Chalk Stack(s)

Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Deck McGuire

There aren’t many hotter teams in baseball than the Dodgers right now and now they get a matchup against Deck McGuire who gave up five runs over 3.1 innings his last time out. Since July started, the Dodgers rank first in OPS, wRC+ and wOBA. In just 8.1 innings against right-handed hitters, McGuire has given up SIX home runs, three doubles and one triple. All that translates to a...wait for it… .973 SLG. The Dodgers have SEVEN players with a .347 wOBA or better against righties, including three righties which we already profiled dominate against McGuire.

I’m looking right at Matt Kemp , Yasiel Puig , Chris Taylor and Justin Turner first and foremost. Coming into Friday’s contest, Chris Taylor was hitting .393 over his last 10 games with an OPS over 1.200. He had three straight multi-hit games with seven RBI over that same three-game stretch. Kemp is hitting .314 with a .363 wOBA versus right-handers on the year. Puig hit .288 against right-handed pitchers last year compared to .183 versus southpaws and it’s been much of the same this season, hitting .294 vs. RHP and .202 vs. LHP. Turner himself is hitting .355 over his previous 10 games.

Jumping over to the left side of the dish, Max Muncy is destroying every baseball he sees. He’s hit three five homers over his last 10 games, has hits in five straight and at least two runs in four consecutive. Yasmani Grandal has three straight multi-hit games and RBI’s in each as well. Playing everyone on the Dodgers is honestly in play, including Cody Bellinger and Kiké Hernández if he’s in the play.

Primary Option(s): Yasiel Puig , Chris Taylor , Matt Kemp , Max Muncy , Justin Turner

Secondary Option(s): Yasmani Grandal , Cody Bellinger , Kiké Hernández

 

Houston Astros vs. James Shields

The Astros are always popular regardless of opponent but now they face one of the DFS communities favorite gascans, James Shields . Shields has actually had five straight starts of three earned runs or less, but it’s been more luck than anything else. Shields has a 5.13 SIERA and a 5.17 xFIP which are both a full tick higher than his 4.12 ERA. Let’s not forget the fact these two met up earlier this year and Shields was lit up for seven earned runs. This Astros lineup has a deep history against “Big Game James” hitting .306 off of him over a 98 at-bat span.

There’s nobody else I’m even considering starting my stack with anyone other than Alex Bregman . He very well may be the hottest hitter in baseball right now slashing .415/.478/.927 with five homers and six doubles. Josh Reddick comes into this game hot as well and is 9-for-28 with six extra-base hits including three homers off of Shields. Yuli Gurriel has five multi-hit games over his last nine games and is hitting over .300 over his last 10. We’re finally seeing the power stroke come back too now that he’s healthy with three homers over his last 10 games.

José Altuve is obviously an elite play here too, and probably the top second base option of the slate. It’ll be tough to afford both him and Bregman and I actually prefer the latter, so if you want both you’ll have to pay down for pitching. I like Max Stassi versus lefties so prefer Evan Gattis here if you’re picking a catcher for your Houston stack. Jake Marisnick has been playing sparingly of late but he’s been playing really well when given the opportunity posting a 1.119 OPS. He’s a great value option that could help allow you to get both Altuve and Bregman.

Primary Option(s): Alex Bregman , José Altuve , Josh Reddick , Yulieski Gurriel

Secondary Option(s): Jake Marisnick , Evan Gattis , George Springer

 

Contrarian Stacks

Detroit Tigers vs. Texas Rangers

It’s been a mixed bag of results for Cole Hamels this year and it’s been more bad than good of late. He got taxed for seven runs his last time out and he’s given up 11 just over his last two. His opponents were the Padres and the White Sox soooooo, yeah, not good. Hamels has allowed 20 home runs this season and 19 (!) have come against right-handed hitters. The Tigers rank top-10 in every statistical category you can think of against left-handed pitching, so this is a rough matchup for Hamels.

The build starts with Nicholas Castellanos . He’s a freak of nature when facing southpaws as he’s slashing .432/.483/.691 against them. He comes into this contest hot as well hitting .316 over his last 10 games while belting four bombs and driving in 12. The rest of the Tigers stack is really cheap and will be great to pair with someone like the Astros or Dodgers. There are four other Detroit regulars hitting .280 or better against southpaws as well. José Iglesias , Niko Goodrum , John Hicks and Jeimer Candelario round out the bunch and all are in play here. Hicks comes in the hottest of the group hitting .343 with an OPS well over 1.000 over his last 10 games. Not only is he hitting .354 vs. LHP, but he’s hitting .356 at home as well. Candelario probably possesses the most upside of the group as he has 12 homers and we’ve seen him put up monster performances already this season. Goodrum is a middle-of-the-order bat that hits better from the right side of the plate as evident to his .294 AVG versus southpaws and Iglesias, not known for his bat, is hitting .300+ against southpaws this year.

Mikie Mahtook has led off a few times of late and JaCoby Jones homered on Friday, putting both of them in play as well. Neither are primary options but could become so based on their placement in the Detroit lineup.

Primary Option(s): Nicholas Castellanos , Jeimer Candelario , Niko Goodrum , John Hicks , José Iglesias

Secondary Option(s): Mikie Mahtook , JaCoby Jones