Welcome to Bales’ MLB Game Theory. In this article, I will outline my favorite plays at each position for MLB’s Sunday slate. You can find all of Karma’s staff cores through our MLB Premium Package. Without further ado, here are my favorite plays at each position.
| Pitcher | 1B | 2B | 3B | SS | OF |
| McKenzie | Rizzo | Marte | Ramirez | Baez | Cubs OF |
| Gallen | Hoskins | Gonzalez | Turner | Polanco | Twins OF |
| Sheffield | Goldschmidt | Arraez | Machado | Tatis | McCutchen |
| Wheeler | Hosmer | Cronenworth | Moncada | Anderson | Carlson |
| Hendricks | Carpenter | Wong | Candelario | Mondesi | Betts |
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*If you don’t already play 3 lineups and 3 max entry contests daily, try using the teams provided in the stacks above to maximize upside and correlation in your MLB lineups.
Slate Thoughts:
- There are likely three SPs that will be chalk in cash games tonight. Zac Gallen is the option that will garner ownership as the SP1. He’s the second most expensive option but has looked great. He’ll be paired with one of two cheap options. Those include Triston McKenzie or Justus Sheffield. Quite frankly, I’m not a Sheffield guy, so while I do believe he’s cash playable tonight, I’ll likely utilize McKenzie as my SP2. I do believe you can save at both SP spots, though, using McKenzie/Sheffield together while loading up on bats.
- Zack Wheeler is the most expensive option on the slate and makes an outstanding tournament option in a matchup against an injured offense. Dustin May and Jordan Lyles are two more tournament options, although neither stick out as elite plays. This isn’t my favorite pitching slate, meaning I’ll likely eat chalk pitchers and find lower owned bats. Alex Cobb can also be considered if you’re looking for a high upside option that isn’t going to garner ownership.
- The chalk stack on this slate is the Chicago Cubs. This game has a 10.5 total with the wind blowing out. The Cubs also have the highest implied team total (6.1 runs) on the slate by a wide margin. Furthermore, they get a matchup against a fly ball pitcher. The Minnesota Twins are likely the second chalky option. They have a few players, including Eddie Rosario and Jake Cave that are far too cheap on this slate. Ian Happ is leading off for Chicago and comes with a ridiculous price tag tonight, as well.
- The San Diego Padres are my favorite tournament stack. They get a solid matchup against a pitcher that is due for quite a bit of regression. They also come with elite upside as a stack. The Chicago White Sox could also go overlooked cause they’re sizable underdogs. With that being said, they’ll benefit from the wind blowing out and make an elite stacking option. The Cleveland Indians, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Philadelphia Phillies fill out my top five tournament stacks tonight.
