All my rowdy friends are here for Monday night. Specifically, Monday night MLB DFS contests. There are eight games on the slate, and the first pitch is at 7:15 p.m. EDT. Here are my lineup recommendations. Good luck!
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Pitching
Bryan Woo, SEA vs. STL ($10,500): The Mariners have suffered through some scuffling from their starters, but not from Woo. He has a 3.02 ERA, and a 2.35 ERA at home on top of that. The Cardinals are an average offense, but Woo has clearly been decidedly above average, especially at home.
Shota Imanaga, CHC at ATL ($9,400): Imanaga has a 3.15 ERA on the season, and though it's paired with a 4.57 FIP, I am not super concerned. The lefty has a 3.20 ERA over his last seven starts, so his performance has yet to start to wane, and it's awful late for waning to begin at this point in the season. Atlanta seems a bit checked out. It is 3-7 over its last 10 games, and Seattle really took them to task this past weekend.
Top Targets
Usually, when the schedule is of this size, I do two Top Targets, two Bargain Bats, and two Stacks to Consider. For Monday, though, I was struggling to find a second stack I like. Fret not! I have opted to give you three T.T.'s and three B.B.'s instead.
This has been a rebound campaign for Julio Rodriguez ($3,600), who to be fair still had 20 homers and 17 doubles in a down 2024. His power is back across the board, as he's tallied 30 homers, 24 doubles, and even four triples. Miles Mikolas allows a ton of hits. Since 2023 lefties have hit .282 against him and righties (like Rodriguez) have hit .279. On top of that, though, he has a 6.79 ERA and 2.6 HR/9 rate on the road in 2024.
It would be nice for the Dodgers to face a lefty starter so I could recommend somebody other than Freddie Freeman ($3,300). However, here we are. Not that I'm against Freeman, and you don't get extra points for variety in DFS. Freeman could definitely finish with over 20 homers and 40 doubles and he has an 1.038 OPS over the last three weeks. While Chase Dollander has a 3.64 ERA on the road compared to a 9.98 ERA at home, that's a terrible home ERA even for Coors Field. Additionally, lefties have hit .291 against him.
Righting the ship in 2025, Noelvi Marte ($3,200) has 12 homers and eight stolen bases, but he's also hit .285. He has a robust .941 OPS on the road, and interestingly he has an .868 OPS versus his fellow righties. Yu Darvish has a 5.14 ERA over his last six starts, and he's allowed at least one homer in each game.
Bargain Bats
How do you make an impact when you only have seven home runs? How about throwing in 30 doubles and a whopping 11 triples? That is what Jung Hoo Lee ($3,100) has done. The lefty has also hit .277 against righties. Nabil Crismatt has a 2.14 ERA with the Diamondbacks this year, but he's 30, he's mostly pitched out of the bullpen in his MLB career, and he has a 4.04 ERA in Triple-A this season. Also, while the matchups have been sparse, lefties have hit .345 against Crismatt in 2025.
In his first season as an Angel, Yoan Moncada ($2,700) has an .827 OPS at home. He also, in a bit if symmetry, has an .827 OPS OPS against righties. Moncada may be a switch-hitter, but he decidedly prefers to face righties. Simeon Woods Richardson wasn't good as a rookie, but he's been even worse this season. His K/BB rate is down to 1.95, and his HR/9 rate is up to 1.61.
Back from injury to start September, Jake Burger ($2,700) has two homers in five games. He now has 14 on the season in 89 games. Over the last three seasons he's slugged .499 against lefties. Jose Quintana has been better on the road, but he has a 4.85 FIP overall and an 1.80 K/BB rate as well.
Stack to Consider
Cubs at Atlanta (Bryce Elder): Ian Happ ($3,500), Michael Busch ($3,400), Dansby Swanson ($3,200)
Well, at least Elder has managed to drop his ERA from 6.52 last year to 5.54 this year. However, his home ERA is a woeful 6.98. While both Kyle Tucker and Pete Crow-Armstrong are banged up, fret not. You can still get a good stack out of the Cubs.
The switch-hitting Happ has 20 homers and 26 doubles in 131 games. He's also on fire, as he has an 1.053 OPS over the last three weeks. As noted, Happ is a switch-hitter, but since 2023 he has an .804 OPS against righties. Busch has been cold, but he also has 26 homers and has slugged .486. This circumstance should help. Busch has slugged .526 against righties, and also .539 OPS on the road. Swanson has 22 home runs and 12 swiped bags. On top of that, he's slugged .541 over the last three weeks. While Swanson is better against lefties, he's a shortstop, so at this salary I was willing to roster him in this matchup. Righties have hit .288 against Elder.
