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I don’t know about you guys but the excitement for this baseball season hasn’t worn off one bit for me, as we head into the fourth day of action of this shortened 60-game season. Sunday brings us yet another 11-game slate this afternoon and one that finally includes THE REDS! Will they make our list of top stacks!? I could tell you but I’d rather you stay awhile and read this article I spent time writing. So let’s go do that, shall we?
As always, you can reach me on the ol’ Twitter machine @SBuchanan24.
Set your DraftKings lineups here: MLB $450K Relay Throw [$100K to 1st]
1. Boston Red Sox
You know, I’m a big believer the Red Sox are going to be under 31.5 wins this season, but the Orioles aren’t doing me any favors with this rotation they’re running out. Wade LeBlanc ($6,000) “earned” a spot in this Orioles rotation after a “strong” camp. He was a complete disaster with the Mariners last season and it’s no surprise to see he was lit up away from Safeco Field. It was so bad that he posted a .430 wOBA, a 6.19 FIP and 16 of his 28 home runs allowed. If the Red Sox get to him early, which I fully expect with some of the bats the team has against lefties, Boston will be able to feast on this putrid bullpen. I love this stack for today but HATE this stack for my under 31.5 wins bet!
Players to Consider
J.D. Martinez ($5,000)
Xander Bogaerts ($4,600)
Kevin Pillar ($3,600)
Christian Vazquez ($4,300)
Rafael Devers ($5,200)
2. Cleveland Indians
I promise I’m not copying the first stacks article we posted this season. Myself and that young chap Matt LaMarca apparently like the Red Sox and Indians as our top stacks on separate days.
Cleveland is going to be a sneaky team against lefties but not necessarily from some of the team’s top bats. Cleveland has a bunch of role players that will be able to step in and do some damage against lefties. Players like Jordan Luplow ($3,900), who had a .422 ISO (what!?) against lefties last season, is a prime example. With that in mind, we could find ourselves looking at the lower half of this lineup. That doesn’t mean you still can’t take guys like Jose Ramirez ($5,000) or Carlos Santana ($4,100) as I think for later in the game they’ll be more useful against the bullpen but I think a good mix instead of a typical 1-5 stack is warranted. Mike Montgomery ($6,500) posted a putrid .472 wOBA, 7.47 FIP with 15 of his 18 home runs allowed on the road last season, spanning 40 2/3 innings. Like the Red Sox stack, this is a no-brainer.
Players to Consider
Jordan Luplow ($3,900)
Franmil Reyes ($4,100)
Carlos Santana ($4,100)
Jose Ramirez ($5,000)
Domingo Santana ($3,400) (Santana is a GPP only play, as he has the potential to be PH for)
EDITOR’S NOTE: Jordan Luplow is not in the lineup for Sunday’s game vs. the Royals.
DraftKings is hosting a fantasy baseball tournament on Sunday that pays out $450K in total prizes, including $100K to first place. The action locks at 1:05 p.m. ET. Set your DraftKings fantasy MLB lineups here: MLB $450K Relay Throw [$100K to 1st]
3. Houston Astros
You can say whatever you want about the Astros but this team boasts some power against left-handed pitching. Now Houston will face Yusei Kikuchi ($5,400), who allowed a ridiculous amount of extra base hits last season. In fact, of the 195 hits he gave up 42% of them were for extra bases. The best part of that news? Thirty-six of them were home runs.
The Astros’ power against lefties is seemingly never ending, even with Yordan Alvarez out of the mix. His bat would be great but we still have five (!) players that had at least an ISO of .231 against lefties last season. Quite frankly, you could stack them all in your lineup and hope they all crack a home run each. I mean, it won’t happen but truly the potential for some bombs in this game is very real. My only problem with this stack is that it’s very expensive, otherwise it could easily be No. 1 for today. The list below will have the Astros’ players in order by their ISO from last season, so you can help sort out exactly who you want.
Players to Consider
Alex Bregman ($5,100)
Jose Altuve ($5,000)
Yuli Gurriel ($3,700)
George Springer ($5,300)
Carlos Correa ($4,400)
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4. Milwaukee Brewers
One of the biggest reasons I think the Cubs are going to be a total bust this season is because the team has no rotation. Somehow, Tyler Chatwood ($4,900), who is starting today, “beat out” Jon Lester for the No. 3 spot in the rotation. Have you seen this guy throw? He has some serious control issues. When he’s started for the Cubs over the past two seasons, he’s posted an 18.3 BB%. Amongst all starters who have thrown a minimum of 100 innings since 2018, that’s the HIGHEST in the league. Francisco Liriano is second and he’s at 12.5%. Oh did I mention, his K% is only a fractional points difference at 18.8% in that same span.
Even if the Brewers aren’t necessarily hitting their way on, one would assume Milwaukee should have plenty of baserunners on for this one. This team has a number of patient hitters to begin with and overall talent against righties. I’m very curious how the Brewers’ ownership will turn out as I don’t think this will be overly popular, especially with the stacks I’ve already listed. With that in mind, this could be a really strong tournament stack to consider.
Players to Consider
Christian Yelich ($5,600)
Keston Hiura ($4,400)
Justin Smoak ($3,700)
Omar Narvaez ($4,700)Ryan Braun ($4,700)
EDITOR’S NOTE: Ryan Braun is not in the lineup for Sunday’s game vs. the Cubs.
5. Texas Rangers
I’m not crazy about the Rangers but they’re a perfect GPP stack if that’s what you seek. Kyle Freeland ($4,700) couldn’t have been more excited to end the 2019 season, after taking a MAJOR step back from 2018. It’s one thing to be bad at Coors Field because no one expects you to be an ace at the most hitter-friendly ballpark in baseball. It’s another thing to also struggle on the road, something he did to the tune of a .324 wOBA, a 4.86 FIP and nine of his 25 home runs allowed.
The Rangers are more of a tournament stack because Texas is a complete boom-or-bust offense. This team can easily go out and strikeout eight times through six innings but also hit four home runs in the process. This is completely evidenced by the fact that the Rangers have a number of players with at least a 25 K% and ISO over .220. So while I wouldn’t go crazy here, I do think they’re worthy of at least one lineup with the hopes they can show up with that power.
Players to Consider
Danny Santana ($4,300)
Todd Frazier ($3,200)
Joey Gallo ($4,300)
Robinson Chirinos ($3,900)
Elvis Andrus ($3,900)
Set your DraftKings lineups here: MLB $450K Relay Throw [$100K to 1st]
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is Steveazors) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.