This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
MLB only has seven games Monday with there being an "all-day" slate starting at 6:35 p.m. EDT. That's when the Orioles head to the Bronx to take on the Yankees. As usual, the main slate of games starts at 7:05 p.m. EDT and has the remaining five games for the night.
PITCHING
The safe play in cash games is to spend up and pay for Jose Berrios ($10,400) considering he's home. Since the 2017 season, Berrios' ERA is over two runs better at home (2.68) than on the road (4.75). The Twins righty has scored 40 or more fantasy points in four of his last five starts, though the Angels aren't a great matchup. Berrios' worst fantasy performance of the season was at Baltimore, when he finished with 27 fantasy points. That shows his nice floor, and his 73 fantasy-point performance against Cleveland to open the season shows his high ceiling.
The other pitcher worth considering for cash games is the Indians' Shane Bieber ($9,500), who has at least 43 fantasy points in five of his seven starts this season and sees a good matchup against the strikeout-prone White Sox. For the season, Chicago has a 25.6 percent strikeout rate against right-handed pitching, which is the seventh-highest mark in baseball.
Looking at the lower-tier pitching options, Reynaldo Lopez ($7,100) stands out as a great GPP choice. The White Sox hurler had 70 fantasy points against the Tigers a couple of weeks ago and has two other starts of 40 fantasy points under his belt so far this season. Cleveland is a favorable matchup for the right-handed pitcher: Against righties, the Indians have a .286 wOBA, the fourth-lowest mark in the game, and a 24.4 percent strikeout rate against right-handed pitching. Using Lopez allows for a lot of different options with the rest of a lineup.
KEY VALUES/CHALK
Here's a spot where Nelson Cruz would likely be mentioned facing a lefty, but he's dealing with a wrist issue and is unlikely to play. However, the Mariners' Jay Bruce ($2,900) is a better value being home facing Mike Fiers. Fiers has a penchant for giving up the long ball, and 12 of Bruce's 24 hits have been home runs. Bruce has a career .346 wOBA against right-handed pitching, and Fiers has allowed 1.57 HR/9 this season, which is actually lower than either of his previous two seasons.
Marcus Semien ($3,800) stands out among the shortstops with Carlos Correa in a tough matchup and Jorge Polanco facing a lefty. Semien has a career .338 wOBA against southpaws for his career and is off to a good start this season with a .377 mark. Many of the Oakland bats are in play as they square off against left-handed Yusei Kikuchi.
There's a strong argument that Alex Bregman ($4,000) is the hottest hitter right now, and even with the tough Matthew Boyd matchup, there's nothing wrong with using the Astros star. The lower-priced options at the position are bad and have little upside. Bregman had a .409 wOBA against left-handed hitters last season and is coming off his second 50-fantasy point game this season.
After using some of the higher-priced options, picking someone like Cleveland's Jason Kipnis ($2,500) makes sense. He's reached base safely in eight straight games and has at least 12 fantasy points in four of those contests. Reynaldo Lopez, while mentioned in the pitching section, comes into the game with a 6.38 ERA and has allowed a .444 wOBA to left-handed hitters this season.
Fun fact: This is officially the C/1B spot on FanDuel, so going contrarian and using a catcher here should be a low-owned option. Mitch Garver ($3,300) is a hero here as he boasts a .551 wOBA vs left-handed pitching this season. Buck the trend and trust Mitch here!
STACKS
Astros vs. Matthew Boyd (Tigers)
Bregman, George Springer (OF - $4,600), (Yuli Gurriel 1B - $2,900) and Carlos Correa (SS - $4,000)
This is totally a GPP recommendation, and after yesterday it should be obvious why. Boyd at some point will have an off day, that could happen Monday. The Astros lead the league with a .373 wOBA against left-handed pitching.
Athletics at Yusei Kikuchi (Mariners)
Semien, Khris Davis ($3,800), Chad Pinder (OF - $2,500) and Matt Chapman (3B - $3,900)
Stacking the A's seems like a great idea given the splits from the top to the bottom of the lineup. This seems like a useful spot for the bats to mow down the opposing pitcher given their splits versus a lefty.
