Our stack choice last week came back to bite us as we were burned by the Braves stack. What else is new? The pitching choices were spot on, but I must be better at lineup construction. Hope you’re still with me on this as we give it another go. We’re going with our gut here on today’s picks. There is nothing predetermined in terms of a stack or anything of the sort. We have to figure out our lineup selection woes, and it feels like tonight we put it all together. Tonight’s huge slate starts at 7:05pm EST, let’s see what we can come up with.
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Gavin Stone SP $8,500 – Let’s run it back with Stone tonight. He’s deserved another run after getting us 40.9 points last week in a complete game shutout against the White Sox. While the D-backs are a more formidable opponent, Stone has been stellar on the mound as of late. His last start against Arizona, Stone gave up 4 runs in 6 innings, and has only given up 3 runs or more once in his 6 starts since.
Dean Kremer, SP: $7,100 – There is some value here mixed equally with risk. Kremer returns from the IL after making a few rehab starts in Norfolk. He squares off against the Mariners whose offense is reeling these past few games. When healthy, Kremer was averaging 15.7 fppg, and if he can give us a decent outing of even 5 innings, he should be in line for a high number of strikeouts and a W. IT pains me to say the Mariners have been poor at the plate, and we’re just here to take advantage of that.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr, 1B: $4,600 –For this price, we must play this man. He is finally living up to the hype and dominating pitchers. There was some concern about his finger after he was hit by a pitch on Monday, but returned to the lineup Tuesday to have a double, walk, and 2 runs. We’ll take that production any day. We are obviously seeking the long-ball from Vlad tonight, and seeing as he has 6 in his last 15 games, I think its certainly possible we get one.
Jose Altuve, 2B: $5,200 – Altuve is back to his old form, being near the top of 2B production this year. He averages 8.9 fpg, with a 13 point performance last night in Toronto. In his last 3 starts, Kikuchi has given up 4, 4, and 5 runs. We are fully expecting Altuve to set the table tonight for this Astros lineup on his way to a strong performance.
Isaac Paredes: $4,400 –Recency bias might be playing a factor here, so tread lightly. Paredes had a 29-point performance only 2 days ago, but besides that has been relatively lackluster with multiple single-point games. With this selection, we want to ride the wave and hope he puts up some strong numbers before he comes back down to earth. We’ll take his average of 7.6 tonight, but we want more with him matched up against Wacha and the Royals.
Jeremy Pena: SS: $4,000 – Pena has his ups and downs throughout the season with an ops of .710. Recently, he’s on the upswing with 3 double-digit point games, and 2 9-point games in his last 6. The Astros are surging, and as mentioned in the Altuve blurb, Kikuchi hasn’t been particularly dominant. We expect the Astros to get on him early and often, so at $4,000, Pena is a safe play.
Jackson Merrill, OF: $4,200 – It’s surprising to see Merrill at this price given how hot he’s been at the plate recently. He’s been hitting for power, too, with 5 homeruns in his last 15 games. Jon Gray is coming off one of his worst starts of the season against the Orioles. Despite Merrill’s unspectacular start to the season, he’s now averaging 7.1 fppg, to coincide with a .291 average, 12 homeruns and 42 rbi. Heck, in June alone he hit 9 homeruns with 20 rbi and 17 runs. A scorching hot Merrill against a struggling Gray makes for a great addition to your lineup tonight.
I’m Only Happy When It Rains
No inclement weather to report today. Some 10+mph winds blowing out to LF for the Cubs/Phillies game. Also, some strong right to left winds for the Yankees/Reds matchup. As always, keep an eye on lineups to make sure our picks are playing today. There are tons of options for replacements in this 11-game slate.
Doing Lines In Vegas
We didn’t insert anybody from the highest total of the day of 11.5 between the Rockies and Brewers. The prices were too high for just OK players, even when you factor in Coors. Rhys Hoskins was strongly considered. The Dodgers are the largest favorite of the evening with -218 odds as the DBacks are expected to call up 21-year old Christan Mena to start this one.
