*Austyn Varney*
MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Lineup Stacks – Tuesday, July 1, 2017
*STARTING PITCHERS*
Max Scherzer @ Miami Marlins
Park – Marlins Park
Vegas O/U – 8
If you’re making me choose between Chris Sale and Max Scherzer on this slate, I have to lean Scherzer. Chris Sale, who can easily still dominate, faces off with the lethal Indians offense inside Fenway Park. Scherzer on the other hand, is facing the Miami Marlins in pitcher-friendly Marlins Park. Statistically, the Marlins are league average against righties with a team .323 wOBA. They strike out 21% of the time and struggle to put together big innings. Max Scherzer has dominated these bats in the past and I expect it once again. Scherzer is once again having an amazing year, sporting a 12.45 K/9 and 2.35 BB/9. The guys is a top 3 pitcher in baseball and see a matchup he dominates. Scherzer has also held a .combined .236 wOBA this season, so you have nothing to worry about. WHile I wouldn’t be surprised if the Marlins scored 1 or 2, I do think they strikeout over 10 times and give Scherzer a very nice outing.
Jose Berrios @ San Diego Padres
Park – PetCo Park
Vegas O/U – 8
Sure, Chris Sale and the other uber-elite arms make more sense in cash games. I don’t need to tell you that. Instead, let’s take a look at Jose Berrios, who could fly way under the radar tonight. He faces off with the San Diego Padres in PetCo Park, which as we know, is a dream match-up. The Padres are one of the leagues absolute worst offenses and it’s backed up by each and every number. Against righties, the Padres have ranked 27th in the MLB with a .307 wOBA and astronomical 25.5% K rate. When you combined that with a huge ballpark, these guys struggle to put up runs. Berrios on the other hand, has looked phenomenal. He’s sported a .291 combined wOBA and is striking out about 8.5 batters per 9. He should see a few extra in this match-up and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Berrios have a huge game. We do have a lot of arms on the slate and I could see Berrios ending at just 1% or so owned. In tournaments, I can’t think of anything better.
*OFFENSIVE STACKS*
New York Yankees @ Anibal Sanchez (Tigers)
Park – Yankee Stadium
Implied Total – 5.46
Anytime Anibal Sanchez takes the mound, we will be targeting opposing hitters. He’s a horrible pitcher and he struggles against hitters from both sides of the plate. The Yankees lineup is full of righties, for the most part, so let’s look there. In just 30 innings against righties, Sanchez has allowed a .384 wOBA and 8 home runs. He now moves into hitter-friendly Yankee Stadium to face off with one of the best offenses in baseball. Gary Sanchez and Aaron Judge are both elite plays and when facing a reverse-splits righty, they become very difficult to fade. After those 2, you can go anywhere. Matt Holliday and Clint Frazier will be towards the top of the order and are my 2 favorites for cash. Todd Frazier and Didi Gregorious are another 2 options who have plenty of upside and could go low-owned. The Yankees are projected to put up nearly 5.5 runs, so Vegas is certainly expecting some fireworks. Get some exposure in both cash games and tournaments.
Main Stack – Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez, Clint Frazier, Matt Holliday
Sneaky Stack – Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez, Brett Gardner, Todd Frazier
Toronto Blue Jays @ Mike Pelfrey (White Sox)
Park – Guaranteed Rate Field
Implied Total – 5.82
The Blue Jays were right here yesterday and they won’t be going anywhere. Moving from James Shields to Mike Pelfrey, I’m not sure what can be better. While Pelfrey may actually be slightly better than Shields, that’s not saying much at all. He has also been better against righties, which does make some things interesting. Against left-handers, Pelfrey has posted a .376 wOBA and has allowed 10 homers. I’m going to shift my attention towards some of the lefties and hope the general public just hops on the popular bats. I’m not saying I’ll fade the righties. In most cases, I’ll go Bautista, Donaldson, and then find 2 lefties. Smoak and Morales are the top 2 with Carrera and Goins following behind. They will both be very low-owned and do have some power upside in Guaranteed Rate Field. Vegas has the Jays putting up nearly 6 runs, so you can’t ignore them by any means. They are more of a touramnt stack for me, but I love Smoak and Morales in cash games.
Main Stack – Jose Bautista, Josh Donaldson, Justin Smoak, Russell Martin
Sneaky Stack – Jose Bautista, Kendrys Morales, Steve Pearce, Josh Donaldson