This article is part of our DraftKings MLB series.
In my last article, we had a tiny Thursday card, but we have a better slate here. This Monday slate includes seven games, but the pitching options are pitiful. Brady Singer is the highest-priced pitcher, while the second-highest pitcher is in Coors Field. That should force us into some interesting decisions, so let's get started by looking at some of the arms we like for this slate!
Pitching
Bryce Elder, ATL vs. MIA ($7,500)
It's wild that Elder is our top pitching selection, but wait until you see the next guy! This is simply one of the ugliest pitching pools of the season, but Elder is a great bargain at just $7,500. The Braves righty is making his season debut, but he was quietly one of their best pitchers in the first half of last season. Elder had a 2.45 ERA and 1.14 WHIP through his first 17 starts, posting a 7-1 record in that sensational stretch. That makes him tough to avoid against Miami, ranked 28th in OBP and OPS while sitting 29th in wOBA. All of that will have him entering this matchup as a -230 favorite, the largest favorite on this slate!
Albert Suarez, BAL at LAA ($4,000)
How often do we get an opportunity to use a $4K pitcher in a decent spot? We would use them in almost any circumstance but this is simply a mistake from DraftKings. Suarez was stupendous in his debut last week, throwing 5.2 scoreless innings en route to 18.4 DK points. That was actually his first start since 2018, but the 34-year-old journeyman impressed the organization when he led the team in strikeouts during spring training. This Angels lineup isn't far from a spring training lineup, ranked 20th in runs scored, 21st in wOBA and 24th in OBP.
Top Targets
Fernando Tatis, SD (vs. Austin Gomber) $6,000
Tatis has had trouble staying on the field but he's been one of the best players in fantasy when he's out there. This guy has 112 homers and 84 steals through just 437 career games, one of the best per-game producers in that span. That ability should be easy to duplicate against a lefty in Coors Field, with Tatis totaling a .403 OBP, .567 SLG and .970 OPS against southpaws throughout his career. He's also got a 1.107 OPS in Coors Field, and we'll talk about Gomber's ugly averages later on!
Austin Riley, ATL (vs. Ryan Weathers) $5,800
Ronald Acuna was my first inclination but then I remembered how absurd Austin is against left-handers. Let's start there because Riley has registered a .379 OBP, .608 SLG and .987 OPS against them over the last three years. That's hard to overlook since he's in the heart of the best lineup in baseball, averaging about 40 homers and 100 RBI in that same span. We're obviously not worried about a matchup with Weathers, and we'll talk about that in the stacking section!
Bargain Bats
Alex Kirilloff, MIN (vs. Jonathan Cannon) $3,900
The Twins have been one of the worst offenses in baseball, but it's not this guy's fault. Kirilloff has been hitting third or fourth every time Minnesota matches up with a righty, with Kirilloff compiling a .370 OBP and .859 OPS against them since the start of last season. Those are superb splits from a sub-$4K player, and we don't want to fade him against a gas can like Cannon. The ChiSox righty has a 5.28 ERA and 1.57 WHIP at Double-A and Triple-A over the last two years! Don't be afraid to use a full-on Twinkies stack, including guys like Ryan Jeffers, Byron Buxton and Trevor Larnach!
Austin Slater, SF (vs. Jose Quintana) $3,100
I always love to use Slater whenever he squares off with a southpaw. San Fran typically bats Slater leadoff in these circumstances, sporting a .370 OBP and .809 OPS against lefties over the last two years. He hasn't quite found that stroke yet this season, but it's a worthy risk since Slater is barely cracking $3,000. It looks even better when you consider the matchup with Quintana, collecting a 3.77 ERA and 1.35 WHIP since 2021.
Stacks to Consider
Atlanta vs. Miami Marlins (Ryan Weathers): Ronald Acuna ($6,400), Austin Riley ($5,800), Marcell Ozuna ($5,400)
There's not much that needs to be said when evaluating the Braves. We already discussed Riley's remarkable splits, while Acuna was the highest-scoring player in fantasy last season. Ozuna has been outstanding this season as well, hitting nine homers en route to a 1.117 OPS. What's scary is that all of these guys get the platoon advantage against this southpaw and that makes them one of the sexiest stacks of the day.
Now that we've discussed the bats, let's discuss Atlanta's opposition. That's Weathers, who's accumulated a 5.52 ERA and 1.51 WHIP throughout his four-year career. All of that has Atlanta as the largest favorite on this slate, projected to score 5.5 runs in this wonderful matchup with one of the worst pitchers out there.
San Diego Padres at Colorado Rockies (Austin Gomber): Fernando Tatis Jr ($6,000), Manny Machado ($5,500), Ha-Seong Kim ($4,500)
We hate to go this chalky with our two lineups, but it should be easy to use them with the cheap pitchers we mentioned above. Stacking any team in Coors Field is always a profitable endeavor, with the Padres projected to score six runs. That's the highest team total on this slate, but it's easy to see why when looking at Gomber. The Rockies lefty has a 5.49 ERA and 1.44 WHIP over the last three years, posting a 6.01 ERA in Coors during that span.
All of that would put any offense in play against Colorado but San Diego is scary with all of the righty mashers they send out. We already talked about Tatis but Manny is just as good. Machado has a .854 OPS against lefties throughout his career while providing a .872 OPS in Coors Field. The sneaky play in this stack is Kim, compiling a .381 OBP and .891 OPS against lefties since the start of last year. That is clear when looking at the BvP, with Kim collecting a 1.342 OPS in 18 at-bats against Gomber.
