Welcome to Roses of the Day! My name is Chris Randone and If you ever watched The Bachelor or The Bachelorette, then you know getting a rose means everything. It symbolized that the guy or girl giving them out likes you. Getting a rose means you survive to keep fighting for love. Well in daily fantasy sports it’s no different. We go through a list of players deciding who will survive and make the cut into our lineups. These players fight to help us win. A true definition of love. I’ve learned being on the show that you never give out roses just for fun, there has to be a meaning behind it. We’ll take that same approach here. Tonight’s rose ceremony I’ll be giving my Top Stack, Surprise Stack, and Surprise Pitcher on this main slate for your MLB DFS lineups.
Top Stack
Twins, will you accept this rose?
Minnesota has been on fire. The Twins have scored 81 runs over the last nine games. They’ll have a favorable matchup tonight against Reynaldo Lopez at home. Lopez has great stuff but is still inconsistent to be considered an ace. Minnesota’s left handers crush right-handed pitching. Lopez has struggled against left-handed hitters. In 109 ABs this season, Lopez has given up 33 hits (.303 avg), six HRs, 16 RBIs, and has walked 17 batters. Lefties boast a .400 OBP against Lopez. The Twins rank first in the league in HRs (79), RBIs (221), ISO (.249), and wOBA (.356). Minnesota possess discipline at the plate which will help them get to Lopez. Against right-handed pitching the Twins rank third best in the league with a 19.3% strikeout rate. Their projected in single digit ownership right now which could bring a ton of upside in tournament play.
Surprise Stack
Astros, will you accept this rose?
Houston will be low owned tonight in a difficult matchup at home against mighty southpaw Chris Sale. The Boston ace has been dominant in certain areas this season. He ranks second in the league with 13.3 strikeouts per 9 innings. His 35.3% strikeout rate is fourth best amongst starting pitchers. So why Astros? Houston are a disciplined team. They walk an average of 13.2% of the time against LHP at home which is the best in the league. Houston is batting a league best .316 at home versus southpaws and own the highest wRC+ with a 167. The Astros provide power (22 home runs versus LHP this year) and will be a contrarian play. Anytime I have the ability to identify a team that has power, can hit, and score runs combined with little ownership projected, that’s a surprise stack I’ll want to attack.
Top Surprise Pitcher
Jerad Eickhoff, will you accept this rose?
The Brewers own the fourth highest strikeout rate (26.4%) at home versus right-handed pitching this season. Eickhoff did just get rocked by the Brewers at home giving up five runs over four innings. This will play a factor in Eickhoff ownership tonight. However, Eickhoff possesses a strong 24.4% strikeout rate and 29.5% Whiff. His low price tag and high strikeout upside is what makes this a surprise pitching play. Milwaukee strikes out against right-handed pitching (364) which is the fifth highest rate in baseball. If Yelich is out, Ben Gamel owns a 30% strikeout rate while Thames and Hiura are over 35%. Combine those three batters alongside the pitching slot and you have four batters in the lineup that could account for a ton of strikeouts.
We’ve got loads of FREE content on the site today, including a one-time only chance to check out Awesemo’s projections. As well, Josh Engleman has you covered with his favorite Spotlight Pitchers, and EMac offers up his favorite hitters and stacks.
