Only 8 games for the Sunday main slate this afternoon. While I do believe today's Rockies//Cubs game will be what we expected yesterday with the same hitting conditions, I feel you can have exposure to that game, but will provide some alternatives. Even with strong winds, the Cubs weren’t able to put the ball in play at all.
As always, things can change based on lineups and weather, so do stay up to date using the Playbook Pro tools. Below are my favorite stack options for the day. Good luck!
Stacks for Sunday, June 11
New York Combo
The two teams from New York scored a combined 30 runs in their three games yesterday. Today, the Yankees face Kevin Gausman for the fourth time this season already. Gausman has an ERA of 7.71 on the road this season (Rank: 98th of 101 qualified SPs in MLB), and allowing a .323 batting average against him this season. During the Yankees four game win streak, they have 13 HR’s and are batting .369. While the entire Yankees team is on fire, Judge is batting .417 with six homers and 16 runs against Baltimore this year.
While the Yankees, are a top play, pairing them with some cheap Mets may help you afford a top pitcher today. They face a solid pitcher today in Garcia, who has four straight quality starts, but after a doubleheader yesterday, we may find some value in their lineup if Lagares, Flores, or Rivera are in the top of the order. Mets hitters are slugging .510 on the road this season (Rank: 1st of 30 in MLB), as well as leading the league in hitting a homer every 18.4 at bats on the road. You can probably avoid the Mets left-handed bats if they start any today.
Top Stack Suggestions:
Yankees: Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez, Didi Gregorius, Aaron Hicks.
Mets: Juan Lagares, Wilmer Flores or T.J. Rivera, Yoenis Cespedes,
Alternative Stack: If some cheap Cubs or Rockies backups make the lineup today, you can pair them with the Yankees.
Pennsylvania Combo
May not be a popular play today, but a stack from the state of Pennsylvania could be an interesting route to take. The Pirates are up against their old teammate Jeff Locke today for the Marlins. He’s had two starts this year, and although he wasn’t rocked, Locke as a starter has an ERA of 7.55 on the road since the start of 2016 (Rank: 169th of 172 qualified SPs in MLB; League Avg: 4.58). The Pirates offense has scored seven runs in both of their last two games, and are looking to improve their OPS of just .704 (1,132 PAs) at home this season (Rank: 26th of 30 in MLB).
The other team from the same state, the Phillies, have a matchup on the road vs Wainwright today. After four starts where he allowed a combined one earned run, Adam was rocked by Cincy in his last start for 9 runs. They’ve scored only four runs over their past four games, but on two pitcher sites, you can go this route to take two top pitchers. Many will go the hitting route with cheap pitching, so this provides you a different option. While Phillies hitters have missed 34.4% (589/1,710) of swung-on pitches on non-fastballs this season (Rank: 27th of 30 in MLB), Wainwright is hit or miss, and 89 degrees in St Louis with the wind blowing out puts them in play.
Pittsburgh: Adam Frazier, Jose Osuna, Elias Diaz, Andrew McCutchen
Philadelphia: Cesar Hernandez, Freddy Galvis, Odubel Herrera, Maikel Franco.
*Alternative to this stack: Full stack Phillies and Cardinals.
Player News
Cam Smith is not in the starting lineup for the Astros on Wednesday against the Brewers.
Smith has struggled in his jump to the big leagues, slashing .212/.302/.365 in 26 games with a 30 percent strikeout rate. Zach Dezenzo will start in left field on Wednesday, with Chas McCormick getting the start in right field.
Amed Rosario is starting at third base and batting second for the Nationals on Wednesday against the Guardians.
Rosario has shifted back into a part-time role with Jose Tena playing well at third base. Tena will take a seat against a left-handed pitcher on Wednesday, as will Josh Bell with Alex Call entering the starting lineup and James Wood sliding to DH for the day.
David Festa allowed one run on three hits in 5 2/3 innings for Triple-A St. Paul on Tuesday.
Festa also struck out seven and didn’t walk a single batter while throwing 50 of his 72 pitches for strikes. Minnesota still seems to want to limit how deep Festa pitches into games, but at this point, it may just be to save his pitches for later in the season. He and Zebby Matthews will continue to produce at Triple-A until Minnesota deems them worthy of regular spots in the MLB rotation.
Twins OF prospect Carson McCusker went 3-for-4 with two home runs, three RBI, and a steal for Triple-A St. Paul on Wednesday.
The massive 6'8" prospect is now up to nine home runs and a 1.071 OPS in 28 games so far this season. There is some swing-and-miss in his game, but that’s to be expected with a 6'8" power hitter. He also has a 41 percent hard hit rate and continues to do damage when he does make contact. McCusker is not a great defender and will likely only be a short-side platoon hitter in Minnesota, so there may not be tons of fantasy value, but with a very left-handed lineup, it makes sense for Minnesota to call him up and see if he can inject some power into the offense.
Marlins OF prospect Andrew Pintar went 4-for-4 with a stolen base, an RBI, and one run scored for Triple-A Jacksonville on Tuesday.
The speedy centerfielder is off to his best start in a professional season, slashing .315/.357/.348 in 28 games at Triple-A with 10 steals. He doesn’t hit for much power and is striking out more than he ever has before, so it’s fair to wonder if this lasts, but he did steal 24 bases last year in 102 games, so he could be a deep league option for speed alone if he were to get the call to come up to Miami at any point.
Zac Veen went 2-for-4 with two doubles for Triple-A Albuquerque on Tuesday.
Veen is now hitting .361 with two home runs, one steal, and a 1.051 OPS in 61 at-bats at Triple-A this season. At this point, it seems like the Rockies just need to let the 23-year-old figure it out at the MLB level, but it’s the Rockies, so they probably won’t.