Get your alcohol, cocaine and maybe even a little weed ready because it’s time for Monday’s MLB evening slate of action.
Why do you need the recreational drugs?
Go look at the pricing and pitchers available to you on DraftKings.
I completely understand if you wanted to wave the white flag and wait for Tuesday’s games to roll around. But if you have looked at the pitching already and are going to play anyway, then perhaps the following edition of The Stack will assist you in some way.
The Stack, if you are new to this feature of Daily Overlay, will look at some of the top stacks on the night relative to pitcher pricing and matchups. Coors Field will never be in this article because that’s just plain obvious and easy. So for tonight’s 9-game slate, here are the stacks I will be looking at based on projected lineups.
Good luck tonight and may the force (and maybe even the darkside this time) be with you.
HOUSTON ASTROS
1. Jose Altuve – $5,200
2. Alex Bregman – $4,300
3. Carlos Correa – $4,900
4. George Springers – $5,200
Total Cost – $19,300
Percentage of Salary Cap – 38%
2017 Combined Home Runs – 123
Justification – It’s hard to say what the Astros lineup will look like exactly, but I imagine that Josh Reddick, Marwin, Brian McCann, Derek Fisher and Evan Gattis all crack the lineup. The Astros will clearly be the most popular stack of the evening. Not only are the regarded as one of the best offenses in baseball, they are facing one of the worst pitchers in baseball and my arch nemesis – Chris Tillman. Tillman has one good year under his belt, but saw a lot of regression in 2017. He’s a shitty pitcher, pardon my french, and I despise him. This game is also the Astros home opener and when they will hang their 2017 championship banner. Bad pitcher + sports narrative + badass lineup = Boom, roasted.
CHICAGO WHITE SOX
1. Jose Abreu – $4,500
2. Avisail Garcia – $3,800
3. Welington Castillo – $3,400
4. Tim Anderson – $3,900
Total Cost – $11,200
Percentage of Salary Cap – 22%
2017 Combined Home Runs – 71
Justification – Here we are again, the White Sox against a lefty, and in a hitter’s paradise, no less. The White Sox roughed up Danny Duffy on Opening Day, and if you didn’t have Tim Anderson and Matt Davidson, you probably weren’t winning any tournaments. Anderson and Davidson are solid options once again, but I am leaving Davidson off of this list again and focus on the other four that guys are statistically better against lefties than everyone else on their team. Abreu, Garcia and Beef all have wRC+ of 134 or better while all four have a wOBA of .344 or better against lefties.
BOSTON RED SOX
1. J.D. Martinez – $4,300
2. Mookie Betts – $4,200
Total Cost – $8,500
Percentage of Salary Cap – 17%
2017 Combined Home Runs – 70
Justification – Trevor Williams is making his big league debut in Miami tonight. He gets a tough test in the form of the Boston Red Sox. While I would rather play the Red Sox at home than in the swallowing confines of Marlins Park, but I will always be interested in taking the opposing offense going up against a pitcher in his first Major League start. Both J.D. Martinez and Mookie Betts are getting a Marlins discount and both have destroyed RH pitching in their careers.
OAKLAND ATHLETICS
1. Matt Olson – $4,100
2. Khris Davis – $4,600
Total Cost – $8,700
Percentage of Salary Cap – 16%
2017 Combined Home Runs – 67
Justification – The Texas Rangers’ 2018 in a nutshell and Monday’s pitching slate – What are two things that define the pitching presence of Bartolo Colon? Yea, Matt Olson is one of my favorite plays on the board, along with Lewis Brinson by the way (one-off mafia). This is Colon we are talking about, who the Rangers signed to only a minor league deal, but here we are four games in and the guy is going to pitch at the age of nearly 45 and for his 23 season in the majors. I was 14 when this guy debuted. I made a bold call with some buddies that the Rangers wouldn’t win 70 games this year. It’s bold, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it came to fruition. On that note, Colon sucks against lefties and Matt Olson is a super cheap, power-heavy, all upside option against Fatty 2 Dope (167 wRC+, .391 ISO, .417 wOBA, 39% hard contact rate and through all of that, somehow a ,239 BABIP, YES A .239 BABIP!). Davis is another big bopper in this lineup that complements Olson well. I am looking for home runs from both guys tonight.
