The Nationals are in play if playing the very early only slate as well. 

As always, things can change based on lineups and weather, so do stay up to date using the Playbook Pro tools.  Below are my favorite stack options for the day.  Good luck!

Stacks for Thursday, June 8

Rockies @ Cubs

As of this writing (9:00am est), the line for this game is off, after an overnight line of roughly 7.5.  Well, I’m thinking this jumps to 11.5 or 12, and it’s due to the warm weather in Chicago today, and the wind is expected to be blowing out at 20mph there. 

The bats still need to make contact though, especially for the Cubs off the 3-0 Hoffman.  While he is an on and off call up for the Rockies, Hoffman has a 24:2 K-to-walk ratio as a starter this year.   As a starter, he has an average fastball velocity of 95.0 MPH this season.  If the Cubs can stay patient at the plate, and wait for their pitch, Hoffman won’t last long with any decent fly ball hit leaving the field today.  Bryant is 3-4 with 2 HR’s off Hoffman.

Butler, like Hoffman, has pitched as a spot starter battling for a rotation spot, but has not been consistent. He had a nice start vs the Marlins last time out, with his one walk being the lowest of the season for him.  Butler has walked 20.9% of left-handed batters this season (Rank: 168th of 169 qualified SPs in MLB; League Avg: 8.9%).

Before that, he gave up six runs in less than five innings at Petco.  Just like the Cubs, if the Rockies can stay patient, the fly balls will come and leave the park.

Bonus:  If you think this will be too popular, take a chance with the alternative stack below, or a high risk Twins/Giants stack.  I like San Fran more during day games than at night.

Top Stack Suggestions: 

Cubs:  Kris Bryant, Kyle Schwarber as leadoff today, Wilson Contreras,  Ben Zobrist or Almora.

Rockies:  Charlie Blackmon, Mark Reynolds, Ian Desmond, Trevor Story or Carlos Gonzalez

Alternative Stack:  St Louis and San Diego: The Cardinals are in another great spot tonight, but keep becoming a let down. Pivetta has had control problems, and the temp could reach close to 90 degrees as well there this afternoon.  Feel free to take a risk, pairing them with the cheap Padres up against Kennedy, who has a 10.80 ERA in last four starts after returning from injury.

 

Evening Slate:

Just like the day slate, there are some high total matchups in the warm weather situations. 

 

Cleveland

Indians are already projected to score over 6 runs tonight, which is extremely high.  The Yankees are creeping up, but still pretty far behind.   Cleveland gets the White Sox again with David Holmberg taking the mound.  He’s only had two starts this season, as he is more of a relief pitcher, and has not pitched more than four innings yet.  He also has a ridiculously low strikeout rate of 8.8%as a starter, with opponents have a chase percentage of just 13.2% (10/76) against Holmberg as a starter this season (Rank: 195th of 195 qualified SPs in MLB; League Avg: 28.3%).

You can also look at some cheaper Cleveland guys once the lineups come out in order to pay for Sale.

Feel free to also target the opposite side with the White Sox.  While the Red Sox have a high projected total, only Sandoval has taken Verlander deep.  The White Sox have Abreu, Anderson, and Davidson who have all taken Tomlin deep in the past, but Melky and Frazier are just a combined 6-37 with no runs or rbi’s vs him

Top Stack Suggestions:  Francisco Lindor, Edwin Encarnacion or Carlos Santana, Austin Jackson, Jose Ramirez

Secondary:  Go with the higher priced lefty bats since Holmberg won’t last long and doesn’t K anyone.

*Alternative to this stack:  Full stack of this game including the cheap Sox hitters with the Indian’s big bats.

 

Additional thoughts on evening slate:

Evening slate is looking like a more gpp friendly slate to me over cash games.  Have some alternative options to Sale, but no real dominant #2 pitcher as of now.  Outside of Cleveland, Holiday took Tilman deep twice last time they faced off, and the Yankees have been playing some good baseball lately.   Can also fly with the Brewers and D-Backs again.  Lamb went deep last night, and took Guerra deep before, while the Brewers continue to hold on to first place in the central, and def not due to their bullpen.