Top Stack Options
Cubs/Mets
The slate is pretty tough to read tonight for stacking, as you are likely going to either attack average teams vs weaker pitching, or attack top bats vs solid to above average pitching. Tonight, two top pitchers take the mound against each other in the highest projected scoring game of the slate. You can chalk that up to the conditions at Wrigley, which is another hot and humid night with the wind blowing out. From this game, I would lean more towards the Cubs bats, as they have scored 29 runs over their last four at home, and still haven’t lost since trading for Murphy. The Mets also finally broke down late in their last game yesterday to allow 15 runs. Daniel Murphy collected another two hits yesterday to make it four out of five games for the Cubs with multiple hits, while Jason Heyward is coming off a 4-4 game, and is 4-9 off Syndergaard. Anthony Rizzo and Javier Báez would be my additional bats from the Cubs, but don’t mind the hot hitting David Bote , who hit another long ball for the Cubs yesterday. Lester has looked good lately, but has allowed 13 earned, and five homers over his last 8.2 innings at home. Wilmer Flores is 6-16, with three homers off him, while Austin Jackson is batting .400 over 30 at bats vs Lester. Todd Frazier remains a cheap homer threat, while Amed Rosario remains a cheap leadoff bat.
Blue Jays
The Blue Jays work if going the average team vs weaker pitching route. The Blue Jays had their winning streak end yesterday but enter the series to start the week with a 12-1 record vs the O’s this year. Hess can only beat the Rays this year, but hasn’t looked bad vs the Blue Jays, and will be up against them for the second straight start. I think the Blue Jays get to him tonight, and starts with Kendrys Morales , who homered off him in that last start, and a homer tonight will match the MLB record of going deep in eight straight games. I’ll also use Billy McKinney for the second straight day, as he didn’t show signs of slowing down his hot start by going for two doubles yesterday after homering in each of his previous two games. Will likely need to wait for lineups to complete a four-pack stack, but don’t overthink it if going with Toronto, and focus on the top of their lineup.
Yankees
The Yankees are a hot team, but the White Sox have been playing much better than the last two Yankees opponents in Miami and Baltimore. The Yankees will still be popular though, as they check in currently with the highest implied run total of the slate. Rodon hasn’t pitched that bad lately and will likely stay away from this game myself. While he has gone 4-0, with an ERA of 1.75 over his last eight starts, Rodon is only 1-3, with a 7.11 ERA over four career starts vs the Yankees. If targeting the Yankees, I would try to build it around Miguel Andujar and Aaron Hicks , and then take your pick of the multiple cheap bats to complete the four pack. Andujar is swinging a hot bat with multiple hits in four straight and six out of his last nine games. On the cheap side, Luke Voit seems like more of a cash game punt option but works well for salary relief if looking to pair up the Cubs with the Yankees. Voit went 7-11, with three homers and only one strikeout in the series vs the O’s, and the sites didn’t get the memo yet to increase his price tag.
Possible Lower Owned Stack
Diamondbacks
While last week I was all about the west coast games, the start of this week seems to be more about the heat out east, and the conditions at Wrigley vs top pitching. If looking for the late-night option, I like the D-Backs chances of stealing the first game on the road in this key series for both teams. Stratton has a 6.09 home ERA for the season and has put up a worse stat line in each of his last three starts vs the D-Backs, going from one earned, to three, and then six earned in only three innings vs Arizona earlier this month to make him lose his starting spot for a bit. Both Paul Goldschmidt and David Peralta took him deep in that last game and would be your top two players to build around. As with most of these top hitting teams, those two will cost you plenty of salary, but if going with a D-Backs stack, you may as well add in their other high-priced option in A.J. Pollock . After him, I would wait to see what your salary restraints look like before choosing your fourth player. Although not a full late-night hammer, I would pair them up with the Astros infield, and George Springer to complete a four by four high priced hitting stack.