MLB Stacking To Win It: 5-25-18

Stacking has been a popular way to bring down tournaments, and some stacks are even cash game viable. We offer three free top stacks of the night and will provide stacks in a wide range of price tags. We do want to make it known that stacks in Colorado are often fairly obvious and popular stacks. We don't feel the need to break down Colorado stacks and will be more focused on other stacking options. Unless we are struggling to find three others, Colorado stacks will be a top choice but not broken down. We tend to look at park factors, Vegas numbers, starting pitcher and bullpen numbers, and various offensive stats. Feel free to shoot us questions on Twitter at @BrentHeiden1, @JGuilbault11, and @dfcafe.

Looking at the slate tonight, there are very few stacking options to go with outside of Coors. Because the prices of Coors are not up to last year's standards, you can work them in with somewhat ease and should do so. If you are looking for value and lesser owned stacks, that will be the theme here. This game has one of the highest totals on the board, but two teams that are tough to trust when it comes to offensive consistency, but more so on the Rangers side. Minor's slider usage is a big concern for me here because he is throwing it 31% of the time and nobody really stands out against the slider. However if the Royals can lock in on the fastball and changeup, I like their potential tonight. Against changeups first, Mike Moustakas has a .425 wOBA and .414 ISO against the pitch dating back to 2016. Whit Merrifield has a .344 wOBA and 75% contact rate, while Salvador Perez is in that same range but has a .213 ISO. Minor's fastball has been getting tattooed, with a 40% hard-contact rate dating back to last year, and a .208 ISO. Against this range, Merrifield has a .399 wOBA and .255 ISO. Moose has a .371 wOBA and .263 ISO. We haven't mentioned Jorge Soler yet, but he has a .398 wOBA and .260 ISO against this fastball range. With Soler, Merrifield, and Perez boasting over a .200 ISO against left-handers dating back to last season, they are very much in play here. It is a somewhat limited stack, but Hunter Dozier and Alcides Escobar are viable right-handed bats you can use here if you need value and want to add a fifth man. I would not be opposed to using a few Texas bats in here against Eric Skoglund as well. He has allowed a .336 wOBA to left-handers, and a .379 wOBA to right-handers dating back to last season. Joey Gallo, Delino DeShields, Robinson Chirinos, and Jurickson Profar are all in play tonight.

Usually I skip out on some of the top offenses, but stacking is thin tonight, and Boston stands out as an amazing stack here. Julio Teheran has allowed ten earned runs over his last two starts, and is someone to stack against in hitter friendly ballparks. Teheran has a low velocity fastball, hovering around 91mph this season, which has been down compared to prior years. His sinker has allowed a .331 wOBA and .381 xwOBA this season, while the rest of his pitches have over a .300 wOBA allowed and over a .350 xwOBA. The bats matchup incredibly well against his fastball. Mookie Betts has a .383 wOBA and .298 ISO off the range, and you don't need much of a reason to play Betts right now. J.D. Martinez has a .438 wOBA off this range, with a .370 ISO and 45% hard-contact rate. Xander Bogaerts has a .431 wOBA and .233 ISO against the pitch, and his play this season as turned him into one of the better fantasy shortstops in the game when healthy. Dustin Pedroia gets back tonight, and while I am not expecting much out of him, if you want a lower owned Boston bat, he does have a .438 wOBA and .200 ISO against this fastball. The lefties are all in play tonight, and are excellent options in a stack or on their own. Andrew Benintendi has a .387 wOBA and .296 ISO off this range, but is also heating up against right-handed pitching of late. Mitch Moreland will find himself in the lineup more often with Hanley Ramirez being designated for an assignment. Moreland has a .420 wOBA and .304 ISO against right-handers this season, and is another bat when healthy has done damage. Rafael Devers and Jackie Bradley Jr. both are cheaper options, but both have power against the range. Devers sits with a .194 ISO and .463 xwOBA, while JBJ has a .396 wOBA and .253 ISO. Teheran has allowed a 44.1% hard-contact rate to left-handers this season, and a 47.5% flyball rate. Big potential even with Fenway being below average for lefty power.

John Gant's numbers standout to the Pirates lefties tonight, and you can see why above. He hasn't pitched much in the majors, but over a 40 innings to lefties in his career, he has allowed a .344 wOBA, 1.43 HR/9, and 39.7% hard-contact rate. Gant throws a sinker that generates just a 43% groundball rate, and 43% hard-contact rate. Sinker has been effective, but that likely won't continue. His changeup is his best pitch, with a .235 wOBA allowed and 39.6% whiff rate. The fastball is getting hammered for a .427 wOBA, 38% hard-contact rate, and average distance of 313 feet. Against the fastball range of Gant, Josh Bell stands out with a .417 wOBA and .250 ISO. Corey Dickerson has a .412 wOBA and .363 ISO. Gregory Polanco has a .341 wOBA and .212 ISO, with a whopping 42.7% hard-contact rate. Against changeups, Polanco adds more with a .364 wOBA and .300 ISO. Dickerson has a .192 ISO. There isn't a lot of data for Colin Moran and Austin Meadows but they both have over a .200 ISO against right-handers dating back to last season. Moran is over a 147 PA sample size, and has hit well this season. While PNC Park isn't a great hitters park, a 84 degree day is nice temp for hitters, and Pirates have one of the higher run totals given that there are not a lot of high totals tonight.