Tuesday is a jam-packed night of fantasy baseball with 12 games on the main slate that starts at 7:05 p.m. ET. It should be another exciting night of action with three divisional contests, some fun interleague matchups, and Coors Field some of the most notable games on the slate. There are weather issues to monitor in multiple places, including New York and Colorado, which can be some of the most hitter-friendly environments in baseball depending on the conditions. Neither place looks especially inviting, though, so we’ll find some other spots to build MLB stacks this Tuesday.
To make sure we are all on the same page, let’s quickly define what “stacking” is. Because of the structure of fantasy baseball scoring, MLB stacks is a great stretegy to use on most slates. The strategy uses multiple players from the same team and preferably the same section of a team’s lineup to create a positive correlation between your offensive production. If you can find the right team that scores plenty of runs in the right matchup, your players can boost each other’s output and vault your team to victory. Increasing the connection of your picks raises the ceiling of your roster, but it also raises the risk since they could all struggle. That’s why finding the right matchup to attack is the key to building MLB stacks.
As we look at the teams taking the diamond this Tuesday night, these are my top three MLB stacks.
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1. Athletics
Brent Rooker ($5,400)
Lawrence Butler ($4,900)
Tyler Soderstrom ($4,800)
Jacob Wilson ($4,000)
Nick Kurtz ($2,900)
The Athletics pulled out an extra-inning win at hitter-friendly Sutter Health Park to start their series against the Mariners. They have won five of their last six games and have scored the seventh-most runs in Major League Baseball over the last two weeks. On Tuesday, they’ll get a very favorable matchup against Emerson Hancock ($7,000) in the second game of the series. Hancock has allowed 13 runs in 17 2/3 innings across four starts this season. He has let opposing hitters post a .347 batting average and a 35.0% hard-hit rate while giving up at least one home run in three of his four starts and at least five hits in every start.
There are two sections of the Atheltics’ lineup that make sense to target, either together or as mini-stacks. Rooker, Butler, and Soderstrom are all good options with power potential from the very top of the order, but there’s also great value from Wilson and Kurtz lower in the order. When the lineup flips, they can often be on base in front of Butler and Rooker at the top as well, so you can stack all five if you want to really buy into the A’s on Tuesday.
I highlighted Kurtz as one of my top values on the entire slate, and Wilson has also been hot, averaging 8.6 fantasy points per game over his last 10 contests. Rooker had 11 fantasy points on Monday and has double-digit fantasy points in three of his last seven games.
2. Minnesota Twins
Byron Buxton ($5,000)
Royce Lewis ($4,600)
Ryan Jeffers ($3,700)
Ty France ($3,500)
Carlos Correa ($3,200)
The Twins are getting some reinforcements in their lineup as they start their series against the Orioles. Lewis was activated Monday and is ready for his season debut, and the switch-hitting Willi Castro ($3,100) is also back in the mix to help provide balance to the lineup. That balance will be key on Monday as they face lefty Cade Povich ($5,000). Povich is just 1-2 in his six starts with a 5.16 ERA, 5.22 FIP, and six home runs allowed in six starts. He has held lefties to a .179 batting average but righties have hit .344 against him with a .428 wOBA.
Stacking up righties in the Twins’ lineup can start with Lewis and Buxton in the middle of the order. Lewis didn’t exactly tear it up during his rehab assignment, so Correa, France, and Jeffers are other options if you want to wait and make sure Lewis is healthy and at 100% before using him. Buxton has been healthy and averaged 9.8 fantasy points per game over his last 10 games. Jeffers also had a good series against the Red Sox, averaging 10.7 fantasy points in the three-game stop in Boston. France averaged 8.2 fantasy points per game over his last 10 games and has a history of hitting lefties like well even though he hasn’t had much success in that split this season.
3. Kansas City Royals
Bobby Witt Jr. ($5,800)
Maikel Garcia ($3,900)
Salvador Perez ($3,800)
Jonathan India ($3,100)
Drew Waters ($3,000)
The Royals have been a fixture in my stacks lately, which is what happens when you face the Orioles and White Sox in back-to-back series with very affordable salaries. The Royals can also be a sneaky option to include for MLB stacks since they have been so aggressive on the basepaths, making them better for fantasy than their total runs sometimes reflect. They have won 12 of their last 14 games while racking up 16 stolen bases and averaging 4.3 runs per game.
On Tuesday, they’ll go against righty Sean Burke ($5,500). Burke has had a couple of sparkling outings but has been inconsistent, allowing at least four runs in four starts and compiling a 4.91 ERA and 5.85 FIP over his seven games. He has given up a 15.2% barrel rate and 42.9% hard-hit rate, and as a result, his xERA is 7.53.
Witt is always a smart place to attack when the Royals are in a favorable matchup, and India in front of him has also been very solid lately. Witt is averaging 11 fantasy points per game over his last 10 contests, and India 7.4 fantasy points per game over that same span. Garcia has also been productive, going 15-for-37 over his last 10 games with six stolen bases and an average of 12.5 fantasy points per game. He had two stolen bases and 21 fantasy points in the series opener on Monday. While he isn’t quite as cheap as he has been lately, Waters is another good value option that rounds out the stack with solid upside.
