Daily Fantasy Baseball Stacks for Thursday 5/11/23

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.

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 7:05 p.m. EST and is a three-game slate.

San Francisco Giants

The San Francisco Giants have a slate-leading 5.03 implied total for their matchup with Tommy Henry.

Henry, a lefty, is pretty much exactly the kind of pitcher we need to be stacking against. For his career (62 2/3 innings), he has pitched to a 5.25 SIERA and 15.8% strikeout rate while permitting 1.58 homers per nine. Through three starts in 2023, he's got a 6.28 SIERA and 10.4% strikeout rate.

The Giants are low in salary, with just one expected starter above $3,100), which makes them a great fit alongside Nathan Eovaldi ($11,000), the night's top arm. On the negative, San Fran can be a frustrating team to stack due to how many platoon guys they have and how often they pinch-hit later in games.

Thairo Estrada ($3,400), J.D. Davis ($3,100) and Mitch Haniger ($3,000) are three guys who will hit from the right side and likely play all game, which is something they did the last time the Giants faced a lefty. They'll be core plays for me on this small slate. Estrada is the slate's number-one hitter, per our model. Haniger put up identical 44.9% clips in hard-hit rate and fly-ball rate versus southpaws last season. Davis mashed his way to a 42.3% hard-hit rate in the split in 2022.

Wilmer Flores ($2,800), David Villar ($2,600), Austin Slater ($2,600) and Casey Schmitt ($2,500) will also swing from the right side but are pinch-hit risks. Flores has a long track record of success against southpaws and is eligible at two positions. Slater usually hits leadoff when San Fran sees a lefty, but he exited early with an injury last night. He's a nice value play if he's in the lineup.

If Slater can't go, Joc Pederson ($3,000) could get a rare start versus a left-hander. I'll be on him if he's in there, and the lefty-lefty matchup will likely suppress Joc's popularity. While Pederson struggles in the split, Henry has been tagged for a .434 wOBA by left-handed hitters in his brief career.

Texas Rangers

The Texas Rangers' offense is fourth in wOBA (.341) and fifth in hard-hit rate (34.8%). We know they're one of baseball's best lineups. What we don't know for sure is who they're facing tonight, which makes this recommendation a bit tricky to write.

But whoever the Oakland Athletics send to the bump probably won't be that good, so I feel confident in backing the Rangers' bats to have success.

There's a chance Oakland gives the ball to Luis Medina. If that winds up being the case, it'll be a tall task for the rookie righty as Texas is sixth in wOBA against right-handers (.336).

The knock on Texas tonight is their salaries. The Rangers have four guys salaried at or above $3,700, and that isn't ideal if you're trying to use Eovaldi at pitcher. But the Rangers offer some modest-salaried sticks, as well, and that's a big help.

Adolis Garcia ($3,900), Marcus Semien ($4,000), Josh Jung ($3,700) and Jonah Heim ($3,700) are Texas' four high-salaried bats. While you can make a strong case for any of them, Garcia and Semien will be the priorities for me. Garcia is sporting a 47.6% hard-hit rate and 47.6% fly-ball rate, giving him top-notch upside. Semien has a .373 wOBA and 41.4% fly-ball rate.

The Rangers' bat I most want is Nathaniel Lowe ($3,100). He's produced a .356 wOBA against righties in 2023 and is easy to like at this salary.

Robbie Grossman ($2,900) and Ezequiel Duran ($3,000) are two more Texas hitters you can turn to for a little cap relief. Grossman is projected to hit second in the lineup while Duran is eligible at second, short and outfield, making him a useful piece.