This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
Welcome to August. As it is a Monday, a handful of MLB teams aren't in action, and there are nine games taking place at 7:05 p.m. ET or later. The trade deadline is right around the corner, but before we get there here are my DFS recommendations for Monday.
Pitching
Jon Gray, TEX vs. BAL ($10,000): Gray's 3.62 ERA would be the best of his career, and given that this is his first season not as a Rockie, that tracks. At his new home ballpark he also happens to have a 2.93 ERA. The Orioles aren't bottom dwellers any longer, but they are still a team in the bottom 10 in runs scored. They've just graduated to being at the upper end of that designation.
Mike Clevinger, SD vs. COL ($8,500): Clevinger had to wait until May to get healthy enough to start, and then he had to ease into action after his lengthy injury absence. However, he's gone at least 5.1 innings in each of his last five starts, and in that time he has a 3.26 ERA. The Rockies are away from hitter-friendly Coors Field and are instead on the road at the pitching haven that is Petco Park.
Michael Kopech, CWS vs. KC ($8,200): You'd think with a fastball like Kopech's he'd strikeout more batters, but at least he has a 3.16 ERA. Over his last three starts, he's posted a 2.30 ERA as well. With the Royals in the bottom five in runs scored, Kopech should be in good shape.
Top Targets
I compared Petco to Coors, but when Manny Machado ($4,000) is at home, he might as well be in the thin air of Denver. Since 2020 he has a .943 OPS at home. Antonio Senzatela, meanwhile, actually has more issues away from Coors, as since 2020 he has a road ERA of 5.21.
On the season DJ LeMahieu ($3,300) has an .866 OPS versus lefties and an .852 OPS at home. However, he's been providing some potent offense recently, with a .973 OPS over the last three weeks. Marco Gonzales, a lefty, may have a 3.66 ERA, but he has a 5.07 FIP. He's struck out a mere 4.78 batters per nine innings, so a guy who excels at getting on base like LeMahieu can excel here.
Bargain Bats
At this point, a bet on Riley Greene ($2,800) is as much about prospect reputation as actual play in the majors. Thus far he's hit .253 with two home runs, but he does have six doubles and two triples. It's expected Chris Archer will start for the Twins on Monday, and he has a 4.99 FIP on the season. He also has an 11.74 ERA over his last two starts.
Basically any time the White Sox are at home and their opponent is starting a righty, I find myself turning to Gavin Sheets ($2,200). Hey, in his career he has a.786 OPS against righties and a .988 OPS at home. The righty Brad Keller has a 4.18 ERA this year, and since 2020 he has a 4.98 ERA in away games.
Stacks to Consider
Mets at Nationals (Patrick Corbin): Pete Alonso ($4,100), Starling Marte ($3,800), Mark Canha ($2,500)
Corbin's 6.49 ERA is bad enough as is, but over his last four starts he's posted a 10.80 ERA. On top of that, since 2020, righties have hit .313 against him, so naturally I am stacking three right-handed hitters for this one.
Alonso brings a lot of power to this matchup with a pitcher who has allowed 1.54 home runs per nine innings. His big bat has yielded a .536 slugging percentage and 26 home runs. Marte doesn't need help hitting for average, and he's batted .301 this year. He also has 11 home runs to go with 12 stolen bases. Canha doesn't have a lot of power, but he has a .271 average and .368 OBP. Against a pitcher like Corbin, that's good enough for me.
Astros vs. Red Sox (Nathan Eovaldi): Yordan Alvarez ($4,600), Kyle Tucker ($3,700), Jeremy Pena ($3,100)
Last year Eovaldi really cut down on the home runs, and his 2.78 FIP reflects that. This year, though, the homers have returned with a vengeance. Eovaldi has allowed 1.99 home runs per nine innings. While he's been much better on the road than at home this season, the opposite was true the previous two campaigns, so I think that may just be a fluke. It's not enough to stop me from stacking Astros.
Alvarez is a hitter who is more than 300 games into his career and has a slugging percentage of .603. That's incredible, as is his 1.197 OPS against righties in 2022. Tucker has already racked up 19 home runs and 16 stolen bases. Since 2020, the southpaw has an .894 OPS against righties as well. The rookie Pena has shown up nicely for the Astros. He's hit .252 with 15 home runs and six stolen bases.
Mariners at Yankees (Domingo German): J.P. Crawford ($2,900), Jesse Winker ($2,400), Adam Frazier ($2,300)
German has made two starts this season. One went terribly, and the other was mediocre. Thus far, he has an 8.22 ERA, and in his career he has a 4.62 ERA. The righty has also allowed 1.70 home runs per nine innings in his career. I have three lefties in this stack, hoping Yankee Stadium treats them as well as Anthony Rizzo and Matt Carpenter. Plus, Seattle's top-two hitters, Ty France and Julio Rodriguez, are both dealing with wrist injuries right now.
Winker has not hit as expected, but since 2020 he has an .899 OPS versus righties. Plus, this year his road OPS is .760, decidedly better than he's been at home. Crawford is more of a doubles hitter than a home-run guy, but he's averaged .264 with a .339 OBP. Against righties, those numbers go up to .290 and .372. Frazier doesn't really have leadoff hitter skills, but he still gets to hit lead off sometimes. Since 2020, the lefty has hit .277 with a .340 OBP against righties. He also has a .798 OPS over the last three weeks.
