This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
Some MLB players don't have Labor Day off. You shouldn't take Labor Day off from MLB DFS either! I mean, you can if you want to. It's a free country and all that. For those of you looking to get in the MLB DFS action Monday, though, there are six games on the slate, with the first pitch at 6:40 p.m. EDT. I'm not taking Labor Day off. Here are my recommendations.
Pitching
Gerrit Cole, NYY at TEX ($10,000): Cole followed up winning the Cy Young by… suffering a long-term injury and being slow to get into gear once returning. Well, that has happened. Over his last eight starts Cole has a 2.76 ERA and 9.9 K/9 rate. If not for a bad start against the Mets his numbers in that time would be elite. The Rangers still wish it was 2023 as well. This year they will miss the playoffs in large part due to an offense in the bottom 10 in runs scored.
Simeon Woods Richardson, MIN at TAM ($7,900): Richardson's rookie season has seen him pitch as a functional member of a rotation, as he has a 3.86 ERA. "Functional" does not describe the Rays' offense. The White Sox are going to be the worst offense in MLB. However, the Rays and Marlins are squaring off in an all-Florida battle to avoid being 29th in runs scored.
Top Targets
What is the most remarkable Jarren Duran ($4,100) stat? His 32 stolen bases? His 44 doubles? His 13 triples? There are options. He also has an 1.056 OPS over the last three weeks. Luis Severino has a 3.13 ERA at home compared to a 4.82 ERA on the road, but he's allowed lefties to hit .262 against him as well. All in all, I don't want to stack Red Sox, but I do want Duran in this matchup.
Since joining the Yankees, Jazz Chisholm ($3,400) has an OPS over 1.000 with nine home runs and eight stolen bases. That'll work for a trade addition! Jack Leiter has pitched well in Triple-A, but he doesn't seem quite ready for MLB. In four starts he has a 6.69 FIP, an 1.38 K/BB rate, and a 2.03 HR/9 rate.
Bargain Bats
The switch-hitting Bryan Reynolds ($3,300) has been fine against lefties, but has an .845 OPS versus righties. While this season he's been better at home, since 2022 he has an .819 OPS on the road, compared to a .782 OPS in Pittsburgh. As such, I am not too concerned about that. The Cubs pushed Jameson Taillon back a day, and I get it. He has a 4.72 ERA on the road and a 2.92 ERA at home. However, he has a 6.55 ERA over his last six starts, so I don't know if pitching at Wrigley means all that much.
On the flip side of this matchup, I am looking at a battle of rookies. Pete Crow-Armstrong ($2,800) has shown elite speed. He has six triples and 26 stolen bases in only 98 games. The lefty also has a .950 OPS over the last three weeks. Jared Jones started his rookie season quite well, but he started to slip before getting hurt. In his return, he allowed five runs (with two homers on the mix) in only 4.0 innings.
Stack to Consider
Mets vs. Red Sox (Brayan Bello): Francisco Lindor ($3,800), J.D. Martinez ($3,200), Jeff McNeil ($2,600)
Bello has a 4.66 ERA in 2024, in line with his career 4.48 ERA. On the road, his career ERA is a matching 4.66. Additionally, left handers have hit a robust .290 against Bello in his time with the Red Sox, so I have two guys who can hit lefty in this stack.
Lindor just hit his 29th homer Sunday, so if he picks up the base stealing (he's swiped 25 bags) he'll have his second 30/30/30 season in a row. Given that he has an 1.078 OPS over the last three weeks, I like his chances. Martinez is a righty, but he has a lot of power, and he's slugged .523 over the last two weeks. He also has really enjoyed Citi Field, as he has an .871 OPS at home. The lefty McNeil has tweaked his approach and has as an .886 OPS across the last 21 days. He's hit .279 at home since 2022, and while he's been brutal at home this season, he had a .755 OPS at Citi Field last year, and a .779 OPS the year before that.
