I feel like every couple of weeks I am leading off these things about how awfully ill my daughter is, how much it sucks to forgo sleep in lieu of a 2-year-old vomiting all night and so on.

Well, I am not going to do that this time (though really, my 2-year old caught a stomach bug). Today we are going to discuss MLB DFS for the evening slate only.

People will flock to the Yankees and Red Sox tonight, rightfully so. J.D. Martinez, Matt Olsen,

ST. LOUIS CARDINALS

1. Tommy Pham
2. Jedd Gyorko
3. Marcell Ozuna
4. Yairo Munoz

Justification – Wei. Yin. Chen. The Cardinals get this draw tonight. Chen is somehow still a major league starting pitcher, but he hurls for the Marlins, so they have to fill a starting rotation and a team. Anyway, Chen has been bad this year (who knew?). How bad you say? Against right-handed bats, the same hand the four recommendations listed above, Chen has a .389 wOBA and a 2.35 HR/9 rate. Also, his ERA is more than 5.00 against RH bats, and his xFIP is above 7, so yea, he’s terrible. All four of the Cardinals listed above all has wOBAs of .350 or more and hard hit rates of 40% or better. Gyorko and Munoz each have ISOs of .455 or more while Ozuna’s is very low despite a 47% hard contact rate. That positive regression should be coming around soon!

COLORADO ROCKIES

1. Charlie Blackmon
2. Nolan Arenado
3. Carlos Gonzalez

Justification – The Rockies started hitting well in Coors and then they got to travel to Cincy to play in a smaller, hitter’s park. They drew an easy draw Tuesday night and they get the cream of the crop of gas can pitchers – Sal Romano. Against RH pitching, Romano is allowing 1.89 HR/9. Against lefties, Romano sports a .405 wOBA, a 37% hard contact rate allowed, and a 1.36 HR/9. You know how good Arenado and Blackmon are. They are great cash game plays being on the road against a bad pitcher in a hitter’s park. CarGo isn’t who he used to be, but he’s been hot of late and is seeing everyday playing time with David Dahl on the shelf.

It’s hard to believe we are almost into June. School is almost over for me, and despite having to come back to work after graduation ceremonies, it still doesn’t feel like the end of the school year.

It also doesn’t feel like we have ventured two months into the 2018 MLB season either, but here we are.

Of note, once I get out of school, Daily Overlay will be rolling out a PlayDraft-only article on Tuesdays and Thursdays (hell, maybe more if we can get some traction behind it). If you haven’t checked out PlayDraft, you definitely should. It’s by far the most fun I have playing DFS, especially MLB DFS.

More on that article to come as we get closer to launch, but expect it the week of June 11.

Now back to today. I am focusing on the evening slate for today, so while I would love to talk about the debut of Alex Reyes and how much I hate the Indians, I will stick to the script for tonight. Obviously, Coors is on the slate, so they are off limits for The Stack, per my own rules. But there’s plenty of other routes for us to take. But Nolan Arenado and Trevor Story are going to be lock buttons for me, so I will not be recommending any other 3B or SS on this slate. Chris Iannetta might make that lock button, too, but we will see. Derek Holland is on the mound for the Giants and he’s terrible and I despise him.

Anyway, let’s get to it and may the Schwartz be with you!

WASHINGTON NATIONALS

1. Bryce Harper
2. Juan Soto
3. Matt Adams
4. Mark Reynolds

Justification – No Astros, no Indians, no Red Sox, just Coors. So the Nationals are going to be chalk No. 2 tonight against Baltimore starter David Hess. I am going the lefty route hear because Story and Arenado are locks at their positions for me. Harper is seeing and hitting the ball with ease at the moment. He’s got a .392 wOBA and a .342 ISO against RH pitching. Adams’ numbers this season are even better than that with a .432 wOBA and a .363 ISO. Soto is still feeling his way around against RH pitching, but he has a 40% hard contact rate. That kind of contact is going to result in extra-base hits and Hess is the worst pitcher on the slate, in my books, so maybe today is the day. As for Mark Reynolds, he’s a career lefty masher, but he’s on a tear right now against RH pitching. If you feel like hopping on that train, Reynolds holds a .587 wOBA, a .750 ISO and a 53% hard contact rate all the while holding a .111 BABIP. And why else do I like the Nats so much? Because Hess, like I said, is awful – .420 wOBA and 1.35 HR/9 against lefties this season to go along with a 36% hard contact rate allowed and a HR/9 rate of 2.53.

Happy Friday everyone!

We have a massive 14-game MLB slate to tackle tonight, and there are lots of ways we can go.

There are a lot of stud pitchers to choose from, including the top option, Max Scherzer, against the Florida Marlins.

We have a game in Yankee Stadium between the Angels and Yankees. And Julio Teheran and the Braves travel to Fenway to take on the Red Sox

And then there is Coors, where the Rockies host the Cincinnati Reds and starting pitcher Sal Romano.

So all of that makes for some interesting choices in all formats. I think it’s safe to say that Coors will be quite popular, followed by the Red Sox.

I am not so sure I can pay $14K for Scherzer with all of the firepower offenses in great spots

GAME STACK – TORONTO BLUE JAYS @ PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

Blue Jays

1. Justin Smoak
2. Yangervis Solarte
3. Josh Donaldson
4. Curtis Granderson
5. Teoscar Hernandez

Phillies

1. Carlos Santana
2. Odubel Herrera

Justification – Outside of Coors, this is probably the only game I will stack up tonight. There are a lot of reasons, for me, why this game sticks out. It has a 9 total in a hitter-friendly park. The game is basically a pick ’em with starters Sam Gaviglio (Toronto) and Phillies’ righty Zach Eflin. But the main reason why I like this game is for negative regression reasons. Both Gaviglio and Eflin are pitching way over their heads. The Blue Jays are hitting well up and down the lineup. The Phillies are good at home. Gaviglio has yet to give up a home run to anyone this year. He has a 0.00 ERA against lefties this season, but sports a 5.84 xFIP. In 2016-17, Gaviglio was terrible against both sides of the plate, but in 2018, he’s been rather elite against RH bats in limited action. As for Eflin, he has xFIPs against both sides of the plate that are 3 full runs or more than his ERA. Eflin has been historically bad against lefties himself, and the Blue Jays will throw out quite a few power options. All of the Blue Jays above have .200 ISOs or better this season against RH pitching. The only thing that stinks about this stack is that you can’t stack Carlos Santana and Justin Smoak. You can venture over to FantasyDraft to play them together if you want.

BOSTON RED SOX

1. Andrew Benintendi
2. Rafael Devers
3. Mookie Betts

Justification – Teheran is bad against lefties. The Red Sox return to Fenway. Teheran also can be giving to righties, and facing them in Fenway will do Teheran no favors. Betts has cooled off a bit the past couple of games, but a return home should get him going again. He has 3 extra-base hits in 8 ABs against Teheran. As for Benintendi and Devers, they complete my Red Sox exposure as power lefties, whom Teheran has a .323 wOBA and 40% hard contact rate against. He also has a 5.71 xFIP against lefties this season.

Today is one of those slates where I truly think anything could happen.

There’s not a clear cut pitcher you just have to roster in any pricing tier and any of the higher-end pitchers could get their butts handed to them today.

The chalk could easily hit or Bartolo Colon could work his magic yet again, letting all of us down who rostered Yankees against the Rangers.

Ian Kennedy and Andrew Cashner could troll us all in one way or another. As could Gio Gonzalez, Zack Greinke, Mike Foltynewicz, etc.

Like I said, this slate makes me uncomfortable as far as pitching is concerned. But as for the bats? There’s a few clear, cut options I think we can target and feel confident about.

There are a few one offs I love today, too – Yoan Moncada, Christian Villanueva and Brian Dozier.

Well, let’s get after the rest. May the force be with you!

NEW YORK YANKEES

1. Aaron Judge – $5,500
2. Giancarlo Stanton – $5,100
3. Gary Sanchez – $4,800
4. Didi Gregorius – $3,900

Total Cost – $19,300
Percent of Salary Cap – 38%
Combined 2018 Home Runs – 44
Opposing SP HR/9 vs. LH (2018) – 0.89
Opposing SP HR/9 vs. RH (2018) – 2.03

Justification – The Wizard of Oz Bartolo Colon has defied the odds all year long, but this will be the best offense he’s faced all year. Taking on the Yankees in the heat of Texas at the Ballpark in Arlington is not exactly doing Colon any favors. This stack will be the most popular of the slate, but why shouldn’t it be, 1-9? In this four man, we have 44 combined home runs. No other stack provides that kind of pop today. To be contrarian, taking the bottom of the order certainly would be an option here. These four are likely better cash game options if you don’t want to worry about ownership.

BALTIMORE ORIOLES

1. Manny Machado – $5,600
2. Danny Valencia – $3,500
3. Trey Mancini – $3,800

Total Cost – $12,900
Percent of Salary Cap – 25%
Combined 2018 Home Runs – 25
Opposing SP HR/9 vs. LH (2018) – 1.08
Opposing SP HR/9 vs. RH (2018) – 1.50

Justification – With Hector Santiago on the mound for the White Sox tonight, I imagine some parts of the Baltimore Orioles will be popular. Manny is Manny, but he’s also expensive. He’s worth it though. This season he’s had positive regression against southpaws, sporting a .452 wOBA, .372 ISO and a 41% hard contact rate. As for Valencia and Mancini, both have a wOBA of more than .370 and ISOs of .240 or more. Santiago is a fly ball pitcher who can give up the home run, and with a pitcher’s friendly park and possible extra ABs being the road team, the Orioles’ stack here is definitely in play.

If you are in the “Laurel” or “Yanny” debate, I heard “Laurel.” My wife heard “Yanny.” If you don’t know what I am talking about, Google or search Twitter for “Yanny” and/or “Laurel” or combine the two. You will quickly find out. It’s baffling the way the mind works and how illusions can trick you. […]

Do you play Fortnite?

I have been, but only on my smart phone.

It’s pretty damn difficult on your phone. I don’t have a Mac or PC to play on a laptop, but I hear that’s much easier.

Apparently, David Price must play on his phone because he’s got a case of carpal tunnel syndrome. It’s allegedly from playing Fortnite too much.

Now he makes his next start over the weekend, but he’s been struggling big time of late. Perhaps you should stack against him Saturday just in case this carpal tunnel thing is real and could affect his grip and delivery.

But like Fortnite, we are here to play in a free-for-all in hopes of cashing big in DFS.

We have a 14-game slate on tap for tonight and Coors to boot. As usual, Coors will not be included on The Stack, but of course it’s firmly in play as always.

Let’s get it on and may the force be with you!

SEATTLE MARINERS

1. Nelson Cruz – $4,200
2. Mitch Haniger – $4,200
3. Ryon Healy – $3,700

Total Cost – $12,300
Percentage of Salary Cap – 24%
Combined 2018 Home Runs – 23
Opposing SP HR/9 vs. L (2018) – 0
Opposing SP HR/9 vs. R (2018) – 0.98

Justification – The Seattle stack hasn’t quite worked out for me the past couple of days, so I am not going to hop off now when they have a great matchup against a piss poor lefty starting pitcher. Sure, the game is in a pitcher’s park, but we get the Mariners on the road and that potential extra at-bat. Cruz, Healy and Haniger have been dealing lately. With 23 combined HRs between the three of them and May just getting started, the Mariners provide a lot of pop at cheap-ish prices and will likely have low ownership. Haniger has been the biggest bat of the bunch against lefties. He owns a .450 wOBA, .297 ISO and a 43% hard contact rate this season. Cruz has been struggling of late, but he drew a couple of walks Thursday evening, something I like to see from a bat because it shows that he’s being patient at the plate and is a great sign that he’s busting a slump. As for Healy, he will be a low-owned power bat at first base. I wish he was 3B eligible, but that’s OK because no one will play him at that price in a pitcher’s park.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS

1. Bryce Harper – $5,700
2. Trea Turner – $4,800
3. Matt Adams – $5,000
4. Ryan Zimmerman – $3,700

Total Cost – $19,200
Percentage of Salary Cap – 38%
Combined 2018 Home Runs – 30
Opposing SP HR/9 vs. L (2018) – 1.2
Opposing SP HR/9 vs. R (2018) – 0.87

Justification – I will always stack against Matt Koch. I repeat, I will always stack against Matt Koch. Even if my stack doesn’t work out against him tonight, I will certainly try and try again. Outside of Coors, I imagine the Nationals will be one of the more popular stacks of the evening. Bryce Harper will be leading off on the road, Trea Turner mashes RH pitching, Ryan Zimmerman is super cheap and on a tear and Matt Adams has been downright in flames. Matt Koch has been pitching way over his head as indicated by his 4.00 xFIP against both sides of the plate. If the roof is open for this game, this stack gets taken up a notch.