The following Spotlight Hitters & Stacks were selected by Awesemo.com writer Jake Hari. For more analysis on the slate, check out Awesemo’s Rankings and Ownership Projections.
Rangers (vs. Twins)
The Rangers have a total just over 5 tonight despite going up against the Twins ace Jose Berrios. Looking at Berrios’ recent swings in velocity, there’s a decent change he’s nursing an injury, as his he posted season-low averages on his fastball and sinker in his last start, while also struggling to get normal movement on most of his pitches. He’s had issues away from Minnesota this year anyway, and throw a (possibly hurt) pitcher that already gives up hard contact in one of the best hitters parks, and that’s how we get to a full-on Rangers stack. My favorite parts are the lefties (Choo, Odor, Mazara, Gallo) but Andrus, Beltre, and Chirinos all provide nice value on both sites as fillers.
Nationals (vs. Brewers)
The Nats may not be going anywhere as far as making the postseason, but they still have one of the best lineups in the MLB that’s filled with power and speed, so a matchup against Chase Anderson is more than winnable. Anderson has trouble with the long ball, as evidenced by his 9 homers allowed over his last 5 outings, and the Nats have 4 players with ISOs over .200 against righties this year (Harper, Soto, Rendon, Zimmerman). Anderson has allowed 9 stolen bases, and more importantly, 16 attempts this season, so Turner (34 steals), Harper (11), Difo (7), and Eaton (6) all get an extra boost in my projections, making the Nats one of the top overall stacks of the night despite a modest 4.6 run total.
Astros (vs. Angels)
Felix Pena will have a tough test on the road tonight against a newly healthy Astros team that has a ton of upside. Pena, while certainly able to miss righty bats with the slider, gives up over 46% hard-contact against righties on the year with almost 45% pulled-balls, which is advantageous to guys like Altuve, Gurriel, and White, who have pulled almost all their home runs since the start of 2017. It’s hard to imagine the Astros getting shut down by Pena twice in a week with all the talent they have, and if they get to him, they’ll deal with the Angels’ bullpen, which has the 6th-highest xFIP over the last 30 days.