Two small four game slates today, but only a three game early slate on FanDuel.  These smaller slates are more geared towards gpp’s in my opinion, meaning stacking the right team and players is key due to much less options available.  Below are my top stacks for the day.

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 Thursday, June 1

Cleveland

There are a few routes to go with the early slate today, but your best option is to load up on Cleveland.  They are facing Cotton for the A’s, who has actually pitched much better during day games, going 3-1 with a 2.55 ERA, while holding batters to a .159 average.  He’s allowed 12 runs off six homers in his last three starts.  Cotton has thrown his breaking pitches for a strike just 46.3% (31/67) of the time this season (Rank: 176th of 180 qualified SPs in MLB; League Avg: 61.5%), while Cleveland is slugging .317 on breaking balls down and away this season which leads the majors.  I’ll focus on the left handed Cleveland bats today, with the top four in the lineup leading the way.  If looking for a team to pair with Cleveland, I like the Mets on FD, and the Rockies on the other sites.

Top Stack Suggestions:  Francisco Lindor, Michael Brantley, Carlos Santana, Jason Kipnis

Boston paired with Miami

The evening slate is just as wide open as the early one with only four games.  If not fully punting the SP spot, you’ll have to pair a top priced team with a mid to lower priced option.  I like the Red Sox bats today, that have both top priced and value options.  With a banged up team, we see Rutledge, Sandoval, Young, and Travis all checking in as cheap options.  Pablo may get the day off vs a lefty, but the other three are in play.  The best option though is to stick with their top bats.  Red Sox hitters have struck out 54 times in 368 PAs (14.7%) versus LHP this season (Rank: 1st of 30 in MLB; League Avg: 21.5%), while also averaging 4.0 Pitches per Plate Appearance this season (Rank: 1st of 30 in MLB).  Miley is solid vs left handed bats, and why you may see Travis over Moreland tonight.

The Marlins are hot right now, and have plenty of power with three batters with at least 14 homers on the season.  Stanton should be back in the lineup today, but they may not have Dee Gordon.  If that’s the case, keep an eye out for a cheap Dietrich or Riddle leading off.  The Marlins should be low owned vs Zack, but on a four game slate you have to be different, and as mentioned in the pitching coach, Zack has struggled on the road this season.

Top Stack Suggestions: 

Boston:  Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts, Josh Rutledge, Chris Young

Miami:  Giancarlo Stanton, Justin Bour, J.T. Realmuto, leadoff hitter in Dee Gordon, Derek Dietrich, or J.T. Riddle

*Alternative to this stack:  The cheap Boston bats paired with the high priced Blue Jays bats.

Toronto paired with Angels

This is the second straight time I’ll use this pairing in the DFS stacks of the day.  It works well due to the top priced Blue Jays bats, and a decent matchup once again for the Angels. 

The Jays face Sabathia, who has won three straight starts vs three of the weaker teams in the AL.  He faced the Blue Jays in early May, lasting only four innings while giving up six earned runs.  Bautista, Martin, Morales, and Smoak have all taken Sabathia deep before, and think he comes back to Earth tonight, with Vegas agreeing by giving Toronto the highest projected run total of the evening.

The Angels face Mejia from the Twins, who allowed more than 60 hits over their last three game series vs Houston.  Angels hitters have put 42.1% of their swings in play (308/731) versus LHP this season (Rank: 2nd of 30 in MLB; League Avg: 37.9%), and  have hit at least one home run in each of their last 6 games (Indians have the longest active streak with 16).  Their lineup continues to shift around, but the Pujols watch will be on for sure tonight.

Top Stack Suggestions: 

Toronto:  Jose Bautista, Kevin Pillar, Josh Donaldson, Russell Martin or Justin Smoak

Angels:  Andrelton Simmons, Danny Espinosa, Kole Calhoun, Albert Pujols or Martin Maldonado