Split slate Saturday, and no NBA, provides us plenty of baseball action today. 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 Saturday, April 29
Early Slate:
Cubs @ Red Sox
After an opening start win, Lackey has lost three straight games, upping his ERA to 4.88 to start the season. Boston’s pitcher, Steven Wright, is off to an even rougher start, mainly due to being hammered in two starts vs Baltimore this year. His ERA sits at 8.66.
Lackey has fared well vs left handed bats this season though, as he has struck out 29.1% of left-handed batters he faced this season (Rank: 10th of 116 qualified SPs in MLB). The Cubs had to use their better bulpen pitchers last night, and if Lackey can go deep, opposing hitters are batting only .143 (4-for-28) when going through the lineup the third time in a game this season (Rank: 8th of 74 qualified SPs in MLB; League Avg: .251). Red Sox hitters are slugging just .258 against pitchers who have reached at least 80 pitches in a game this season (Rank: 28th of 30 in MLB; League Avg: .400). Something has to give, and think the Sox bats are ready to attack Lackey today.
Wright has allowed 7 HR’s already this year, and face a powerful Cubs lineup that have come to the plate with runners in scoring position 28.4% of the time this season Wright only struck out 9.5% of right-handed batters he faced this season, while allowing opposing hitters to bat .412 against this season (Rank: 153rd of 154 qualified SPs in MLB; League Avg: .249). If the Cubs stay patient at the plate, expect a few deep balls, as Cubs hitters have an OPS of 1.296 when the pitcher is behind in the count this season (Rank: 1st of 30 in MLB; League Avg: 1.033).
Top Targets: Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Ben Zobrist, Andrew Benintendi, Hanley Ramirez, Jason Heyward, Jackie Bradley.
Yankees
The Yankees check in with the highest implied run total of the day games at 5.10 runs, going up against Jimenez, and coming off a thrilling walk off 14-11 win last night. Both bullpens are pretty shot, and Jimenez may be forced to go deep no matter what the damage is. Right-handed hitters have a miss rate of just 7.7% against Ubaldo Jimenez this season, and due to this, he sits at a strike rate of just 8.5% vs them.
The Yankees have been great at home, having an OPS of .887 (374 PAs) at home this season, and have homered every 15.7 at bats in home games this season (Rank: 1st of 30 in MLB). Not expecting the exact same result as last night, but the Yankees are in a nice spot to keep rolling tonight.
Top Targets: Matt Holliday, Starlin Castro, Aaron Judge, Chase Headley, Brett Gardner.
Washington
Zach Wheeler takes the mound for his second straight start vs Washington. After a rough first innings, he basically shut them down the rest of the time. He’s holding a BABIP of .188 vs right-handed batters this season, and an avg of .143 this season.
The Nats players do not come cheap, and many would rather spend up on some other players today, keeping the Nats as a lower owned stack option. Harper, Murphy, and Zimmerman have all taken Wheeler deep in the past, and will be looking to get back on the winning side today.
Top Targets: Ryan Zimmerman, Daniel Murphy, Adam Eaton, Bryce Harper, Anthony Rendon, Trea Turner
Evening Games:
Padres @ Giants
There are a few rain concerns to watch tonight, but that is not the case for a late night hammer option in the Padres/Giants game tonight. There are much better games to target, but this is my favorite full game to stack for the evening slate.
Matt Cain has pitched well this season, and has yet to take a loss. His worst outing was his first start, which was against the Padres, lasting only four inning while giving up two bombs, both to Margot. Matt Cain has allowed a BABIP of .114 vs right-handed batters this season (Rank: 1st of 127 qualified SPs in MLB). It’s also crazy to think that opponents have a Well-Hit Avg of .000 (0/27) against Cain with the heart of the order this season (Rank: 1st of 124 qualified SPs in MLB).
The Padres are aggressive hitters though, averaging just 3.7 Pitches per Plate Appearance this season (Rank: 30th of 30 in MLB), while having walked just 41 times in 629 PAs (6.5%) against division opponents this season.
The Giants only managed three hits in six plus innings in their first matchup vs Chacin this season, and their hitters have an OPS of just .641 (890 PAs) this season (Rank: 29th of 30 in MLB). They are also the worst team at home for power, going deep once every 77.4 at bats. Nothing really shows stacking potential for this game, but if looking to stand out from the rest of the field, look to target this game.
Top Targets: Manny Margot, Wil Myers, Ryan Schimpf, Buster Posey, Christian Arroyo, Brandon Belt, Hunter Pence.
Arizona
I also like the Rangers, but the rain is keeping me off the as of now. Arizona should be a popular target tonight, checking in barely behind the Rangers with the second highest implied run total of the evening. The are facing the lefty in Tyler Anderson, who has given up a homer in every start this year so far.
The D-Backs lead the league with a .311 batting average at home, as well as have an OBP of .370 at home this season. They have also scored three or more runs in an inning 8.4% of their innings played this season (Rank: 1st of 30 in MLB).
Opponents are hitting .407 against Tyler Anderson (11-for-27) with RISP this season (Rank: 31st of 31 qualified SPs in MLB; League Avg: .253)
Top Targets: Paul Goldschmidt, Chris Owings, Yasmany Tomas, A.J. Pollack, Chris Iannetta