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

New York Yankees

Implied Total: 4.78 | Opposing Pitcher: Patrick Sandoval

Patrick Sandoval is coming off his worst start of the 2024 campaign, and he'll be tasked with facing the New York Yankees on Thursday. In his last outing, Sandoval allowed eight earned runs -- with three homers -- in only 3.2 innings of work against the Cleveland Guardians.

Even though Sandoval is in the 58th percentile in hard-hit rate (37.2%), he has given up six-plus hard hits in five of his last six starts. Walks have also been an issue for Sandoval, who is in the 31st percentile in walk rate (9.7%) with three-plus BBs in back-to-back starts.

Stacking the Yankees certainly begins with Anthony Volpe ($3,400), Juan Soto ($4,400), Aaron Judge ($4,500), and Giancarlo Stanton ($3,400). Judge is producing a .466 wOBA, .361 ISO, and 209 wRC+ versus southpaws to begin the season.

With Sandoval giving up a 1.60 WHIP and just a 20.7% strikeout rate to righties, it's worth mentioning the likes of Gleyber Torres ($3,000), Jose Trevino ($2,700), and DJ LeMahieu ($2,800) at the bottom of New York's order. Trevino boasts the second-highest ISO (.237) among players on the Yankees with 30-plus plate appearances against lefties this year.

Getting Sandoval out of the game early could set the Yankees up for even more success as the bullpen of the Los Angeles Angels is logging the eighth-worst SIERA (3.87), sixth-worst xFIP (4.27), and the fourth-worst HR/9 (1.19) with the sixth-worst barrel rate (7.7%).

Los Angeles Angels

Implied Total: 3.72 | Opposing Pitcher: Carlos Rodon

Thursday's showdown between the Yankees and Angels is one I'm heavily interested in on a small four-game main slate. On the surface, Carlos Rodon has been a solid starter for New York thus far, but there could be regression coming for the experienced southpaw.

Rodon is posting a 4.10 SIERA and 4.51 xFIP through 11 starts in 2024. At the same time, the fact he's in the 27th percentile in xERA (4.50) suggests his numbers don't completely match the production we are seeing from him to begin the season.

Additionally, Rodon is in the 18th percentile in barrel rate (9.7%), 18th percentile in hard-hit rate (44.0%), and seventh percentile in average exit velocity (91.3 MPH). Given that the Angels are registering the fourth-best wOBA (.338), fifth-best wRC+ (119), and sixth-best ISO (.169) versus left-handed pitchers, they could go a bit overlooked on Thursday's slate.

We'll be focusing on the right-handed hitters from Los Angeles in this stack as eight of Rodon's nine homers allowed have come to that side of the plate. Luis Rengifo ($3,200), Taylor Ward ($3,000), Kevin Pillar ($3,100), and Jo Adell ($2,900) are the primary right-handed bats to target from the Angels.

Of the players mentioned, Rengifo, Pillar, and Adell all possess a wOBA of .450 or higher and a wRC+ of 200 or higher when going up against left-handed pitching. Logan O'Hoppe ($2,700) and Zach Neto ($2,800) are the other righties to deploy from Los Angeles, with Neto sporting a .497 wOBA, .188 ISO, and 227 wRC+ versus southpaws in 2024.

Washington Nationals

Implied Total: 3.66 | Opposing Pitcher: Ray Kerr

The Atlanta Braves are expected to hand the ball to Ray Kerr for Thursday's showdown versus the Washington Nationals. While stacking the Braves could be popular, using the Nationals could provide us with some leverage on a small four-game slate.

Kerr is slated to make his second start of the year after permitting five earned runs against the Pittsburgh Pirates his last time on the mound. Whether it be as a starter or reliever this season, Kerr has surrendered a 1.35 HR/9 and a 12.5% barrel rate.

Before joining the Braves, Kerr struggled to the tune of a 3.21 HR/9 across nine appearances at the Triple-A level in 2024. On top of that, Kerr recorded a 1.67 HR/9, 46.4% hard-hit rate, and 11.6% barrel rate for the San Diego Padres in 2023, so he isn't a stranger to getting hit hard.

For the Nationals, Lane Thomas ($3,200), Joey Meneses ($2,800), Nick Senzel ($2,700), and Keibert Ruiz ($2,500) are the bats I'm interested in the most. Thomas produced 52.9 FanDuel points on Wednesday while we'll need to see Senzel's status for Thursday's contest following an early exit yesterday.

Besides the names mentioned, Riley Adams ($2,600) and Jacob Young ($2,700) could be confirmed in the lineup versus a lefty starter. While C.J. Abrams ($3,300) is a left-handed hitter, he is posting a .439 wOBA, .267 ISO, and 189 wRC+ against southpaws this season.

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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.