Chalk Stack(s)

Houston Astros vs. Tyler Anderson

Now, Anderson has had a pretty good season, but we’re not talking about last year’s world champions getting to hit in Coors. Versus left-handed pitching on the year, the Astros rank second in wOBA and third in wRC+. There is a reason why Anderson’s wOBA at home versus the road is 41 points higher and he’s given up four more home runs as well.

The Astros have five batters hitting .290 or better against southpaws this season and José Altuve is NOT even one of them. The five are Yuli Gurriel , Josh Reddick , Alex Bregman , Max Stassi and George Springer . Out of those five, Bregman and Springer posses the most upside with their ability to hit multiple home runs on any given night. I love mixing in Reddick here actually because it’s a lefty-lefty matchup and I’m not sure how much he’ll be owned. He could be the sneakiest Astro of the night. Stassi and Gurriel both profile in cash games and tournament stacks, both will go highly owned.

We’re not going to just forget José Altuve however. He’s still the best player on this team and the reigning AL MVP. He hasn’t been great and that’s obvious, but to go out and win a tournament and take home the big prizes, you have to take a risk sometimes, and Altuve could be that risk here. Marwin González is also riding a six-game hitting streak and is a cheap route to take for mor Astros exposure.

Primary Option(s): Alex Bregman , George Springer , Josh Reddick , Yuli Gurriel , Max Stassi

Secondary Option(s): José Altuve , Marwin González

 

Contrarian Stack(s)

Chicago Cubs vs. Clay Buchholz

By no means am I saying Clay Buchholz is having a bad year, because he hasn’t. He even has respectable marks in the SIERA (4.03) and xFIP (4.12) departments, but based on his past couple of seasons, I’m not buying it. The Cubs currently sit with a very nice 5.04 implied run total, which is seventh highest on the slate.

There are a few Cubs hitters that are really hot at the dish right now and are going to be a really big problem for Buchholz. Anthony Rizzo leads the pack hitting .444 over his last 10 games. He hasn’t belted any homers over that span, but he has five doubles and a triple while driving in six runs. Javier Báez has been consistent all year long, but has done literally everything for the Cubs the last 10 games scoring seven runs, driving in nine more, hitting two bombs and swiping two bags. Jason Heyward , one of the more surprising breakout players of the year, has continued doing it with the bat posting a .333 AVG and .873 OPS over his last 10.

Right-handed pitching is where the Cubbies have thrived this season. Kyle Schwarber has 19 homers this year; all 19 have come against RHP. Ian Happ has an impressive .389 wOBA versus right-handers and Ben Zobrist is balancing average (.297) and wOBA (.379) quite well. Willson Contreras has also done most of his work verusus right-handed pitching hitting .284 with six bombs and a .356 wOBA. Albert Almora , someone who destroyed southpaws last year, is an option here to due to the fact he’s raised his game and now is hitting .317 vs. RHP.

Primary Option(s): Anthony Rizzo , Javier Báez , Jason Heyward , Kyle Schwarber , Ian Happ

Secondary Option(s): Willson Contreras , Albert Almora , Ben Zobrist

 

Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Shane Bieber

To be honest, this is more about the Pirates offense than it is about Bieber. Bieber has been really good since joining the Indians. He’s posted a very good 23-percent K-rate while his SIERA and xFIP sit in the mid-three’s. That said, only the Dodgers have been better against right-handed pitching since the start of July than the Pirates.

Over the last 10 days, Grégory Polanco , Corey Dickerson and Starling Marte have combined for 14 home runs. Dickerson is currently riding a five-game hit streak in which he has four multi-hit games and five homers. If we’re talking about hit streaks, we can’t just leave out the fact that Marte extended his to 16 games on Monday. I guess the PED’s didn’t play much a factor in how he’d do, huh? Polanco hasn’t been as great as the other two, but he has seven extra-base hits in his last 10 games and has hit 14 of his 17 bombs off of right-handed pitching.

Josh Bell and Colin Moran are two other Pirates that are just scorching hot. Bell has slashed a robust .455/.550/.606 over his last 10 while Moran’s hitting a cool .355 and provides you with some salary relief as well. Speaking on salary relief, Jordy Mercer has five doubles and a .932 OPS over his las 10.

Primary Option(s): Corey Dickerson , Grégory Polanco , Starling Marte , Josh Bell

Secondary Option(s): Colin Moran , Jordy Mercer