3 Daily Fantasy Baseball Stacks for Tuesday 6/20/23

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.

Cincinnati Reds

We have two offenses that are in their own tier on this slate -- the Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Guardians. Cleveland and Cincinnati are the only two offenses with an implied total above 4.70, and they're both well above it.

The Reds own the night's top implied total as they boast a 5.66 clip for their home matchup against Noah Davis.

The profile for the Colorado Rockies' right-hander is littered with small sample sizes as he hasn't spent too much time at any one level in recent years. He's thrown only 11 2/3 MLB innings this season and has logged just 25 2/3 frames in Triple-A in 2023. It's hard to pull anything too big from sample sizes that small, but Davis put up a 17.7% strikeout rate and 6.32 xFIP in those Triple-A innings, so he doesn't look like someone who will cool off the red-hot Reds.

Cincy is eighth in wOBA (.339) over the past 14 days, and they have a lot of fun pieces -- headlined by rookies Matt McLain ($4,100) and Elly De La Cruz ($3,900). McClain mashed in Triple-A before getting the call (.497 wOBA), and he's hit the ground running in The Show, racking up a .374 wOBA. De La Cruz has quickly become a dual-threat force, swiping six bags to go with one homer through his first 54 plate appearances.

Jonathan India ($3,600) and Spencer Steer ($3,300) figure to be in meaty spots in the lineup. India has 12 steals and 10 jacks along with a .347 wOBA. Steer has posted a .363 wOBA, 10 dongs and 7 steals. He's been particularly good at home, sporting a .373 wOBA and 45.6% fly-ball rate in the split.

Joey Votto ($2,600) homered in his season debut last night and is a low-salary bat who will have the platoon advantage. TJ Friedl ($2,900) -- who our model has as the top-projected Cincy hitter -- and Jake Fraley ($3,100) could get back into the lineup with a righty on the mound. Nick Senzel ($2,800) can be deployed at three positions and went deep on Monday. Kevin Newman ($2,700) and Will Benson ($2,400) would be worthwhile values if they start. Benson has a .347 wOBA against righties this year.

Cleveland Guardians

The Guardians are showing a 5.37 implied total for their home date with Luis Medina.

Medina hasn't been as bad as his 7.55 ERA suggests, but he's been pretty bad, recording a 10.2% walk rate and 4.63 SIERA. As the Guardians' implied total shows, even Cleveland's low-power offense is expected to rough him up. Medina is showing reverse splits, surrendering 2.92 homers per nine and a 45.5% fly-ball rate to right-handers.

The Guardians have only one bat salaried above $3,100, making them a perfect fit alongside an ace pitcher.

Jose Ramirez ($4,000) is Cleveland's one high-salary stick, and he's well worth the coin if you can get to him. He's carrying a .353 expected wOBA (xwOBA) for the year and has been on fire in June, registering a .393 wOBA this month.

Josh Naylor ($3,100) is breaking out in 2023 and has hammered righties to the tune of a .353 wOBA. After a .371 wOBA in May, Naylor is backing it up with a .372 wOBA in June.

Steven Kwan ($3,000) will likely be atop the order while Amed Rosario ($2,800) is forecasted to hit second. Rosario, a righty, can take advantage of Medina's reverse splits. Josh Bell ($2,700), Andres Gimenez ($2,600), Will Brennan ($2,500) and Bo Naylor ($2,000) are salary-savers who are worth a look.

Minnesota Twins

After those two offenses, things open up. You can make a case for several lineups as eight other teams have an implied total of at least 4.30. I'm intrigued by the Minnesota Twins for a few reasons.

One reason is salary. Minnesota has no bats over $3,200. On a night when we have Framber Valdez, Clayton Kershaw, Nathan Eovaldi and Gerrit Cole available at pitcher, the Twins are a handy stack.

Secondly, I think Minnesota -- the owners of a 4.52 implied total -- can do some damage versus Kutter Crawford. A right-hander, Crawford is throwing it well this year, pitching to a 3.61 SIERA over 40 2/3 MLB frames. But he gives up a lot of fly-balls overall (41.9% fly-ball rate) and has been tagged for a 40.0% hard-hit rate across his last three outings. I think there's some upside here for Minnesota -- especially their lefties as Crawford has permitted 1.96 homers per nine and a 54.4% fly-ball rate in the split this year.

While they will hit from the right side, Byron Buxton ($3,200) and Carlos Correa ($3,200) offer gobs of talent at modest salaries. Buxton just came off the IL and has 10 homers, 6 swipes and a 51.6% fly-ball rate this year. Correa is off to a sluggish start this season but is headed in the right direction with a .343 wOBA and a trio of taters so far in June.

Edouard Julien ($3,000), Alex Kirilloff ($2,800) and Joey Gallo ($2,600) can be stacked around Buxton and Correa, and all three will have the platoon advantage verus Crawford. Julien is one of my favorite plays of the slate. He'll likely hit leadoff and has a .377 wOBA against righties this season. Gallo (.344 wOBA and 62.5% fly-ball rate) and Kirilloff (.396 wOBA and 41.4% hard-hit rate) have also been tough on right-handers.

Willi Castro ($2,500) is an enticing piece if he gets into the lineup. He can be deployed at third, short and outfield, and he's been running a lot, tallying 13 steals to go with 5 dingers.