 What's going on and welcome to the solo shot? My name is Tom Vecchio. We have a seven game MLB slay tonight lock is set for 705 as always This is one of the many shows on the Fandoo podcast network You can find that anywhere whether it's Apple podcast whether it's Spotify You name it make sure to give it a like follow or subscribe leave a review that be greatly appreciated And you can follow me on Twitter at Tom underscore Vecchio one before we happen to things the NFL Sunday million the NFL Thursday million that is Thursday million is now live on fendall Put your knowledge to the test and create your best five player roster while staying under the sour cap Then using fendall's live scoring feature You can follow along and compete for your share of one million dollars in prizes with first place taking home $200,000 all for just nine dollars with your choice of stars like Christian McCaffrey Debo Samuel and Darren Waller All set to take the field tonight. There's plenty of big names to use in your lineups So head over to fendall and get your lineups in today Eligibility restrictions apply go to fando.com or download the fendall app from our details All right, let's get into tonight's Seven-game MLB slate again lock is set for 705 Only one weather note for tonight. That is the Chicago Cubs. They are at home. They are hosting the Pittsburgh Pirates Little bit of rain throughout the day Could be some leading up to game time And there's a little bit of wind blowing in from right field other than that We are very very clean when it comes to Weather we have no cores field on tonight's slate Let's jump right into pitching starting off all the way up at the top of Garrett Cole 11,500 for him He's at home taken on the Toronto Blue Jays on the other side of the matchup Jose Barrios at at 10.8 Max free to 10.6 on the road visiting the Nationals Terak Skubal at 10.3 visiting the Oakland Athletics Ranger Suarez at home hosting the Mets 9.3 and Grayson Rodriguez 9,000 on the road for Baltimore taking on the Cleveland Guardians Those are the pitchers that are Above 9,000 and this is really where we should be staying when it comes to Targeting pitchers for tonight's slate. Obviously, there's a preference very heavily between some of these pitchers and on the low end I'll just get things out of the way Ranger Suarez, I think is okay Not really not a picture. I'm really gonna be going to tonight max freed is okay Not necessarily a picture. I'm gonna be going to tonight and this is not has this has nothing to do with max freed and his skill This has to do with the other options around him who are simply in better matchups and yes max freed is a good picture I'm gonna say we've seen a slightly elevated strikeout rate from him this season compared to years past But ultimately, it's not really the spot that I want to be going Knowing the other options that we have and one of them is Garrett Cole up at 11,500 dollars the leading AL Scion candidate right now. We know how Cole good how good how We know how good Cole could be and he's shown that throughout this season coming on the 27 point two percent strike I rate and point nine four home runs per nine allowed only a six point three percent walk rate Obviously in elite three point six six skill interactive ERA we saw the upside at the matchup You know can kind of have and that's going up against the blue jays and we saw the Michael King last time We had 13 strikeouts and much of the same can be said about Jose Barrios And we saw the strikeout upside from Kevin Gosman last night when he was also able to go for 10 strikeouts So this matchup doesn't scream a whole lot of runs Right. I don't think we're gonna be seeing a whole lot of offense in this matchup I have Really, there's four other teams on tonight said that we're gonna we're gonna get to when it comes to offense And those are the teams that we should be targeting and I'm fine with going to Cole or Barrios I think they're both great I would slightly lean Cole just based on the consistency that he has over Barrios who I Will say he's it has a lower striker rate overall this season But he's been pushing it much higher in recent games He comes with a 22 point nine percent strikeout rate this season Which obviously we can't really compare too closely to Garrett Cole who's up at 27 percent and obviously throughout the course of his career We've seen Garrett Cole routinely over 30 percent. However When it comes to Barrios in some of these recent games, he's been pushing it much higher at 30 point eight 25 point nine thirty one point eight and thirty six percent strike area and a game-by-game basis and some of these recent starts Dating back to the middle of August So he has really been pushing those strikeouts and given where the Yankees are currently with their roster with a 24.5 percent strike array versus right-handed pitching their current active roster, which is the seventh worst in league There's some potential for Barrios tonight. So while most people will probably be rolling with the chalk with Garrett Cole I do think there's some upside for Barrios tonight, but it's strictly from a tournament perspective As I said, I don't have a whole lot of interest in Max Freed tonight and this pushes me To kick to Terak screwball at 10.3 who has been absolutely just nails lately. He has been absolutely awesome I think this is a picture we want to be going to Time and time again today the matchup versus Oakland is awesome the strikeout rate We have seen from school ball is awesome We want every bit of this now. Obviously he started the year a little bit later dealing with some injuries He has a sixty nine point one ending sample size this season and comes with the thirty point seven percent strikeout rate a Four point seven percent walk rate is absolutely awesome only allowing point five two homeruns per nine and a two point nine eight Sierra That is awesome. Yes. It's a smaller sample size Compared to some of the other pictures on tonight's slate, but he is really really pushing the limits of his skill this year And we are seeing it in full effect. He has a fifty two percent ground ball rate and a fifty five point seven percent medium contact rate I love this matchup for school ball tonight And like I said, he's been pushing a strikeout rate even higher on a game-by-game basis over his last What is this five six starts thirty four point six forty seven point four thirty seven point five and a thirty one point eight percent strikeout rate In some of these recent outings for school ball And this is the type of matchup where we really could see that ceiling going up against Oakland with their current active roster versus lefty They have a twenty four point three percent strikeout rate, which is the eighth worst in the league This is this game is also in Oakland, which is an awesome pitchers park And we know that Oakland lacks a ton of power They have a 150 team ISO and a ninety four WRC plus in their current split versus lefties both of them Are in the bottom ten of the league. This is an awesome matchup for him and You know realistically a ten point three We can make the case on a point per dollar basis that school ball can go head to head with Cole and burrios and you know, frankly Getting 1200 of salary relief going from dropping down from Cole to school ball is pretty awesome When we're dealing with the seven games late, which you know, isn't massive So we are still gonna be looking for a bit of value, but this is a matchup. I absolutely love now I will also say Grayson Rodriguez for the Baltimore Orioles at 9k is a picture that I think we want to also be considering tonight now Rodriguez very highly touted prospect You know, he's up and down between the majors and triple a this season You know a lack of consistency. I would say at the beginning for him You know, this is his rookie year Maybe just take some time for him to kind of get in the rhythm of things They set him down a triple a they call him back up recently or you know, really in the second half of the season I should say and he has been awesome Awesome awesome awesome for Rodriguez and you know, just take some time for a young pitcher and we've seen that strike I rate come through he is limiting the home runs He's starting to limit the walks more and more which we love to see and this matchup against Cleveland I really do like now as I've said before about Cleveland their team that does not have a lot of power They also don't strike out a whole lot With their current active roster versus righties Cleveland comes in with an 18.1% strike array, which is the lowest in the league They also come in with a 140 team ISO and a 101 WRC plus So this is a team that does not have power that 140 team ISO is 29th in the league So they're really not too much of a threat at the plate But they also don't strike out a whole lot, but Grayson Rodriguez is 9k He's been awesome as of late and this is a slate where we have some very very clear Expensive offenses that we want to stack So I love the consistency that we've seen from Rodriguez, you know in this recent stretch of starts for him I love the salary tonight and we also have to be aware of what it helps us do when it comes to roster construction so Can we make the case that Cole has the best history the best track record and is the quote-unquote best pitcher and tonight's like Yeah, I think so But man schoolball at 10.3 1200 a salary relief is awesome and then Rodriguez at 9k 1300 more salary relief compared to schoolball. I Love all three these pitchers and frankly it might just push me towards school ball in the middle Just because it you know makes sense in terms of roster construction and then Rodriguez Cole is awesome But that salary might be a little bit restrictive on tonight's slate when we have so many, you know high-end offenses We want to get to So and listen barrios, I think this is a slate that he could go a little bit over look because we have schoolball because we're great So Rodriguez like this is a slate that puts him in a great spot for tournaments So pitching on tonight's slate is absolutely awesome despite it being a Smaller seven game slate like we're dealing with some truly elite options Now let's get to these stacks and as I said, we have four clear teams We want to be stacking on tonight's slate and two of them or the Braves and the Dodgers or teams I don't necessarily love to talk about a lot just because they're kind of giving when it comes to MLB DFS but the matchups that they have are pretty clear and You know, again, it's a small slate. We kind of want to just be rolling with the best options We'll worry about how popular they are a little bit later The Braves they are on the road They are taken on the Washington Nationals the Nationals will have Jake Irvin on the mound pitcher in his rookie year his 118.1 any sample size He's allowing 1.5 to homeruns per nine. He has a 19.1% walk rate He has a 10% excuse me a 19.1% strikeout rate a 10% walk rate He's a 5.02 Sierra and he has a 40.5% fly ball rate and a 37% hard contact rate It is not good for the rookie from the Nationals allowing too many runners on base for free He's also allowing a 492 slugging to left-handed hitters. This puts the Braves in an elite matchup Specifically versus lefties, he's allowing 2.03 homeruns per nine This is the type of matchup that we want to be going directly to Matt Olsen We want to be going directly to Michael Harris If Eddie Rosario is in the lineup, we want to be going him as well and Ozzy Albee's the lefties from the Braves This is the matchup that we want to be going now, of course Ronald Acunha, Austin Riley, Marcelo Zuna, Sean Murphy All of these players have tremendous power Right and this is what I was saying about Garrett Cole where yeah We can make we can say from a theoretical standpoint that he's the best pitcher on tonight's slate But Acunha's 5k, Matt Olsen is 4.4, Austin Riley's 3.9, Albee's is 3.8 These are really really expensive hitters and they're just objectively in the best matchup tonight So at a certain point we don't necessarily want to fade the chalk We want to have some exposure to them and paying up for Cole may not work with line of construction That's where screwball and that's where Rodriguez coming to play tonight So I have a ton of interest in the Braves tonight. I would say even more than I normally do Just because it's a smaller slate and they really do have always like 10 run potential so going directly to the Braves tonight if I have to leave off Acunha because his 5k salary is a little bit restrictive when it comes to the Rest of line of construction. It is what it is And it's not like we're not gonna be having great hitters when it comes to the Braves when you roll with Olsen and Riley and Murphy and Michael Harris and anyone else who makes their line when anyone else you can afford so the Braves are Extremely clear on tonight's slate. The Dodgers are extremely clear on tonight's slate They're going up against Kyle Harrison for the San Francisco Giants a pitcher that made his debut not too long ago He has a 24.1 in the sample size and he came out on fire when it comes to racking up strikeout strikeouts But that actually comes with a bit of downside and that's the fact that he's loving 2.59 homeruns per 9 Now, yes, again, this is a small sub 30 inning sample size and the strikeouts can be there for Kyle Harrison but what we also see are homeruns and a lot of fly balls and that doesn't necessarily You know bode well for him when he's going up against the lineup such as the Dodgers So the Braves the Dodgers are pretty clear in tonight's slate And yes, Mookie Betts Freddy Freeman JD Martinez who has come back recently is looking great Max Muncie Will Smith all these players are 3,500 and above led by Mookie Betts at 4,500 So this is again what I'm saying We have two very clear offenses that are very expensive that we want to be stacking on tonight's slate and you know How we get to them or get to as many of them as we possibly can has to do largely with what we're doing at pitching So we want to look at again Schoolball and Rodriguez as to the best options on tonight's slate So yes, I'm gonna be very interested in the Dodgers Next up. I also want to be taking a look at the Philadelphia Phillies They're at home good hitters park are going up against David Peterson for the New York Mets He's long 1.35 home runs per nine. He has a pretty solid 25.3 percent striker at 9.9 percent Walk rate. He does have a 3.97 Sierra Which is you know, pretty good all things considered but he has a 373 Babbitt now that's batting average of balls and play obviously that number should regress a little bit towards the league average It's significantly higher than what we saw from him last year, which was 313 and it was 3060 year before So that number should regress lower, but right now. He's a 10% walk rate. It's 9.9 He's a 10% walk rate. He's allowing 200 too many home runs and the Babbitt is kind of out of control So he's getting hit around a ton. He's letting too many runners on base for free and the Phillies they have an offense that can certainly take advantage of this and When it comes to the Phillies, yes, they have I don't know how many hitters that we want to be targeting four five six seven hitters that we could realistically be going to Shwerber Turner Harper Castellanos, Bryson Scott, Alec Baum JT Real Muto like the list kind of goes on and on for them. And yes, they're also Expensive do I prefer the Dodgers and the Braves tonight slightly ahead of the Phillies? I do and their salaries are somewhat comparable But I'll still look to get some exposure to the Phillies and that may not mean getting up to Shwerber and Turner It may mean going to Castellanos bomb and Real Muto and Real Muto is actually relatively affordable at 2.8 K tonight So we have the clear power upside and the clear advantage when it comes to Philly But they're kind of like Two behind the Braves and the Dodgers who are like 1a and 1b tonight when it comes in when it comes to Priority in terms of stacking. So the Phillies are super clear tonight I also, you know, we're a week and a half away from the end of the season Like I'm also trying to focus on teams that need to be winning the Phillies are certainly one of those teams that you know Need to be winning picking up games to secure their play of spots seeding wildcard whatever might be When it comes to You know closing out the final few games of the season and then finally I think we want to be focusing in on the Baltimore Orioles tonight's great match of them going up against Hunter Gaddis for the Cleveland Guardians I don't know. I would say rookie this year really in 7.1 in his pitch last year, but 39 in his pitch this year He's been up and down between the majors and the minors He is not a big strikeout pitcher in any capacity this year a 13.5% strikeout rate is so so low. He's allowing 1.38 home runs per nine Way way too many fly balls up at fifty four point six percent Obviously, we expect the number to regress a little bit as he spends more time in the majors because we are dealing with a smaller 39 any sample size But if he's getting it beat by fly balls right now and we see him with a five point seven nine Sierra We want to be going to the Orioles given the offense of power that they have and things are gonna be let off by none other than Gunnar Henderson coming up with a 142 WRC plus a team high 142 WRC plus in this split versus right as long as a 282 iso We love to see that and Austin Hayes has been hot as a blade he comes on the 116 WRC plus he does have a 167 iso which obviously isn't as as high but still a good match up for him roll with Ruchman, Santander, Mullins Ryan O'Hern should probably be in the lineup for this match with the lefty righty split going on and The Orioles aren't as expensive compared to the Dodgers or the Braves where Gunnar Henderson at 3.8k is their most expensive Hitter so does provide a little bit of salary if I'm not gonna say that 3.8 and 3.4 is You know a salary saving player, but they're just relatively affordable compared to a Kuni up at 5k or whatever it might be So the Orioles are just a very very clear team that I think a lot of people will be going to tonight given this match up against Hunter Gattis We want to be taking advantage of a pitcher that just simply allows too many fly balls given the power upside that the Orioles have In their lineup is evidently clear tonight So four extremely clear teams all with great home run upside the Braves the Dodgers the Phillies and the Orioles We should be stacking all them all of them tonight any which way we can All right, let's get to some home run calls to close things out and we got to start with Matt Olson justice this matchup against Jake Irvin is just too good. Obviously Olson leading the league in home runs right now. He has immense power again Jake Irvin allowing over two home runs per nine to left-handed hitters this season Matt Olson 4400 tonight absolutely love him and then the player I just spoke about Gunnar Henderson another lefty coming in with a 282 iso in this split versus righties. He is another option for a home run tonight All right So that does it for today's podcast as those as always be found on Apple podcast We found on Spotify the video version we found on the fandal YouTube page We found on fandal TV plus we found on fandal comm slash watch you can follow me on Twitter at Tom underscore Vecchio one And so next time good luck in your contests