Top-Tier
Vladimir Guerrero Jr., TOR – Vladdy is having a great year, hitting .312 with 36 home runs, 89 RBI, and an MLB-leading 92 runs scored. He also leads the AL in OBP, OPS, and TB. He is hitting .321 with a home run and five runs scored over the last seven games. He has massive reverse splits, slashing .323/.404/.645 against righties with 30 home runs and 18 doubles, compared to .275/.413/.471 against lefties with six home runs and two doubles. Today he faces Hutchison, who, in his first start since 2018, was tagged for six runs in 1.2 innings of work his last time out. A Blue Jays stack is expensive, but their offense should explode today for a lot of runs.
Marcus Semien, TOR – Given the last line in Vladdy’s breakdown, it shouldn’t be that surprising to see the next hitter be another Blue Jay. Semien homered in yesterday’s game… his fourth bomb in his last five games. He is now hitting .272 with 30 home runs, 13 steals, 73 RBI, 89 runs, and an MLB-best 33 doubles. Just an incredible first season in Toronto for the second baseman. Similar to Vlad, Semien also has reverse splits, slashing .280/.343/.552 against righties, compared to .250/.322/.485 against lefties. The Jays are going to put a big number on the board today.
Mid-Tier
Whit Merrifield, KC – Whit has logged three straight games with double-digit DK points while stealing a base in all of those games. He is hot at the dish in general lately, hitting .362 with SIX steals and nine runs scored over his last 11 games. He is now hitting .276 on the year with eight home runs, 57 RBI, 69 runs scored, and an MLB-best 37 steals (with only being caught twice… incredible!). Today he gets to face Mills, who has a 4.19 ERA and 1.41 WHIP this season. There is no reason to believe that Merrifield can’t keep his momentum going in this one.
Jorge Soler, ATL – Soler is hitting .051 points higher with Atlanta so far than he was hitting with the Royals and he has already homered four times in 19 games with the club. He is slashing .263/.400/.526 over the last five games. He has been far better against lefties this season too, slashing .214/.328/.513 against them with 10 home runs in 117 at-bats, compared to a .195/.294/.330 slash against righties with just seven home runs in 261 at-bats. Means has not been the same pitcher since coming back from IL as he has a 6.10 ERA, .301 BAA, and has given up nine home runs across 31 innings pitched (six starts). The Braves offense will likely remain hot and are another stackable team.
Bargain Bin
Andrew Benintendi, KC – Benny stayed hot yesterday, going 2-4 with a double and a run scored, extending his hitting streak to seven games. He is hitting .407 with a home run, three doubles, and six runs scored in that span. He has been a far better player on the road this season, slashing .286/.341/.490 away from Kansas City, compared to .239/.282/.355 at home. Left-handed bats have done more damage against Mills this season, slashing .288/.373/.477 against him, compared to the .276/.319/.379 line that righties have produced.
Jake Meyers, HOU – Meyers has done an incredible job filling in for Tucker, hitting .333 with three home runs, a steal, 10 RBI, and eight runs scored over the last 10 games. He is currently on a five-game hitting streak and he has five RBI over the last two games. He only has 12 PA against lefties thus far, but he has produced a very strong .333/.333/.667 slash line across them with a home run and a double. Today he faces a middle-tier lefty in Anderson, who has a 4.10 ERA. Righties have done all the damage against Anderson, slashing .261/.299/.467 with 17 home runs and 18 doubles, compared to .220/.256/.276 for lefties with one home run and four doubles. Meyers is a steal at his price tag.