4 Daily Fantasy Baseball Stacks for 8/20/20

In the world of daily baseball, stacks are often the backbone of the most successful -- and profitable -- lineups. Correlation is the key.

When an offense hangs runs in bunches, it means hitters are scoring runs and teammates hitting behind them are driving them in. By rostering stacks, you’re maximizing the fantasy scoring by essentially double dipping on a run-scoring event.

This is your daily home for the top stacks on the daily fantasy baseball slate. Whether you’re looking to identify the projected highest-scoring stacks or contrarian stacks that can help you separate from the pack in GPPs when they explode, they’ll be thrown under the spotlight here.

Gamers who are numberFire premium members can throw these highlighted stacks into an optimized lineup using our DFS Sharpstack tool. The tool allows you to select the team and number of players from that team you’d like to include in your lineup. If you’re looking to identify other potentially high-scoring stacks beyond those featured in this space, check out our hitting heat map, a tool that provides valuable info such as implied total, park factor, and stats to identify the quality of the opposing pitcher.

Without further ado, let’s dive into today’s main slate’s featured stacks.

Boston Red Sox

The Baltimore Orioles are turning to Asher Wojciechowski tonight. His 4.34 ERA through four starts spanning 18 and 2/3 innings isn't too bad, but his 4.52 skill-interactive ERA (SIERA), according to FanGraphs, looks like a slightly more intriguing number to stack against. Additionally, since last year, lefties have pummeled him for a .522 slugging and .358 weighted on-base average (wOBA), while he's been merely ho-hum against righties, allowing a .457 slugging and .321 wOBA.

The Statcast data provides some further encouragement for stacking against Wojciechowski. Out of 392 qualified pitchers, Wojciechowski's .384 expected wOBA ranks tied for the 72nd highest, according to Baseball Savant. It's also significantly higher than his actual .331 wOBA ceded to hitters.

J.D. Martinez ($3,500) was out of the lineup while dealing with dehydration, and he's usually thought of as an elite option when facing a southpaw, but he's my favorite option in a Boston Red Sox stack against a righty tonight -- if he's back in the lineup. In 1,430 plate appearances against righties since 2017, he owns a .366 OBP, .271 isolated power (ISO) and 139 weighted runs created plus (wRC+).

The hitters sandwiching him, number-two hitter Rafael Devers ($2,800) and Xander Bogaerts ($3,400), are stellar plays, too. Ditto for leadoff hitter Alex Verdugo ($2,700).

Don't forget about Boston's top hitter this year, though, Mitch Moreland ($3,300). The veteran first baseman has smashed six homers with a .434 OBP, .457 ISO, and 221 wRC+ in 53 plate appearances. Looking at a larger sample, his .240 ISO against righties since 2017 is enticing as well.

Cincinnati Reds

The Cincinnati Reds are my second-favorite stack tonight. It starts at the top with Joey Votto ($3,000). He hit leadoff in both games of yesterday's doubleheader, and that's a fitting spot for a player with his patience and on-base skills. Votto isn't what he once was with the lumber, but he still has a superb .370 OBP in 81 plate appearances this year.

If the Reds pounce on Adam Wainwright like I believe they can, Votto will be positioned to rack up points via reaching base and being driven in by the solid stacking options behind him.

Nick Castellanos ($4,000) calls the second spot home in the order, and he's off to a great start to the year with eight homers, a .353 OBP, .413 ISO and 165 wRC+. He's scalding the ball and ranks fifth in barrels per plate appearance percentage, per Baseball Savant.

Jesse Winker ($2,700) has earned a promotion to the third spot in the order and is my favorite option in the stack. He holds the platoon advantage against Wainwright and will take aim at the .479 slugging and .354 wOBA he's coughed up to left-handed batters since last year. Also, Winker's actually been more productive than Castellanos at this dish this year, ripping off a .484 OBP, .346 ISO and 214 wRC+.

Eugenio Suarez ($2,700) and Mike Moustakas ($3,000) wrap up the options I'd consider stacking from the Reds. They each bring well above-average power against righties to the table, with the former tallying a .237 ISO and the latter piling up a .255 ISO against them since 2017.

Milwaukee Brewers

For full disclosure, a pair of players from the Milwaukee Brewers comprise my favorite stacking options. In fact, just hooking the duo and not fully stacking is something I will be doing tonight. However, a couple more options provide just enough to like about them to run a three-man or full four-man stack.

Keston Hiura ($3,100) and Christian Yelich ($4,200) are the two hitters I'm enamored with. In 333 plate appearances against righties since reaching the Majors last year, Hiura owns a .357 OBP, .286 ISO and 139 wRC+. Yelich truly began to thrive after joining the Brewers and winning the National League Most Valuable Player Award in 2018, and in 902 plate appearances against righties since then, he has a .416 OBP, .314 ISO and 172 wRC+.

Justin Smoak ($2,600) and Ryan Braun ($2,400) are the other two hitters I'd consider stacking with Hiura and Yelich. All of Milwaukee's hitters will take aim at a scuffling Jose Berrios. The 26-year-old righty has a 5.92 ERA and 5.01 SIERA through five starts totaling 24 and 1/3 innings. Additionally, out of 392 qualified pitchers, his ugly .390 expected wOBA is tied for 63rd highest.

Arizona Diamondbacks

Sticking on the subject of struggling young starting pitchers, Sean Manaea has coughed up a 7.65 ERA and 4.13 SIERA in five starts totaling 20 innings. The gap in ERA and SIERA suggests he's been rather unlucky, but his SIERA isn't exactly great, either. Also, his swinging-strike percentage and strikeout percentage have both tumbled from 11.9 percent and 27.5 percent in 2019 to 9.5 percent and 20.2 percent, respectively, this year.

Ketel Marte ($3,500), Christian Walker ($2,800) and Eduardo Escobar ($2,700) will probably be the highest-rostered options in this stack because of their lineup spots of second, cleanup and fifth. Further, Marte's the most qualified hitter against lefties on the team with a .371 OBP, .245 ISO and 140 wRC+ against them since 2017. Walker's .235 ISO against lefties since 2017 is his calling card, and Escobar's .334 OBP, .181 ISO and 107 wRC+ are all solid if unspectacular.

If you're stacking the Diamondbacks, though, don't be shy about sprinkling in down-order hitters Nick Ahmed ($2,400) and Carson Kelly ($2,100). The pairing frees up tons of salary if you're looking to roster one of the top pitching options, but the work of Ahmed and Kelly are plenty good enough to warrant more than punt consideration. Ahmed has a .344 OBP, .228 ISO and 123 wRC+ against lefties since 2017, and Kelly's been better with a .394 OBP, .246 ISO and 139 wRC+.

Joshua Shepardson is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Joshua Shepardson also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username bchad50. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his/her personal views, he/she may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his/her personal account. The views expressed in his/her articles are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.