This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
Monday's MLB slate starts a smidge early, but not too tough to manage. We get a full-day slate starting at 6:40 p.m. EDT. Of course, it's a Monday, so there are only nine games on the docket. Still, you have a good number of options for your DFS lineups, and these are some of the ones I like the best.
Pitching
Sonny Gray, STL at MIA ($11,000): The best matchup Monday belongs to arguably the best pitcher taking the mound (unless you're already all-in on Paul Skenes). Last year Gray finished as the runner up for the AL Cy Young with the Twins. Now a Cardinal, he's having an even better season. His FIP is down to 2.54, and his K/BB rate is up to 4.55. The Marlins are 29th in runs scored, and they are actually, amazingly, threatening to finish with a lower team OPS than the White Sox.
Nick Pivetta, BOS at TOR ($9,300): Pivetta will be happy to be away from Fenway Park, where he tends to struggle. Last year he had a 3.56 road ERA and a 4.54 home ERA, and this year his road ERA is down to 3.00 and his home ERA is up to 4.62. Pivetta will also be happy to face the Blue Jays, who are battling the Rays to avoid being in the bottom five in runs scored (the Jays are currently one run behind with a game in hand).
Reese Olson, DET at ATL ($7,300): Olson is my low-salary gamble. His last three starts have been dicey, but he has a 3.25 FIP through 13 starts and has only allowed 0.51 homers per nine innings. Atlanta's been disappointing offensively all season, so much so it is average in terms of runs scored. However, right now it also lacks Ronald Acuna and Michael Harris, making the lineup decidedly worse.
Top Targets
Is Christian Yelich ($3,900) this season's Corey Seager? That is to say, a guy who puts up MVP-worthy numbers but misses out because of games lost to injury? Yelich has played in 45 games out of 71 for the Brewers, but he's slashed .333/.411/.506 with six homers and 14 stolen bases. Moved into the rotation, Jose Soriano has a 3.48 ERA, but a 5.54 ERA at home.
The Rangers have had some offensive issues this year, but Marcus Semien ($3,800) hasn't necessarily been part of the problem. At least, he hasn't been at the core of the issues. Semien's numbers are down, but entirely against righties. When facing lefties, the second baseman has a .974 OPS. David Peterson is a lefty, and since 2022, right-handed hitters have a .272 batting average against the 28-year-old.
Bargain Bats
Unsurprisingly, Charlie Blackmon ($3,400) has an .856 OPS at home since 2022. What is a surprise, though, is that he has a .799 OPS versus his fellow lefties in that time. James Paxton has a 3.92 ERA, but he's also been quite lucky. He has a 5.15 FIP, thanks in part to a woeful 1.09 K/BB rate. Additionally, over the last two seasons his fellow southpaws have batted .285 when he's on the mound, and now he has to pitch at Coors.
Having picked up two hits Sunday, Paul Goldschmidt ($2,800) has looked a bit better recently. He has a .736 OPS over the last three weeks, and a .721 OPS versus lefties this season. Now, neither of those scream "vintage Goldschmidt," but there's a reason why his salary is where it is now, and why he is now a bargain bat option. It's remarkable, in a way, that one of Braxton Garrett's six starts was a complete-game shutout but he still has a 6.10 ERA. That speaks to how bad he's been most of the time. Garrett is a southpaw, and since 2022 righties have hit .268 against him.
Stacks to Consider
Dodgers at Rockies (Cal Quantrill): Teoscar Hernandez ($4,400), Freddie Freeman ($4,100), Andy Pages ($3,400)
The specter of Coors Field was evoked earlier, so naturally I must return to it. Quantrill has a 3.30 ERA in his first season with the Rockies, but he has a 3.06 ERA on the road. At home he has a 3.72 ERA and has allowed 1.6 homers per nine innings. In his career, Quantrill has only managed 6.69 homers per nine innings, which doesn't bode well long term at Coors. Since 2022, righties have hit .275 against Quantrill, so I have two right handers in this stack.
In his first season with the Dodgers, Hernandez has slugged .500 and hit 17 home runs. On the road he's hit .281 and slugged .525, and now he gets to tee off at Coors. Thanks to a two-hit Sunday, Freeman is back where he belongs, which is to say he's hitting .300 with a .401 OBP. The only reason his numbers have been down (by his standards) is because he's been below average against lefties. Versus righties his OPS is a robust 1.001. Over the last three weeks, Pages has an .898 OPS. While he has an .800 OPS at home and a .695 OPS on the road as a rookie, this is his first trip to Coors Field. That is a different scenario.
Phillies vs. Padres (Randy Vasquez): Kyle Schwarber ($4,000), Bryce Harper ($3,700), Bryson Stott ($2,900)
Only once in eight starts has Vasquez not allowed a home run, and in that start he was pulled after 3.2 innings because he had allowed five runs… to the Rockies… at Petco Park. I had to go with three lefties for this stack, because southpaws have hit a whopping .448 against Vasquez. That may only be over 62 batters, but it's still staggering.
Schwarber has the elite on-base skills of a leadoff hitter and the power of a traditional cleanup hitter. He has a .367 OBP and since 2022 he's slugged .509 against righties. Harper has slashed .280/.390/.519, and he loves being at home. Over the last two seasons he has an OPS over 1.000 in Philly's ballpark. Stott's numbers are down, but he has five homers and 18 stolen bases in 66 games. His strikeouts are down – and his chase percentage is way down – and his walks are up. Stott also has a .263 BABIP. Maybe he just needs his luck to turn around.
