This article is part of our DraftKings MLB series.
We have eight games on the main slate to begin the week, a decent tally for a Monday. As for the player pool, the highest quality of pitching isn't available. No pitcher has a SIERA below 3.50 or a strikeout rate above 30 percent. Nevertheless, the pitching pool should be helped a bit by the offensive environments of the games, as the only standout option is Nationals Park where the home team will square off against the Rockies.
Pitchers
As was noted, overall it's a weak pitcher pool. Unfortunately, it's also fairly efficiently priced as there aren't many extremely obviously mispriced players at the position. We can start with the top-priced arm of Luis Castillo ($10,600). He draws a matchup against the Twins, who continue to strike out at the highest rate in the league. Castillo has largely been capped at around 25 points, so he's a better cash game option at his price point, though the matchup could help lead to a rare ceiling performance.
We'll break our typical order of descending price to also highlight the opposite side of the matchup against Castillo in Kenta Maeda ($8,600). He's alternated good and bad starts of late, but has topped 25 DK points in three of his last five appearances. Monday sets up for another potential ceiling performance, as the Mariners strike out at the second-highest rate in the league. On a point-per-dollar basis, Maeda is likely the superior option to Castillo.
We'll head back up the price points to touch on Yu Darvish ($9,400), who has put together 29.3 and 27.3 DK point performances his last two times out. Now, he gets a matchup against the Pirates, among the worst-performing lineups of the league.
It's boring to go straight down the list of prices, but the pricing is efficient, as noted earlier. Logan Allen ($8,700) returned to big-league rotation and dominated the Pirates en route to a 30.1 DK point performance Tuesday. Not every lineup will be as friendly as Pittsburgh, but Kansas City might be even more so. Allen was inconsistent during his first tenure in the majors, so just understand the risk on him – particularly at his inflated cost.
Once again, due to the efficient pricing, there aren't many obvious cheap arms to attack. The exception may be Graham Ashcraft ($6,800), who has four consecutive double-digit point starts. That's not a great result on its own, but price helps him. So does that matchup, as he squares off against a Brewers lineup that strikes out a ton and doesn't carry a ton of punch.
Top Hitters
Lane Thomas ($4,800) isn't the most enticing name to find in this section, but he's consistently gotten it done this season. Across his last 10 games, he's averaged 10.2 DK points per game. On Monday, he draws a matchup against Karl Kauffmann, who has struggled both in the majors and minors throughout his career.
Ketel Marte ($5,500) is another player that hasn't gotten enough attention for the positive things he's done this season – averaging 9.3 DK points per game. He's in a good spot Monday in a matchup against Adam Wainwright, who looks to already have one step into retirement (3.5 K-BB%, 1.7 HR/9).
Value Bats,
Trent Grisham ($2,400) is buried at the bottom of the Padres' lineup. While that hurts his potential volume, it also means that when he reaches base he has high run-scoring potential. That makes him a nice option going up against the inexperienced Quinn Priester. Grisham has also hit well of late, averaging 9.6 DK points per game across his last 10 appearances.
There's a pair of cheap Reds to consider, depending on how they decide to configure their lineup in Christian Encarnacion-Strand ($3,200) and Will Benson ($3,000). If Benson is in the lineup, he's particularly appealing as a lefty at American Family Field and gets a matchup against Colin Rea, who has allowed 1.5 HR/9 this season.
Stacks to Consider
Washington Nationals vs. Colorado Rockies (Karl Kauffman): CJ Abrams ($3,600), Lane Thomas ($4,800), Jeimer Candelario ($4,000)
The Nationals aren't necessarily a team we'd look to regularly as a stack. There's a lot to like Monday, however. Abrams and Thomas are both in the midst of breakout seasons – Abrams has emerged more recently – while Candelario has been steady. They're also fairly cheap and in a good hitting environment on a day that most will want to pay up at pitching. Finally, the matchup is arguably the best of the day, as Karl Kauffmann has had a homer problem at every level he's pitched, even if his big-league sample is limited.
Texas Rangers vs. Houston Astros (Brandon Bielak): Marcus Semien ($5,800), Travis Jankowski ($2,900), Nathaniel Lowe ($3,800)
For those looking for a more traditional offensive power, the Rangers are in a good spot against Bielak. Bielak has had surface-level success, but he has a subpar 8.6 K-BB% and has allowed 1.4 HR/9. The Rangers are an interesting team to stack without Corey Seager (thumb), as some value has certainly opened up atop the order.
