Welcome to another week of baseball as we are still standing going into the third full week of this very short season. With a fairly pitching heavy day yesterday where a lot of the aces took the hill, today is a bit lighter in that respect. But I will still give you some solid options to roll with. Let’s get started on this fine Monday.
Pitchers
Kyle Gibson ($8,600)
Gibson has been very solid through two starts in his new threads with the Rangers this season. He has given up just three earned runs, five walks, nine hits, and five walks while striking out 13 over 11 innings in two starts. The Mariners are towards the bottom of the barrel in the American League in offensive ranks, ranking 10th in batting average (.221), 12th in OPS (.649), and 14th in strikeouts with 150 of them. They have struck out at a 28% percent clip as a team.
Dallas Keuchel ($7,800)
Keuchel is coming off a solid seven innings of work against the Brewers where he surrendered just one run, five hits, one walk, and struck out eight. Overall he holds a 10/2 K/BB rate across three starts and very well could rack up another game of 7+ strikeouts against the Tigers. Detroit is off to a reasonable start, but let’s be honest, they are playing well above what they should and will undoubtedly be coming down to Earth soon. Keuchel could have a solid outing and pick up a win, and that price is too good to pass him up. Other options: Patrick Corbin ($10,400), Sean Manaea ($8,800), Dustin May ($7,700)
Big Boppers
OF Nelson Cruz ($5,600)
Nelson is still kicking at 40 years old and he mashes right-handers, as he and the Twins face off against Adrian Houser and the Brewers. Since 2018, Cruz has hit 53 homers and held a .891 OPS against righties. Houser is off to a good start this season but might run into his first wall against a tough Twins lineup, giving Cruz a great chance to have a day.
SS Fernando Tatis Jr. ($5,400)
El Niño has been on fire lately, hitting a homer in his last four games, including two on Saturday and he now has eight for the season. Facing the Dodgers is a tall order, but the roll that he is on, he should be able to keep it going against a rookie pitcher in Dustin May. Tatis went 0-for-3 against May earlier this season but I think he will get something going against him this time around.
3B Matt Chapman ($4,900)
Chapman is coming off an off day yesterday after a 2-for-4, two RBI, homer performance on Saturday. He has hit right-handers well with 48 homers against them since 2018 and so far this season, he has a 42.5% hard-hit rate. He faces Julio Teheran who has only had one start, going 2.2 innings and giving up two runs. Other options: Mike Trout ($6,000), Christian Yelich ($5,300), Donavan Solano ($5,100), Max Kepler ($4,600)
Stacks
Arizona Diamondbacks @ Colorado Rockies
This game being in high-altitude Colorado is huge for both offenses, especially with the pitchers who are taking the hill. I especially have an emphasis on the Rockies, who are facing the struggling Robbie Ray. Colorado’s offense ranks towards the top of the offensive ranks so far, ranking first in batting average (.268), third in on-base percentage (.335), fourth in slugging (.442), second in OPS (.776), and fourth in home runs (20). Ray gave up three homers and six runs overall in his last start while surrendering 14 earned runs, six homers, and 15 hits in just 13.1 innings of work this season. Nolan Arenado ($6,300), Trevor Story ($6,100), Charlie Blackmon ($5,800), and Daniel Murphy ($5,000) are the best bets for a Rockies stack. Jon Gray hasn’t been striking people out at a very good rate with just seven through 14.1 innings pitched, while he has been getting hit hard with a 49.1% hard-hit rate. That isn’t a recipe for success at Coors Field. A hitting clinic/home run derby is definitely a real possibility in this game.
Chicago White Sox @ Detroit Tigers
The Tigers are using Michael Fulmer as an opener in this one as it’s been a long layoff between starts for him. He will be followed up by Daniel Norris, and manager Ron Gardenhire indicated he would like to get three innings from each of them. The White Sox are first in the AL in batting average (.266). second in on-base percentage (.326), fourth in OPS (.746), and seventh in homers (19). They could definitely mash against the duo of Tigers pitchers and the most notable hitters in this stack are Jose Abreu($5,200), Eloy Jimenez ($4,200), Luis Robert ($4,500), and Yoan Moncada ($4,500). Abreu is 8-for-18 with a homer against Norris in his career and mashes righties with 43 homers and a .767 OPS since 2018 against them. Questions and comments? thescorecrowsports@gmail.com Hit us up on the Socials: Twitter @thescorecrow Reddit at u/TheScorecrow Facebook at The Scorecrow Instagram at The Scorecrow Check out our Facebook Group where you can read and post articles at The Scorecrow Reddit Group where everyone can post without fear of being banned at The Scorecrow
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