring series.

The Red Sox will trot out Kutter Crawford against the Dodgers. Crawford has been solid this season. His 4.00 SIERA is the best mark of his career, and the same goes for his 24.1% strikeout rate and 4.24 FIP. These statistics are respectable, but they're not numbers to fear -- especially with the Dodgers lineup inside hitter-friendly Fenway Park.

In his return to Fenway and Boston, Mookie Betts ($4,500) is your top-projected player on today's slate at 17.2 FanDuel points, per numberFire's model. Betts has been sensational all season as he pushes for another MVP bid. He has 34 home runs on the year (one shy of his career-high) to go along with 89 RBIs, a .423 wOBA, .295 ISO, and 171 wRC+.

Elsewhere in the Dodgers' lineup, Will Smith ($3,500) is worth a long look. Smith has the third-highest projected output on the day at 14.5 FanDuel points. Smith has been as advertised this season as his .356 wOBA is the same as his xOBA, meaning his numbers are a true reflection of the quality of his play. He's got 16 homers and 64 RBIs and should be in the heart of the lineup.

Close out the stack with any of Freddie Freeman ($4,200), Max Muncy ($3,500), James Outman ($2,900), and David Peralta ($2,600).

Boston Red Sox

Implied Total: 5.17 | Opposing Pitcher: Lance Lynn

On the other side of things at Fenway Park, the Boston Red Sox are just as good an option as they will swing the bats against Lance Lynn.

Lynn has been far better since getting to Los Angeles after the Chicago White Sox traded him. His ERA was up at a stunning 6.47 with Chicago but is down to an incredible 1.44 through his four starts with the Dodgers. Four good starts in a row don't completely make an entire season go away, though, and Lynn still is giving up the long ball. Lynn has allowed 32 home runs, including four in his four starts with the Dodgers.

That should be all the Red Sox need, especially after their offensive explosion against the Houston Astros yesterday where they scored 17 runs.

Rafael Devers ($3,800) should be in all Boston stacks with the way he has been going in the second half. Through 34 games, the Red Sox's third baseman has been scorching hot at the plate with a .415 wOBA and .271 ISO. For the year, Devers has 29 home runs and 88 RBIs, both of which are better than or equal to his output from last season.

After Devers, Masataka Yoshida ($3,200), Adam Duvall ($3,100), Triston Casas ($3,000), and Trevor Story ($2,800) all make sense as pieces to use in Boston stacks.

Baltimore Orioles

Implied Total: 5.15 | Opposing Pitcher: Kyle Freeland

One of baseball's best teams should thrive today as the Baltimore Orioles face off with the Colorado Rockies.

The Orioles will be taking on left-handed starter Kyle Freeland -- which should mean there's plenty of room for some huge offensive numbers tonight.

Freeland has a staggering 5.19 SIERA -- the third worst among qualified starters -- to go along with an inability to strike out hitters (14.8% strikeout rate). His last five starts have seen him allow three runs or more in each game, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that the Orioles are among the best options today for stacking.

Adley Rutschman ($3,000) wrecks lefties and is easy to love at this salary. Rutchsman has a .321 batting average, .183 ISO, and .934 OPS in 158 plate appearances against southpaws. Those are great clips all around for the Baltimore backstop as he's projected for the highest total of any Oriole (13.7 FanDuel points).

Another Orioles hitter who thrives against lefties is Ryan Mountcastle ($3,100). In his 135 plate appearances in the split, he's got 11 home runs, 33 RBIs, and a .347 batting average. His advanced stats are just as good as he's up to a .445 wOBA and 190 wRC+ with the platoon advantage. His numbers against righties are far worse (.275 wOBA and 72 wRC+), so this is the right time to get him.

Anthony Santander ($3,200) projects well against Freeland as his .343 wOBA and 24 home runs on the year are a good value.

It may be a hit party today for the Orioles' lineup so also consider AL Rookie of the Year favorite (-550) Gunnar Henderson ($3,500) along with Cedric Mullins ($3,400) and Austin Hays ($2,700).

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.