We are going to focus on tonight’s main slate for this “Stack the Deck” article. Sure, it limits our options, but we can really get a narrowed focus on who we should be stacking on. I can’t seem to get that stat brought up by our own Ben Scherr in the April 4th edition of the “STD” (admittedly, not a great abbreviation) article. Ben mentioned that “96.4% of all lineups that cashed last season on DraftKings stacked at least two players.”
Let’s not forget that. And -- let’s focus on the two-to-three player stack. In my opinion, stacking two or three players gives your lineup much more flexibility and can be used in cash and tournament play. The more you stack, the more you are “putting your eggs in one basket” and if they don’t come through - you are, for lack of a better term - screwed.
So, we will take the four games starting at or after 6:05 PM EST and breakdown the top four options and then identify the two or three players to help you build a winning lineup. Find the ones you like best and plug the 2-3 players into your lineup and then use the other great tools around here like the Playbook, Lineup Generator, Hitting / Pitching Coaches to build that monster lineup.
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS |||||| vs. Jered Weaver (R) ||||| Implied Run Total: 5.95
There are so many reasons to be stacking on the Diamondbacks tonight. Let’s start with Chase Field, known as a hitters park and with the 17 MPH wind blowing out to center field things are even more ripe for offense. Jered Weaver is on the mound for the Padres and his 6.38 FIP. The D-Backs are ranked first in many offensive categories against RHP and the have the highest Vegas implied run total (ERT) - for good reason - tonight. Now, you just have to figure out which players you’d like to deploy in your stack:
1B Paul Goldschmidt -- He’s heating up with a .435 ISO and .637 wOBA in his last seven games. No reason that should change tonight.
OF A.J. Pollock -- Speaking of hot. He’s posted a .430 wOBA over the last two weeks and his contact profile shows that he’s really seeing the ball right now.
OF David Peralta -- Speaking of hot (again). He’s red hot and you should jump on board now.
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS ||||| vs. Casey Lawrence (R) ||||| IRT: 4.78
The Cardinals, and their less-than-impressive offense thus far gets the nod as our second option. Their Vegas ERT is second of these eight teams and that has the most to do .jpg)
with the opposing starting pitcher, Casey Lawrence. His 5.90 FIP and 8.6 BB/9 (!) through his first 8.1 IP shows that he’s off to a slow start. The Cardinals should be able to jump all over him tonight in the second of a twin bill. The top three players from the Cardinals:
2B/3B Jedd Gyorko -- We have to have the hottest hitter in the lineup here, right? His .686 wOBA over the last seven games gives up plenty of hope for the new clean-up hitter in the lineup. Additionally, Casey Lawrence relies on a pretty average 91 MPH fastball and Gyorko is crushing fastballs so far this year.
OF Randal Grichuk -- He’s been better than his numbers have shown and he’s showing signs of life over the last seven days. We think he’ll be in both lineups.
C Eric Fryer -- What, what, what!? Yeah, that’s right. We’re throwing in Fryer, who is an underrated hitter who is buried by Yadier Molina. He’ll play the second game of this double-dip and he’s a value play, allowing you to spend elsewhere.
SAN DIEGO PADRES ||||| vs. Taijuan Walker (R) ||||| IRT: 4.55
This is what a short slate will do to you. Puts the Padres in as the third best stack option. Well, with that wind blowing out at Chase Field, it can make anybody look good, I guess. Walker has not been great this year and while he provides good strikeout numbers, he’s prone to a blow up from time to time. Our top three plays:
1B Wil Myers -- Myers has killed RHP early on and thrives in these hitters environments (see: Cycle at Coors earlier this year). His .397 wOBA vs. RHP should show up tonight.
C Austin Hedges -- Hedges is not known as big-time offensive prospect but he’s been knocking the ball around lately, including hitting a lot of fly balls (49%). That plays well at Chase Field tonight.
OF Manuel Margot -- He’s cooled down a bit since the hot start, but he’ll likely be be at the top of the order in this one, which means opportunities.
BOSTON RED SOX ||||| vs. Mashiro Tanaka (R) ||||| IRT: 4.00
Let's face it, the Red Sox have not enjoyed much sustained success against Yankees starter Masahiro Tanaka in the past. However, maybe they have seen him just enough to have the breakout performance against him. Fenway can aid in making that happen. So, why not? Keep in mind, they are just the fourth (of eight) option - so we aren't suggesting going too crazy on them. Top three choices:
OF Mookie Betts -- You can’t have a Boston stack without their best overall hitter. He’s struggled against Tanaka, but playing at Fenway will help reverse those historicals.
2B Dustin Pedroia -- He’s expected to leadoff and he’s been putting the ball in play. Opportunity + Volume = potential success. Success is something DP has yet to enjoy much of this season.
OF Andrew Benintendi -- We like that .380 early wOBA return against RHP and he’ll be likely hitting second in this order. If the Red Sox are going to smoke Tanaka - he’ll be in the middle of it.