What an interesting day for baseball. There are just eight games Monday, with two in the afternoon and six in the main slate. Out of the 16 starting pitchers, seven are lefties. Outside of Chris Sale, non of the lefties are particularly good, and the same could be said for righties Nick Pivetta, Eddie Butler, Ricky Nolasco, German Marquez, Michael Wacha and Jeff Samardzija. With so many weak pitchers, there are a lot of attractive stacks. For that reason, some of the more obviously—and likely more popular—stacks are found towards the bottom of this list. If you can afford the Nationals or Yankees I won’t talk you out of playing them, but you will get far greater value if the stacks at the top come through.
Steve’s stacks for Monday, June 26 in order of preference
Chicago White Sox vs. New York Yankees (Jordan Montgomery, L)
Tim Anderson, Todd Frazier, Jose Abreu, Melky Cabrera, Adam Engel, Avisail Garcia, Matt Davidson
You could make the argument Jordan Montgomery is the best lefty going Monday besides Chris Sale. For that reason, the White Sox should be a sneaky stack, and I love that they won’t break the bank. The White Sox have the best wOBA in baseball against left-handed pitchers this season. Of the White Sox listed in the stack above, Tim Anderson has the lowest OPS against lefties at .790. Adam Engel is a great value at the top of the order, and Todd Frazier is showing signs of life, going 7-for-25 with two home runs over his last seven games.
Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Los Angeles Angels (Ricky Nolasco, R)
Chase Utley, Joc Pederson, Justin Turner, Cody Bellinger, Chris Taylor, Yasmani Grandal
Ricky Nolasco has allowed a .385 wOBA this season, the highest among pitchers going Monday. Nick Pivetta is next at 3.64. Unlike Pivetta and most of the pitchers on this slate, Nolasco has been nearly equally poor against righties (.400 wOBA) and lefties (.371 wOBA). Ideally, the Dodgers would bat Chase Utley first and Joc Pederson second like they did Saturday, and then you could simply stack the first four or five batters in the lineup. You could also skip whoever leads off (likely Utley or Forsythe) in favor of the heart of the order. Only the Diamondbacks, Yankees and Nationals have a higher OPS at home than the Dodgers. Bellinger, Turner and Pederson are all batting .444 or better over the last seven days.
Chicago Cubs @ Washington Nationals (Gio Gonzalez, L)
Jon Jay, Albert Almora, Ian Happ, Willson Contreras, Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo
Jay led off the last time the Cubs faced a lefty, and for as good as Anthony Rizzo has been leading off this season, I hope Jay leads off again. Everyone in Chicago’s projected starting lineup has been better against lefties than righties this season. Happ is 11-for-27 with two home runs and six RBI over the last seven days. Only the White Sox have a better wOBA against lefties than the Cubs
Washington Nationals vs. Chicago Cubs (Eddie Butler, R)
Bryce Harper, Anthony Rendon, Trea Turner, Daniel Murphy, Brian Goodwin
If the Nationals cost as much as the Cubs, they would likely be higher. Also, I suspect Washington will be more popular than either Chicago stack despite the high price you have to pay. That is enough to make me want to stay away, even though the Nationals rank third in wOBA at home and wOBA against righties.
New York Yankees @ Chicago White Sox (David Holmberg, L)
Aaron Judge, Starlin Castro, Matt Holliday, Ronald Torreyes, Aaron Hicks, Gary Sanchez
The Yankees have been much better this season at home and against righties, so you probably aren’t getting great value. While I’m unconvinced David Holmberg is a real big league pitcher, he has a 4.18 FIP and isn’t even close to being the worst pitcher in this slate. The Yankees will likely be a popular stack despite their high prices, which is why I prefer the stacks listed above.