Sticks & Stacks

Major League Baseball’s trade deadline is this week, and a few of the teams that hosts Shawn Drotar (@sdrotar) and Jennifer Piacenti (@jenpiacenti) discuss are at the center of the league’s rumor mill — and all the teams are in the Central divisions. We’ll start in Kansas City, where Whit Merrifield is still with the Royals, but might not be for long. Expect runs to be scored with Mike Minor on the mound, squaring off against Dallas Keuchel and the Chicago White Sox. The Pale Hose May be the better team, but Keuchel pitches to contact – and few teams make better contact then the Royals. In Wrigleyville, Kris Bryant is probably on his way out of fading Chicago, yet the Cubs are still favored over the visiting Cincinnati Reds. Runs should be at a premium with Chicago’s Kyle Hendricks and Cincinnati’s Wade Miley on the mound. The underdog Reds find themselves in plus-money territory for savvy investors. In the last match up, the Minnesota Twins host the Detroit Tigers. While Michael Pineda should be able to fan more than a handful of Tigers, don’t let unheralded Detroit starter Matt Manning fool you; The Tigers have been on a roll, and Shawn and Jen are projecting a shootout.

Heading into the weekend, "Sticks & Stacks" hosts Shawn Drotar (@sdrotar) and Jennifer Piacenti (@jenpiacenti) go from east to west across the baseball landscape, starting with a matchup between the Miami Marlins and the visiting San Diego Padres that has our hosts seeing things very differently. Starting pitcher Joe Musgrove has been wobbly of late, and Jen sees an opportunity for the Marlins and Adam Duvall to surprise, but Shawn doesn’t trust Miami starter Zach Thompson and likes the Padres to win… although he’s not so sure about the cooling bat of Fernando Tatis Jr.. Over in Houston, the Astros are set for a terrific matchup against their in-state rivals, the Texas Rangers, despite an underwhelming pitching matchup between Kolby Allard and Jake Odorizzi. Jen spotlights the ’Stros’ Jose Altuve, while Shawn’s bullish on the Rangers’ Joey Gallo and bearish on Houston’s Yordan Alvarez. Finally, the pair ventures to Seattle, where the Mariners host the Oakland A’s and underrated hurler Frankie Montas, who Jen believes is in line for a good evening against the M’s. Seattle starter Yusei Kikuchi has struggled since the MLB’s crackdown on sticky stuff, and Oakland’s Matt Olson is ready to pounce – all on today’s "Sticks & Stacks!"

In today’s episode of "Sticks & Stacks," hosts Shawn Drotar (@sdrotar) and Jennifer Piacenti (@jenpiacenti) look at a terrific matchup in Buffalo (yes, Buffalo), where the Blue Jays host the Red Sox. Despite Boston's first-place status in the AL East, hitters like Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Marcus Semien, and Bo Bichette are licking their chops at the prospect of facing the pedestrian Garrett Richards – but the Red Sox’s Danny Santana has hit three home runs in seven career at-bats against Toronto starter Robbie Ray! In Houston, Shawn and Jen look at an Astros team that’s expected to cruise against visiting Cleveland and rookie hurler Eli Morgan, but are they too heavily favored to be worth it? Could Abraham Toro – Alex Bregman’s fill-in – make for a low-cost option in DFS lineups? The pair also look at the terrific NL Central rivalry between the Cubs and the Cardinals, both of which have exactly the same record. Comparing the two starters – Chicago’s Kyle Hendricks and St. Louis’s Adam Wainwright – Shawn explains why win-loss records shouldn’t affect your decisions, while Jen picks Wainwright to have a good night against the Cubs, who find themselves sellers as the trade deadline approaches.

As Major League Baseball’s second-half schedule gets underway, hosts Shawn Drotar (@sdrotar) and Jennifer Piacenti (@JenPiacenti) look at betting opportunities in Toronto, where the Blue Jays’ Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette are primed to build on their All-Star appearances against the visiting Texas Rangers, who will start an underwhelming Jordan Lyles. The Los Angeles Angels are favored at home, but a potential Home Run Derby hangover could be in store for Shohei Ohtani. Surprising starter Chris Flexen gives the underdog Seattle Mariners a chance to pull the upset. Speaking of upsets, Jen and Shawn think that the Colorado Rockies – the All-Star Game’s hosts – have a great opportunity to steal one from starter Julio Urias and the potent L.A. Dodgers lineup at Coors Field, and they’ve got the stats to back it up. For DFS players, Jen picks the St. Louis Cardinals’ Adam Wainwright as a sleeper starter, while Shawn likes Joey’s Gallo’s light-tower power, even against the Jays’ Robbie Ray. Join Shawn and Jen as they get your baseball weekend started – right here, on "Sticks & Stacks!"

At Major League Baseball’s All-Star break, hosts Shawn Drotar (@sdrotar) and Jennifer Piacenti (@Jen Piacenti) take a look at futures in both the American and National Leagues. The Los Angeles Dodgers are the prohibitive favorites in the NL, but with the San Francisco Giants in first place in the West and the San Diego Padres hot on their heels, will the Dodgers even be able to win their own division? Over in the American League, things are a little tighter, as the Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox and Houston Astros battle for supremacy – but AL MVP favorite Shohei Ohtani and the eventual returns to health for Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon make the Los Angels Angels a sleeper. In the AL MVP race, it looks like a two-man contest between Ohtani and the Toronto Blue Jays’ Vladimir Guerrero Jr., but if neither team makes the playoffs, will either put up big enough numbers to win? Over in the NL, the Padres’ Fernando Tatis Jr. has become one of baseball’s most dazzling young talents, but a plethora of Dodgers players might be in the mix, and the New York Mets’ Jacob DeGrom might well be good enough to win the Cy Young and MVP awards this season. Join Shawn and Jen as they peer into their crystal ball – right here, on "Sticks & Stacks!"

When hurlers like Max Scherzer and Yu Darvish are on the hill, strikeouts are always on the menu. Hosts Shawn Drotar (@sdrotar) and Jen Piacenti (@jenpiacenti) take a look at strikeout props for the pair in San Diego when the Nationals meet the Padres and explain why the Major League Baseball’s crackdown on "sticky stuff" is having such a dramatic effect on hitters and pitchers. An AL central matchup between the underwhelming Tigers and Twins still provides opportunities as pitcher Tarik Skubal and second baseman Jonathan Schoop look set to surprise the favored Twins and ageless slugger Nelson Cruz. Over in Baltimore, expect offensive fireworks when the Blue Jays visit the Orioles, where DFS darlings Ryan Mountcastle and Cedric Mullins will try to match Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette and the slugging Jays – and Jen has a power parlay that you’ll have to hear to believe – all on "Sticks & Stacks"!

The Stanley Cup Final will have Game 5 tonight and Shawn Drotar and Nate Lundy are here to break down what to expect, and who you can lean on for betting and DFS in the game. With Alex Killorn likely out again, who can step in for the Lightning? Nate and Shawn make their predictions and talk about the best plays for what could be the final night of the 2020-21 NHL season.

Shawn Drotar is joined by Nate Lundy for a betting and DFS preview of Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final. The Lightning and Canadians travel north to Montreal as the Habs look to pick up their first win of the series. With Alex Killorn out again for the Lightning, Nate picks a couple of players that can help fill the gap and makes his pick on the moneyline and total for this crucial game.

Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final is tonight and Shawn Drotar is joined by Nate Lundy to break it down for betting and DFS. How will the addition of Joel Armia and the subtraction of Alex Killorn affect both teams and who might benefit from the line-up changes? Plus, Nate is still annoyed at the last minute goal for the Lightning that pushed the total over 5.5, but he thinks tonight will be another low-scoring game and likes the under again. Catch up on betting suggestions, including player props, for tonight's huge game in today's episode.

The AL and NL Central divisions take center stage on Tuesday, as hosts Shawn Drotar (@sdrotar) and Jennifer Piacenti (@jenpiacent) look at opportunities in divisional rivalries. In the NL Central, The backsliding Cubs face a hot Brewers team and an even hotter Brandon Woodruff, who looks to build upon what’s looking like a Cy Young-caliber season. Over on the South Side of Chicago, the White Sox’s Lucas Giolito is set to deliver strikeouts galore, but watch out for 40-year-old Nelson Cruz, who’s still packing power for the Twins. The pair go coast-to-coast in their third matchup, as the Mariners are in trouble against resurgent Blue Jays starter Robbie Ray and the red-hot bat of young superstar Vladimir Guerrero Jr. – all on this episode of "Sticks & Stacks!"