This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
Another weekend of MLB action in the books. Some results have been notable, if not surprising. Aaron Judge has a ton of power. Fernando Tatis could be an MVP if he stays healthy. Then, there are the surprises, unless you had Wilyer Abreu batting .522 on the campaign. The next Ted Williams! Or not! Yes, some notable things have happened, but past seasons can't be ignored, even when setting DFS lineups. Monday features seven games on the slate, the first starting at 7:10 p.m. ET. Here are my lineup recommendations. Good luck!
Pitching
Logan Gilbert, SEA vs. HOU ($10,200): It's only two starts, but a 13.50 K/9 rate, 18.00 K/BB rate, and 1.28 FIP still pop. Gilbert also gets to pitch this one at home where he had a 2.49 ERA last year. Seattle's park is quite pitcher friendly. Houston has started slow offensively, as it sits down in the bottom five in runs scored. I don't think that will continue, but a lineup with only a single lefty could continue to have issues against above-average righties like Gilbert.
Kodai Senga, NYM vs. MIA ($9,300): Senga's first start of the season was on the road against the Marlins, and it went fine. He allowed two earned runs in five innings, but struck out eight batters as well. Plus he gets to pitch this one at home, where he had a 2.42 ERA in 2023 (do recall he had only one start in 2024). The Marlins have started surprisingly well, but the competition has been easy. They finished 27th in runs scored last year, and that's about their ceiling this season I believe.
Top Targets
Things can still change quite quickly at this point in the season. Bobby Witt ($4,100) picked up three hits, including a triple, on Sunday. Now he's suddenly slashing .297/.366/.514 with four extra-base hits and three stolen bases. At home Witt makes Kansas City look like Denver, as he had an 1.117 OPS at home in 2024. Simeon Woods Richardson was okay in his first real MLB season, as he had a 4.17 ERA in 28 starts. However, he only struck out 7.88 batters per nine innings and had a 35.3 groundball percentage, and that won't fly against Witt.
Sandy Alcantara is hitting paternity leave, and the Marlins seem primed to go with a bullpen game in his stead, so what to do with the Mets on Monday? How about Pete Alonso ($3,900)? He's looking happy to still be in New York, as he has an OPS over 1.000 to start 2025. Plus, since 2023 he's slugged .482 against righties and .491 against lefties, which is nice with a potential bullpen game in the offing.
Bargain Bats
It speaks to how well-regarded Wyatt Langford ($3,400) was as a prospect that he had 16 homers and 19 stolen bases as a rookie, and that was essentially shrugged off. For a rookie who had barely played in the minors, he impressed, and he had an .896 OPS versus lefties. Langford has started this season showing impressive power by slugging .500. He'll see lefty Justin Steele on Monday, who has a 6.89 ERA through three stats.
In his first season as a Mariner, Luke Raley ($2,600) has 22 home runs and 11 stolen bases. It's not surprising the southpaw preferred to face righties, as he had an .830 OPS in those matchups. However, he was the rare Mariner who seemed to enjoy his home park, as he had a .901 OPS in Seattle. Hayden Wesneski has a career 4.66 FIP, and he's mostly picked out of the bullpen. In his first start as an Astro, he allowed three runs in five innings against the Giants.
Stacks to Consider
Padres at Athletics (Luis Severino): Jackson Merrill ($3,600), Jake Cronenworth ($2,900), Gavin Sheets ($2,700)
Severino's first start with the Athletics went well, given that he allowed zero runs in six innings. On the other hand, he did allow three hits and four walks, and he was in Seattle facing the Mariners. In his Sacramento debut, Severino allowed six hits, three walks and five earned runs in six innings against the Cubs. The former Yankee has not been the same pitcher he once was since the turn of the decade. He had a 4.81 ERA over his last two seasons in New York, and since 2023, lefties have hit .289 against him. That's why this stack is three southpaws.
What's Merrill doing for an encore after hitting .292 with 24 homers, six triples and 16 stolen bases as a rookie? Oh, you know, just slashing .378/.415/.676 with three home runs and a stolen base. Cronenworth doesn't have the same power as Merrill, though he did hit 17 homers and 29 doubles last season. What's he has done, though, is get on base at a .395 clip to start 2025. Sheets is as bad against his fellow lefties as any southpaw, which limits his playing time and upside. That being said, he had 35 extra-base hits in 501 plate appearance with the White Sox last season, and he's off to a hot start with the Padres. He's slashed .385/.407/.577.
Diamondbacks vs. Orioles (Zach Eflin): Eugenio Suarez ($3,900), Corbin Carroll ($3,800), Lourdes Gurriel ($3,000)
The 30-year-old Eflin has a career 4.11 ERA. He's never finished a season with an ERA under 3.50. Eflin has also allowed 1.30 home runs per nine innings in his career. I have two righties in this stack, because Eflin struggles with his fellow right-handers. In fact, since 2023, righties have hit .271 against the journeyman hurler.
Suarez is hitting below the Mendoza Line. He also has five homers and has slugged .647. Last season, his first with Arizona, he slugged .476 against his fellow righties, and he slugged .522 at home. I've included the southpaw Carroll because he's started this season so strong I feel comfortable believing that 2024 was anomalous. Also, in a "down" year that lead to hand-wringing, he had 22 homers, 14 triples and 35 stolen bases. This year he's slashed .282/.391/.641 with three doubles and three home runs. Gurriel is kind of off to a slow start, but he was the best righty left at my disposal. He had 18 home runs and seven stolen bases in 133 games last year. Also, since joining the Diamondbacks he's slugged .474 at home.
