MLB Stacking To Win It: 5-25-17

Stacking has become a prime way to take down big tournaments, as well as giving your cash game team a solid floor. We focus on opposing pitcher stats, Vegas, weather, park factors, team stats, salaries, and player stats when deciding the top three stacks of the night. I know. Shocker we look at those things. If there is a Coors game on the slate, we will mostly divert our attention elsewhere, as Coors games are the obvious stacks of the night. It doesn't need much breaking down. Be sure to check out or revamped Stack Generator and Stack features inside our Lineup Optimizer and Tools.

It was a battle between Boston and Detroit for my top stack tonight, and I will lean towards Detroit, who have shown much more upside against right-handed pitching. Mike Fiers allowing 17 home runs already this season also helps. Fiers has allowed a .467 wOBA to right-handed bats this season, with a 40% hard-contact rate. His 36% groundball rate is also not helping the cause. Detroit has four right-handed bats with a lot of home run potential, and Houston might open the roof as well, which helps the ball carry a bit more. This is not an expensive stack either, which usually we pay premium dollar for. Vegas isn't loving Detroit tonight, which is a bit odd. Their run total should creep up as the day goes on, because after being shutout for three games, I can't see that happening again tonight.

The matchup with Robbie Ray has boom-or-bust written on it for both sides. Both carry high strikeout rates, but also have a ton of power and hard-contact. Ray has allowed just a .320 wOBA to right-handers this season, but has a 4.72 FIP and 4.31 xFIP. The walk rate is high (13.8%), and he can allow the long ball (1.50 HR/9). Ray's other issue is with hard-contact, allowing a 45.3% rate to right-handers this season. Milwaukee has some notable bats against left-handed pitching. Jonathan Villar had a .393 wOBA off lefties last season, while Domingo Santana had a .369 wOBA. Braun is a notable lefty-masher, while Keon Broxton has a career .369 wOBA. They whiff a ton, and there will be some strikeouts tonight, but the power potential is there as well. The floor is low for the stack, but there is a ton of upside.

Arizona is the safer stack in this game, and should be a popular one at the price tag. Gregor Blanco is not a sexy pick, but serves as a salary relief with Jacob Lamb and Paul Goldschmidt's price. Zach Davies has allowed a .352 wOBA to lefties this season, with a sub-40% groundball rate. Lamb has been on a monster roll of late, and owns a .375+ wOBA off right-handed pitching. David Peralta has a .382 wOBA and a 40% hard-contact rate. Both are firmly in play for all formats. Davies is reverse splits, if you thought it couldn't get worse. He allows a .424 wOBA to right-handers this season, with a 36% hard-contact. Goldschmidt is expensive, but he is hitting .333 in May with seven home runs. His numbers against right-handers have been excpetional, with a .472 wOBA and .317 ISO.