This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
Monday's a travel day for many teams as there's one of the more odd schedules of the season.
The action on FanDuel starts at 4:05 p.m. EDT with the Angels traveling to take on the Cubs, and then there isn't another game until 9:40 p.m. EDT when the Diamondbacks welcome the Dodgers to Arizona. That's when the FanDuel main slate starts, and there's only two other games that both start at 10:10 p.m. EDT.
Pitching
The chalk pitcher of the night for cash games will likely be the Phillies' Aaron Nola ($9,600), who gets a plus matchup in San Diego against the Padres. The Padres have the sixth-lowest wOBA against right-handed pitching (.299) and strike out at 27.1 percent, the highest mark in baseball. Meanwhile, Nola has been on a roll with at least 32 fantasy points in seven of his last eight starts. He has games of 41, 46, 52 and 61 fantasy points over that span of games showing the type of upside he has in this matchup. Don't overthink this one in cash games.
Walker Buehler ($10,400) is great GPP play to pivot off Nola from and is the second-best option in cash. His ownership may be a bit down after his last outing (18 fantasy points), but the Dodgers hurler scored at least 40 fantasy points in four straight games before that. Arizona is truly a mediocre matchup; they have the 15th-highest strikeout rate (23.2 percent), and their .313 wOBA against right-handed pitching is the 17th highest in baseball. The price tag here is another factor that should keep owners away.
The best GPP dart throw of the night is Eric Lauer ($7,400). He's had two horrible starts -- minus-12 (in Colorado) and nine points -- this season but other than that has hit at least 21 in his nine other starts. Lauer had a 3.99 ERA at home last season and is doing even better to start 2019 at 2.67. San Diego is +110 in this game, suggesting the bonus points for both a win and a quality start are in play for Lauer.
Key Values/Chalk
Looking at the games the Mariners/Astros has the highest over/under at 9.5 runs so that seems like a good place to look for hitters. Normally George Springer and Jose Altuve would be good places to start but both are on the injured list. However, Jake Marisnick ($2,400) is healthy and will be a good play (other than where he hits in the lineup). Marisnick, in a small sample, has crushed left-handed pitching with a .480 wOBA this season against that handedness.
This recommendation isn't going out on a limb, but Alex Bregman ($4,400) is a great lineup foundation after figuring out which pitcher to use. In his short career, Bregman has a .389 wOBA against left-handed pitching and is averaging 12.94 fantasy points per game this year, the second-highest average only to Cody Bellinger. The position scarcity comes into play here as well as he's now a shortstop on FanDuel.
Looking at the hot corner, the Astros' Yuli Gurriel ($3,200) makes a lot of sense given his .382 wOBA against left-handed pitching last season. However, recently returned Mariners third baseman Kyle Seager ($2,600) makes just as much sense and comes at a $600 discount. Seager hit his first home run of the season yesterday, and his timing at the plate looks like it's back. It's not a bad idea to use both players here, putting one in the utility spot.
Second base is almost as tough as shortstop except we have the Dodgers' Enrique Hernandez ($3,100). Arizona's Robbie Ray isn't the best matchup, but Hernandez has a career .361 wOBA against left-handed pitching (.364 this season).
At C/1B, backstop Omar Narvaez ($2,900) will be under the radar. The Seattle catcher has a .342 wOBA against right-handed pitching this season and has been hitting in a good RBI spot in the middle of the lineup. Corbin Martin hasn't gotten out of the fourth inning in either of his last two starts and has allowed three earned runs in each of those games.
Stacks
Astros at Mariners (Wade LeBlanc)
Bregman, Gurriel, Marisnick and Myles Straw (OF - $2,000)
Straw went nuts Sunday, swiping three bases and finishing with 39.6 fantasy points. The case for the others has been laid out, and LeBlanc brings in a 5.51 ERA for a reason. Even without some of their injured starters, this is a deep team who leads baseball against left-handed pitching with a .369 wOBA.
Padres vs. Phillies (Aaron Nola)
Hunter Renfroe (OF - $3,300), Manny Machado (SS - $3,000), Wil Myers (OF - $2,700), Eric Hosmer (1B - $2,900)
This is a GPP-only play but makes a lot of sense. This will be the lowest-owned stack, and even Nola can get lit up. Renfroe comes into this game on fire with three home runs over his last two games and six in his last eight games. The other three are capable of 20-plus fantasy points on any given night.
