Two Robby Cano longballs turned into flyouts last night really dumped on my late night sweat.
But as always in DFS, we get over the hump and move along. Luckily for us, we have two slates to scratch the itch for today.
As usual on split slates, the early slate will be available to all while you will need to be a premium member to access the evening slate.
I am taking two different approaches for each slate today.
In the early slate, I am focusing on two games with another team mixed in whereas I like lots of one offs and mini stacks in the evening slate.
Without further adieu, let’s get after it. May the Force be with you!
EARLY SLATE – I look for the Red Sox to be popular, especially if Mooke is back in the fray. Danny Duffy has been pretty terrible, BUT the Red Sox are dead last in wOBA against left-handed pitching this season, so caveat emptor!
GAME STACK – COLORADO ROCKIES @ CHICAGO CUBS
1. Anthony Rizzo – $4,000
2. Kris Bryant – $5,200
3. Willson Contreras – $3,900
4. Albert Almora, Jr. – $3,400
5. Javier Baez – $4,400
6. Charlie Blackmon – $5,100
7. David Dahl – $4,000
8. Carlos Gonzalez – $3,700
Justification – I love Contreras and Buster Posey at the C position today. Posey is No. 1 on my board, but playing a day game after a night game, I could see him sitting, meaning Contreras, who didn’t play last night, is the No. 1 catcher on the slate. The wind is SUPPOSED to be howling once again, and while I am still weary of this whole “Wind in Wrigley = DFS success” idea, I will attack this game for the third day in a row. It’s been a bust two days in a row, but perhaps (insert third charm cliche). The Cubs get lefty softy Tyler Anderson while the Rox get the tougher pitching matchup in long-ball prone Yu Darvish. The Cubs’ RH bats are all in play plus Anthony Rizzo, who busts the cover off the ball against lefties and finally hit a home run yesterday. Bryant is still trying to get on track after getting beaned in the head, but he is a lefty smasher of course. Contreras and Baez round out the Cubs’ stack for me. As for the Rockies, it’s a little difficult to tell what the lineup will look like. You can certainly play Arenado, but I like a lot of 3B over him (see next game, too). I love Blackmon, Dahl and CarGo here, but I can see one of them not cracking the lineup, so keep that in mind with all of the OFs the Rockies have on their team right now. Lefties are where Yu struggles and he gives up lots of long balls (trust me, as a Rangers fan it’s infuriating). Right now he’s giving up 2.25 HR/9 to lefties and owns a .360 wOBA, too.
GAME STACK – SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS @ SAN DIEGO PADRES
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS
1. Buster Posey – $3,800
2. Evan Longoria – $3,700
3. Andrew McCutchen – $3,700
4. Christian Villanueva – $4,400
5. Jose Pirela – $3,100
6. Franchy Cordero – $4,000
7. Eric Hosmer – $3,600
Justification – Welcome to another great game stack as the Giants host the Padres. The Giants get to use their lefty bashers against Clayton Richard while the Padres will see one of my most hated pitchers, Derek Holland. Like I said earlier, it’s possible Buster Posey sits, but I certainly hope not as he is 12-for-32 with 2 doubles and 2 HRs, 9 RBIs and 4 walks against Richard. McCutchen and Longoria round out my Giants’ stack as both are heating up (along with Posey) and both historically wreck lefties. By the way, I can’t wait for this team to play in some AL stadiums or Coors against lefties. It’s going to be awesome. As for the Padres, they have a lot of interesting options. First and foremost, if you aren’t playing Christian Villanueva against a lefty, you are doing it wrong. He hit another bomb off a very good lefty last night and now he gets Holland, who he has a homer against in just 3 ABs. Pirela has been batting in the four hole for the Padres and eats up southpaws while Hosmer might be my favorite sneaky play of the entire slate. He hits in the 2-hole, can hit lefties, is starting to find his stroke, hit a triple off a southpaw Tuesday night and is 7-for-16 with a home run off of Holland in his career. Holland also serves up BP to lefties and has yet to give up a hit to one this season.
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
1. Tommy Pham – $5,000
2. Matt Carpenter – $3,800
3. Marcell Ozuna – $4,000
Total Cost – $12,800
Percentage of Salary Cap – 25%
Combined 2018 Home Runs – 8
Opposing SP HR/9 vs. L (Career) – 1.70
Opposing SP HR/9 vs. R (Career) – 1.61
Justification – The Cardinals won’t be a sneaky stack, but I bet they are lower owned than the Rockies and Cubs. Matt Carpenter and Marcell Ozuna are guys struggling out of the gate. Against RH pitching, they have sub-par batting averages, but their hard contact rates against RH pitching are well above 40% and their BABIPs are low. They have some positive regression headed their way and we might have seen the beginning of that from Carpenter last night with his HR. The Cards take on Lucas Giolito today, and as you can see, he gives up the long ball to both sides of the plate. Pham can do it all and is an excellent play despite his price. He can hit for power, walk (15% BB rate) and steal bases. Big floor here with big upside.
