Daily Fantasy Baseball Stacks for 05/30/17

*Austyn Varney*

Daily Fantasy Baseball Stacks – Tuesday, May 30

Welcome to Lineup Lab’s DFS MLB Lineup picks article, where we feature our top players for our MLB Lineup Optimizer on Fanduel and Draftkings. Put your favorite stacks from the article below in our lineup optimizer and hit calculate. You can let it fill in the rest of the spots for you or choose your personal favorites from the MLB Player Lab.

**STARTING PITCHERS**

Chris Sale vs. Chicago White Sox
Park – Guaranteed Rate Field

In DFS, you certainly don’t want to get hung up on narratives. They are very unpredictable and there is really no telling how emotions will impact a player. With that being said, there are a few exceptions. Chris Sale returning to U.S. Cellular Field is definitely one of them. He played for the White Sox for his entire career and will be bringing a different level of passion to the mound in this one. While I guess he could miss spots and give up some homers, I’m thinking quite the opposite. As an elite pitcher, he understands how to control himself and keep his emotions under control. Sale has arguably been the best pitcher in DFS so far this season. He’s holding a .241 combined wOBA and is striking out nearly 12 batters per 9 innings. The White Sox hold the lowest implied team total on the board and it’s no surprise. They are a bad offense and face off with a guy who knows the in and outs of every hitter. The White Sox have played over their head against lefties so far, sporting a .341 BABIP and a low 26% hard contact rate. Sale is easily the top option on this slate and a guy you will want exposure to in all formats. While the fade is always in play with MLB, it’s going to be quite tough today, when considering the other pitching options.

Ivan Nova vs. Arizona Diamondbacks
Park – PNC Park

Like I said, there is a pretty steep drop after Chris Sale. Most offenses are implied to score a lot tonight, so we have to pick and choose out of only a few pitching options. Ivan Nova is facing off with the Diamondbacks at home in PNC Park. The D-backs are a team we never target at home but are a completely different lineup on the road. In 2016, they posted a .296 wOBA against righties on the road, which was 2nd worst behind just the Padres. They do have David Peralta and Jake Lamb, who are undoubtedly great hitters against righties and guys we do have to be careful with. After them, you obviously have Goldschmidt and Tomas with loads of power. However, they do strikeout a lot and as you move down the order, you get more and more strikeouts. PNC Park is a pretty tough spot for righties and with Nova holding a .284 wOBA against them, I’m expecting a nice performance. He’s stepped up his execution against lefties this year as well, currently holding a .309 wOBA compared to the .362 in previous seasons. His changeup has been more effective and he’s throwing it for a strike far more often. Nova has been a different pitcher since coming to Pittsburgh and I think you can target him in every format. Without any elite pitching options outside of Sale on the slate, there isn’t much of an opportunity cost. He’s priced fairly and shouldn’t be overly-owned on any sites.

**STARTING STACKS**

Rockies / Mariners
Park – Coors Field

As we know, Coors Field is just an entirely different environment than the rest of the MLB stadiums. The elevation causes balls to fly out of the park and off-speed pitches to not break. Both of these left-handers rely on off-speed, so it’ll be interesting to see how either fares. On the Rockies side, they will be facing off with Ariel Miranda. Miranda is definitely worse against righties, but not to an extreme. Everyone is in play, though there are a few guys who definitely stand out. Nolan Arenado and Trevor Story are both much better against lefties and are facing off with a guy who has allowed 9 homers in 44 innings (half at Kauffman Stadium). He’s going to certainly add to that total tonight and while these guys will all cost you, this is a night where you can afford it. On the Mariners side, they face a bit tougher competition in Tyler Anderson. Anderson is a pretty solid lefty, but still struggles against righties, especially in Coors Field. Nelson Cruz is my favorite play on the slate as he is the perfect mold for this match-up and ballpark. Taylor Motter and Danny Valencia are also both lefty-specialists and are in play in both formats. Jean Segura, Cano, and Seager are all better against righties but certainly remain in play here. The Rockies bullpen is subpar and even if Anderson has a good game, he rarely sees more than 5 innings. That will leave those guys at least 2 at-bats against a righty, with an ownership that sits below 20%. Lower in the order, you have plenty of fliers. Zunino has a ton of power and could hit 2 homers in Coors Field on pop-ups. The Rockies are the preferred stack here, but not by much. Personally, I will do my best to mix in both. Nolan Arenado and Nelson Cruz are the top 2 options on the slate and you may have to pick 1. Keep in mind, there is usually a lesser opportunity cost in taking 1 OF to 1 3B.

**Rockies Stack – Nolan Arenado, Ian Desmond, Charlie Blackmon, Trevor Story**

**Mariners Stack – Nelson Cruz, Danny Valencia, Jean Segura, Robinson Cano**

Toronto Blue Jays vs. Cincinnati Reds
Park – Rogers Centre

The Blue Jays finally have their full team together and it looks like they may be getting right to the chase. They scored 15 runs last night and while that really doesn’t matter, it’s nice to see these guys string together a few innings. They face off with the guy from Monster, Inc. tonight in Asher Wojciechowski. Woj is a guy who has been bouncing around the minors for some time now, without much to show for it. He had a short stint in 2015 but was unable to hold on, struggling against lefties to an extreme. He hasn’t been good against righties in the minors either, so this team should be able to put up some runs. The Blue Jays are the only team outside of Coors Field with an implied team total over 5, so Vegas agrees. Remember, Josh Donaldson won the MVP 2 years ago. He’s a complete game-changer and when you add Tulowitzki, this is a new team. While they still hold a ton of variance and aren’t a team I would stack in cash, they have as much upside as anyone. Chris Coghlan was scratched last night but remains a very good hitter against righties if in the lineup. He will give you exposure to a popular team without the crazy ownership. Donaldson is a must and Bautista/Tulo are close to it. After that, this lineup can get production from a lot of spots. Take a shot at anyone in tournaments.

**Main Stack – Josh Donaldson, Troy Tulowitzki, Jose Bautista, Kendrys Morales**

**Sneaky Stack – Josh Donaldson, Troy Tulowitzki, Justin Smoak, Chris Coghlan**