Stacks of the Day: Nolasco vs. Pelfrey Could Lead to Abundance of Runs
Here are the top stack options for Sunday, May 1:
Detroit Tigers (at Minnesota Twins)
The Tigers are winners of four straight and have scored 29 runs over that stretch. They have a gauntlet of patient, veteran hitters that pitchers hate to face. Ian Kinsler and Victor Martinez are stroking the ball at a .300 clip. J.D. Martinez has been solid, and Miggy Cabrera and Justin Upton are heating up.
Ricky Nolasco will toe the rubber for Minnesota. He has a nice 3.25 ERA this season, but it is much lower than it should be thanks to a well-below league average .250 BABIP (Batting Average on Balls in Play, league average is .300). In the past two seasons he's posted a 5.64 ERA in 35 starts with the Twins. Prior to joining the Twins, he had an ERA over 4.40 in six of his eight seasons in the NL.
3-player stack: Kinsler, Cabrera and Victor Martinez.
5-player stack: Kinsler, J.D. Martinez, Cabrera, Victor Martinez and Upton.
Minnesota Twins (vs. Detroit Tigers)
Minnesota's offense has vastly underachieved this season, however, a matchup with Mike Pelfrey, who somehow keeps finding his way into starting rotations, could be all it takes to get the Twinkies going.
Pelfrey is arguably the worst active starting pitcher in baseball. He has a career ERA of 4.52 and has surrendered a .289 average to left-handed hitters and a .291 average to right-handed hitters. He struggles to get anybody out.
The Twins have a pair of sluggers who appear to be turning a corner. Since April 14, Byung Ho Park and Miguel Sano have OPS's of .995 and .872, respectively. Brian Dozier has been slow out of the starting gate, but Joe Mauer looks to have regained his MVP form.
3-player stack: Danny Santana, Mauer and Sano.
5-player stack: Santana, Mauer, Sano, Park and Eduardo Nunez.
Colorado Rockies (at Arizona Diamondbacks)
Even in his worst nightmares I'm sure Shelby Miller pitched better to begin his D-Backs career than he is now. The former Braves and Cardinals right-hander has an 8.70 ERA and a 1.93 WHIP to begin the season. He's too good of a pitcher to keep this up, but stack against him until he finds his command. He's surrendered 15 walks in 19 2/3 innings.
Away from Coors Field, the Rockies have less upside, but lower daily fantasy prices. Chase Field is still a very hitter-friendly park, however.
Nolan Arenado and Trevor Story have combined for 20 home runs and 42 RBIs this season. Carlos Gonzalez is hitting .330, newly acquired Gerardo Parra is finding his way and table-setter Charlie Blackmon has now returned to this already dangerous lineup. This could be a messy game if Miller doesn't find his command.
3-player stack: Blackmon, Gonzalez and Arenado.
5-player stack: Blackmon, Story, Gonzalez, Arenado and Parra.