Often when I write this article, I struggle to narrow down my list of stacks. There may be several lineups I like in a given slate, but I try to narrow my options to about four, because anything more than that becomes increasingly less helpful. In Monday’s slate, the opposite is true. I wouldn’t have included four stacks if there weren’t four I would be okay using, but the drop off from the top to the bottom is pretty severe. The one advantage the stacks at the bottom have is they should be fairly unpopular. If they do hit, you probably won’t have to worry about a lot of entries using the same stack. As always, my stacks are listed in order of preference.

 

Cleveland Indians vs. Chicago White Sox (James Shields, R)

Francisco Lindor, Carlos Santana, Jose Ramirez, Edwin Encarnacion, Yandy Diaz, Jay Bruce, Bradley Zimmer, Roberto Perez

It isn’t a good sign when you have a 5.72 ERA and your FIP is significantly higher. Shields hasn’t allowed more than four earned runs in any of his last five starts, which seems like a minor miracle, especially considering he allowed 10 baserunners in 5.0 innings in his last start. The Indians have a .392 wOBA over the last week; only the Twins have been better. Be sure to keep an eye on the lineup for opportunities to add a cheaper bat to the stack like Yandy Diaz or Roberto Perez. If Bradley Zimmer is out again, that could give somebody a chance near the top of the lineup.

 

Los Angeles Angels at Oakland Athletics (Chris Smith, R)

Mike Trout, Albert Pujols, Justin Upton, Brandon Phillips, Andrelton Simmons, Kole Calhoun

I’m not sure why the Angels decided they needed to add even more right-handed bats to their lineup, but it should serve them well for at least one day. Chris Smith has allowed a .401 wOBA against right-handed batters this season. Albert Pujols is 9-for-17 with 11 RBI during his four-game hitting streak, while Mike Trout is 10-for-16 with 11 runs scored over those same four games. For his part, Justin Upton is 5-for-11 since joining the Angels.

 

Philadelphia Phillies at New York Mets (Rafael Montero, R)

Rhys Hoskins, Maikel Franco, Nick Williams, Cesar Hernandez, Tommy Joseph, Freddy Galvis, Hyun-Soo Kim, Aaron Altherr, Odubel Herrera

Rafael Montero has probably been better than his 5.12 ERA and 1.68 WHIP would indicate, but he certainly isn’t a scary matchup. Mostly, though, this pick is about the Phillies being so cheap that they will provide nice value if they just have a decent day at the plate. If you are looking to pay up for Carlos Martinez or Jose Berrios, a Phillies stack could be the way to do it. The Phillies have actually been pretty solid offensively in the second half, with a .324 wOBA since the All-Star Break.

 

Baltimore Orioles vs. New York Yankees (Jordan Montgomery, L)

Jonathan Schoop, Welington Castillo, Manny Machado, Mark Trumbo, Adam Jones, Trey Mancini, Tim Beckham

The Orioles have been nearly as hot as the Indians of late, with a .368 wOBA over the last week. Castillo, Schoop and Machado are all batting .364 or better over the last week, and they all have a .861 OPS or better against left-handed pitchers this season. For his part, Jordan Montgomery has a 5.35 ERA since the All-Star break.