A 14 game main slate tonight, but there are weather concerns in the top two offensive matchups in Colorado and Cincy.  The Cubs/Rockies were hailed out last night, and will play a doubleheader, with only the second game counting in the main slate. 

Their evening game features the struggling Lackey vs Freeland.  Both sides are in play, and hoping a few cheap options pop up for them in game two.  If the weather holds up, expect these teams to have elite hitting options, but won’t be able to afford all of them if going with Scherzer.   

The same could be said for this season’s version of the 2014 Cubs, which is this year’s Yankees squad.  Their mix of young players with veterans have provided some great stacking options lately.  Throw in some cheap right handed bats from the Reds like Kivlehan and Peraza, paired with Duvall and four Yankee’s, and you have a nice all-in, full game stack.  Follow the weather center to make sure both these games will play before first pitch.

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 Tuesday, May 9

 

Washington

The Nationals continue their interleague series at Baltimore today after losing the first game last night.  They face Ubaldo Jimenez and his 6.58ERA today in hopes to split the two games before heading to Washington for the final two.  As a starter, Ubaldo Jimenez has allowed an OPS of 1.310 with RISP this season (Rank: 142nd of 146 qualified SPs in MLB; League Avg: .757).  Washington hitters have been getting on base this season, and have come to the plate with runners in scoring position in 26.7% of their plate appearances this season (Rank: 5th of 30 in MLB)., and have an OBP of .411 with runners on base this season (Rank: 1st of 30 in MLB).

Turner had the day off yesterday, and should be back in the leadoff spot, hoping to break out of slump.  Harper went deep in yesterday’s game after being out over the weekend, and even with Zimmerman’s O’fer yesterday, he’s leading the national league with a .420 avg, 13 HR’s and 34 rbi’s.  If you are rostering Scherzer, you won’t be able to roster a full four players, but if stacking the Nats, their price tags will force you to either go cheap everywhere else, or find a cheaper pitcher to pair with them.

Top Stack Suggestions:  

Nats projected 1-4 batters:  Trea Turner, Jayson Werth, Bryce Harper, Ryan Zimmerman

Nats projected 5-8 batters:  Daniel Murphy, Anthony Rendon, Matt Wieters, Adam Lind

*Alternative to the Washington Stack:  Houston Astros vs Bartolo Colon

 

 Oakland

I always tend to look at the A’s when needing a salary relief stack, and it works again for me tonight.

They face Alex Meyer, who has allowed an OBP of .462  this season (Rank: 162nd of 163 qualified SPs in MLB).  He’s had two spot starts this season, lasting no more than four innings, and averaging a little under a walk per inning.  Although he hasn’t allowed a HR since September of last year, opponents have a miss rate of just 2.1% (1/48) against Alex Meyer on pitches in the strike zone this season.

This matchup is interesting as A’s hitters have missed 28.5% of swung-on pitches with two strikes this season (Rank: 29th of 30 in MLB), but have gone deep when they connect, having homered every 20.4 at bats in home games this season (Rank: 3rd of 30 in MLB).  Davis is a top hr threat for Oakland, but is 0-4 with four K’s vs Meyer.  It’s still hard to fade him in an A’s stack though.  Last night their power came from a double dng night from the cheap Lowrie, and hoping for a similar result from their cheap salaries again tonight.

Top Stack Suggestions:  Matt Joyce, Jed Lowrie, Khris Davis, Yonder Alonso

Secondary Stack Suggestion:  Ryon Healy, Rajai Davis, Stephen Vogt, Trevor Plouffe

*Alternative to the Oakland stack:  Chicago White Sox

 

St. Louis @ Miami

Mentioned at the top of the article are the two top game stacks to target, but in a large gpp, may need to look for a game not many will be on.  The problem is that when up against 50,000 entries, just about every combo is usually played.  This matchup may have some players that may be higher owned than you would expect, but I think it will go overlooked, making it a nice higher risk style stack.

Wainwright takes the mound for the Cards, and has now given up at least nine hits in four of his six starts this season.  That equates to opponents hitting for a .371 avg, and a BABIP of .459 this season.  Stanton is 0-8 lifetime vs Wainwright, but has gone deep in three straight games.  

Miami's pitcher, Straily, is nowhere near the worst pitcher taking the mound today, but has struggled when not facing the Padres this year.  Over his last two starts, he’s 0-2 with 8 walks and 8 K’s with 7 earned runs allowed in just 10 ? innings.  Straily has been throwing strikes this year, having a strike rate of 69.8% vs right-handed batters this season, but the reason for the walks is that opponents are able to read his pitches well, having a chase rate of just 10.0% when he's behind in the count this season (Rank: 151st of 153 qualified SPs in MLB).  

Jedd has taken Straily deep in both of his hits in eight lifetime at bats vs him, while Carp is still looking for his first hit off him after an 0-6 start.  Cardinals hitters are slugging .447 versus RHP this season (Rank: 5th of 30 in MLB), and may get a boost with Fowler back in the lineup tonight after coming in as a pinch hitter last night.

Top Stack Suggestions:

St. Louis:  Jedd Gyorko, Matt Carpenter, Kolten Wong, and a personal preference OF play from Randal Grichuk, Dexter Fowler, Tommy Pham

Miami:  Giancarlo Stanton, Christian Yelich, Dee Gordon, J.T. Realmuto

Alternative to St. Louis/Miami full game stack:  Kansas City/Tampa Bay