Happy Friday everyone!
Tonight we have a nice and hefty 14-game slate to create lineups. We also have one of the oldest rivalries teeing off against each other in an AL East clash.
The Red Sox travel to New York to take on the Yankees. So with that said, we know that’s where the DFS chalk is going to fall, mostly.
But it is a 14-game slate, so ownership will still spread throughout all games like mayo on a sandwich. However, I expect that the top bats with ownership will be from the Yanks/Red Sox game.
We also have three pitchers priced at $13K or more. That’s starting to get pretty steep for pitching, but it is forcing you to think about roster construction.
I will abstain from putting the Yanks and Red Sox below as stacks BUT, two players from this game are some of my favorite one-offs – Giancarlo Stanton and Mookie Betts (and J.D. is a close third). Other one offs I like today – Manny Machado, Nelson Cruz and Matt Carpenter.
As for the stacks, let’s check them out!
LOS ANGELES DODGERS
1. Cody Bellinger
2. Max Muncy
3. Justin Turner
4. Matt Kemp
5. Kike Hernandez
6. Chris Taylor
Analysis: The Dodgers are in the last game of the night, they are hitting and seeing the ball well, and i don’t think they will draw near as much ownership as they should. As you can see, I’ve put 6 guys from this team that I will be playing tonight as late-night hammers. As far as this stack is concerned, I don’t think I will make ant 5-mans, but I certainly will pair them together or have 3-mans using a combination of the six listed. The Dodgers are at home and take on Rockies’ lefty Tyler Anderson, who has got beat up by both sides of the plate this year. But where the ownership will drop are the lefties against a lefty. However, Anderson has been getting smoked by lefty bats this season to the tune of .449 wOBA, 34% hard contact rate, a 3.07 HR/9 rate, a 2.11 WHIP and 4.83 xFIP. Muncy and Bellinger both crush lefties. Muncy has a .424 wOBA and .333 ISO while Bellinger has a .355 wOBA and .253 ISO. Turner has BvP and the numbers against lefties – .433 wOBA and .161 ISO – but he’s also got the hits against Anderson – 10-for-18 with 3 doubles and a home run. Kike has been on fire, so I am booking my ticket here once again, roll him out as he should be hitting at the top of the lineup. Meanwhile, Kemp and Taylor have mashed lefties well, too. Kemp has a .405 wOBA, .298 ISO and a 50% hard contact rate while Taylor owns a .364 wOBA, .241 ISO and 38% hard contact rate.
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS
1. Paul Goldschmidt
2. John Ryan Murphy
3. Nick Ahmed
4. Ketel Marte
Analysis: The Diamondbacks return home after a long road trip. We saw them face Chen, an awful lefty in Marlins Park a few days ago and absolutely bust. I know the humidor factor is in effect here if the roof is closed, but I still believe in the park and this offense at home. If they happen to open the roof, which I don’t know why Arizona would in that weather environment, but that would be a huge boost to this offense (and their opponent the San Francisco Giant). The D-Backs are up against starter Andrew Suarez, who owns a .368 wOBA, 50% hard contact and 1.54 HR/9 rate to lefties this season. We all know Goldy closes the deal on
WASHINGTON NATIONALS
1. Bryce Harper
2. Daniel Murphy
3. Juan Soto
Analysis: I like Nick Pivetta as a pitcher, but like every other Phillies’ starter, he has a weakness against left-handed bats. Pivetta’s weakness isn’t one of the worst on the slate, but in a hitter’s park against a healthy, starting-to-get-hot Nationals team, I don’t like him very much as a pitching option today, especially at his surging DraftKings’ price. So I’ll take the other side of the mountain and stack these 3 lefties that will hit at the top of the Nationals’ order. Harper is starting to see improvement at the plate, Murphy has hits in three straight (so I am banking on him figuring out his stroke) and Soto has been almost lights out since getting to the majors. Pivetta has a .347 wOBA, 34% hard contact rate and 1.23 HR/9 rate against lefties this season.
MILWAUKEE BREWERS
1. Eric Thames
2. Travis Shaw
3. Brad Miller
Analysis: Play Jesus Aguilar, because I’ve been off the train and I am not hopping on now (he’s gotta cool off first for me). With Christian Yelich exiting yesterday’s game with back issues (go figure, because I played him), we are lefty with three power lefties to target against Reds’ softy Sal Romano. I am sure Yelich will be back in the lineup, but I won’t play him, so go ahead and add him with Aguilar! But the guys I will be targeting are the three lefties above. You can play Miller at 1B, Thames in the OF and Shaw at third. The stack is relatively cheap and you could pair them with some value bats and one of the top pitchers. As for Romano, he gets the Brewers in the Great American Smallpark. Against lefty bats, he owns a .373 wOBA, 39% hard contact rate, 39% hard hit rate, a 1.19 HR/9 rate, a 1.83 WHIP and a 5.10 xFIP. That checks a lot of boxes for me today. Thames, Shaw and Miller all have wOBA’s of .340 or above. Miller has a .190 ISO, Shaw a .291 ISO and Thames a .320 ISO. All have hard hit rates of 40% or above against RH pitching.
