Sorare MLB GW5 Breakdown | Muncy Madness

My goal for these slate breakdowns is to create an all-in-one place for new users to get an overview for each Game Week and use that information to pinpoint marketplace inefficiencies and construct a winning team.

I will be focusing on the Limited tier cards when referencing market prices as this is where the majority of Sorare users will be playing, and where there is the most liquid market.

Let’s dive in!

⏪ Game Week Recap

Zac Gallen finished on top with 46 Sorare points after striking out 11 Brewers through seven shutout innings on Monday.

My favorite purchase of this bunch is Kevin Gausman who I wrote about in last week’s breakdown. His Sorare Limited floor price has risen to about $26 after this excellent start against Detroit but I would still be looking to buy.

Cardinals Closer Ryan Helsley was the highest scoring Reliever in GW4 with back-to-back saves versus the Rockies in Coors Field.

Last week I wrote up Orioles’ Closer Felix Bautista as being my favorite bullpen option for this week. It’s interesting to see Bryan Baker on this list instead of Bautista but it actually makes sense in hindsight.

It turns out Baltimore didn’t need Bautista in this series with the O’s beating the lowly A’s by more than three runs in two out of their three wins.

Because a Closer can only earn the ten Sorare points from a Save, and earning a Save in baseball requires a team to be up by no more than three runs, it makes sense to target Closers in games where you think the series will stay close throughout. Lopsided matchups like this will favor Relief Pitchers over Closers.

My takeaways are that the Orioles remain one of the best stacks to deploy in Sorare on a daily basis. So far they have proven that their lineup can show up on this leaderboard through both speed and power.

Also, if you had to Google Brent Rooker then you are not alone.

📋 Multi-Game Monitor

All teams play three games!

⚾️ Pitching Primer

Pitching is so bad on both Friday and Saturday with every team deploying their fourth or fifth starter.

All the guys we want to target are going to be toeing the rubber during the day games on Sunday. These are my top options factoring in their matchup.

• Gerrit Cole vs MIN
• Dylan Cease vs BAL
• Luis Castillo vs COL
• Max Scherzer at OAK
• Pablo Lopez at NYY
• Julio Urias vs CHC
• Shane Bieber at WSH
• Shane McClanahan at TOR
• Aaron Nola at CIN
• Zac Gallen at MIA

Gerrit Cole vs MIN

Gerrit Cole is my favorite starting pitcher in GW5. Since the start of last season he has a 32.3% strikeout rate and a 2.81 xFIP. He’s edged out Cease in just about every category except for HR/9, but this shouldn’t be an issue against Minnesota who is dealing with injuries to their three best power hitters in Gallo, Buxton, and Correa. Cole carries minimal risk with slate-breaking upside.

Dylan Cease vs BAL

I don’t love the matchup for Cease but we did see deGrom strikeout 11 Orioles a week ago. That being said, deGrom has a miniscule 3.3% walk-rate compared to Cease’s 10.4%. Baltimore is above-average when it comes to plate-discipline, tied for eighth in the league with 50 walks this season. The O’s also have the second-most steals in the league with 17, which could spell trouble if too many at-bats lead to walks. Red-flags aside, I’m banking on Cease’s 30.8% strikeout rate to keep him afloat in this one.

Notable Pitchers NOT starting in GW5:

Blake Snell, Sonny Gray, Logan Gilbert, Marcus Stroman, Zack Wheeler, Kevin Gausman, Hunter Greene, Spencer Strider, Clayton Kershaw, Alex Cobb, Jeffrey Springs, Corey Kluber, Nick Lodolo, Joe Ryan, Chris Bassitt

📞 Call To The Bullpen

Picking Relief Pitchers is particularly tricky on the Friday-Sunday slates with their being only three games. Ideally you want your Reliever to have at least two relief appearances or save opportunities which is hard to come by on a shorter slate.

Closers In Good Spots:

~$13 Clay Holmes vs MIN

~$7 AJ Minter at KCR

~$44 Emmanuel Clase at WSH

~$15 Ryan Helsley vs PIT

Other Non-Closer Options:

James Karinchak and Enyel De Los Santos at WSH

Taylor Rogers and John Brebbia at DET

Joe Jimenez and Nick Anderson at KCR

Drew Smith and Stephen Nogosek at OAK

💰 Stacks

Below are some top stacks for GW5. 

Angels

The Angels will play the first three gamesof their four-game series against Boston at Fenway Park in GW5. With Chris Sale and Corey Kluber pitching Thursday and Friday against the Rays, the Red Sox will roll out Tanner Houck, Nick Pivetta, and Garrett Whitlock to start this series.

Temperatures have started to rise in Boston, and this lineup has multiple right-handed power bats that should benefit from the Green Monster. Having the two best players in the game won’t make things cheap, but give me Hunter Renfroe, Taylor Ward and Brandon Drury as well.

• ~$14 Taylor Ward
• ~$150 Mike Trout
• ~$234 Shohei Ohtani
• ~$18 Hunter Renfroe
• ~$9 Brandon Drury

 

Phillies

Philly will draw Connor Overton, Graham Ashcraft, and Luis Cessa this weekend at Great American Ballpark. The Reds have two good pitchers in Hunter Greene and Nick Lodolo and somehow managed to face neither in this Game Week.

The Phillies haven’t quite lived up to expectations this season, however, they did put up 15 runs on Monday and draw one of the best matchups on the board this weekend. Also, while most catchers will take a routine off-day on the weekends, JT Realmuto is one of the few catchers that will not rest. Don’t be afraid to include him in the stack.

• ~$12 Bryson Stott
• ~$116 Trea Turner
• ~$52 Kyle Schwarber
• ~$11 Nick Castellanos
• ~$18 JT Realmuto

Other stacks to consider: Braves, Mariners, Orioles, White Sox

There you have it, the Sorare MLB Slate Breakdown for Game Week 5.

I will be releasing these every Monday and Friday prior to lineup lock to help you all with preparing for the slate and setting your teams.

I hope to see everyone at the top of the leaderboards.

Thanks for reading!