This article is part of our DraftKings MLB series.
Most Mondays tend to have all night games, but we have something a little different in this opening week. There are a handful of games during the day, followed by an eight-game slate at night. We're going to focus on the night slate because that's where all the big prize pools are. With that in mind, let's dive into this first Monday slate of the season!
Pitching
Bowden Francis, TOR vs. WAS ($8,300)
Francis is my favorite pitcher on this slate. The 28-year-old righty got an opportunity last season and provided a 3.30 ERA and 0.93 WHIP in his first stint as a starter. He was even better in the second half, posting a 1.53 ERA and 0.53 WHIP across his final nine starts. That form should be easy to carry over in a matchup against Washington, with the Nats ranked 24th in wOBA and 25th in runs scored last season. That's why Francis enters this fantastic matchup as a -170 favorite.
Ronel Blanco, HOU vs. SF ($9,000)
There wasn't a second pitcher who stood out, but Blanco should be a solid option in a home matchup against the Giants. Let's start there, with San Francisco sitting 16th in runs scored and 19th in xwOBA last season. Blanco was quietly one of the best pitchers in the AL last year too, allowing four runs or fewer in 28 of 29 starts. That led to his 2.80 ERA and 1.09 WHIP, which look even better since he had a 9.6 K/9 rate at home. In a start against the Giants last season, Blanco threw six one-run innings en route to nearly 30 DraftKings points.
Top Targets
Kyle Tucker, CHC ($6,000) vs. Joey Estes
Tucker was a top-10 pick in season-long redraft leagues, and it's hard to argue with how special this guy can be. The offseason acquisition has been sparkling in the opening week of the season, collecting two homers and five RBI over the last two days. That's no surprise when looking at his per-game production, as he averaged over 10 DK points per game last season. He's also got a .389 OBP and .933 OPS against righties over the last three years, and we want to stack against Estes. We'll dive into that later on!
Fernando Tatis, SD ($5,400) vs. Luis L. Ortiz
Much like Tucker, Tatis is one of the best players in DFS when he's healthy. That's been a rare sight over recent years, but he's been one of the best players through the opening week. Tatis has seven hits, three steals and five runs scored through the opening four games. That's led to him scoring at least 14 DK points in three of four outings, and we're not scared about a matchup with Ortiz. The righty has a 3.93 ERA and 1.33 WHIP for his career.
Bargain Bats
Lane Thomas, CLE ($4,100) vs. Kyle Hart
Thomas was a sneaky acquisition by the Guardians last season, and he should be a fantastic DFS option as their everyday two-hole hitter. What makes him so special is his speed, but his splits against southpaws are superb as well. In fact, Thomas has a .376 OBP and .908 OPS against lefties over the last three years. Facing a 32-year-old "rookie" only adds to Thomas's value, with Hart posting a 15.55 ERA and 3.09 WHIP across 11 innings at this level.
Jonathan Aranda, TB ($2,900) vs. Carmen Mlodzinski
Aranda is projected to bat third or fourth for the Rays when he's in the lineup, and that alone makes him an excellent play at a salary below $3k. That's one of the best possible lineup spots, and we must trust Tampa's prospects when evaluating past results. The first baseman had two doubles in his first start of the year, after posting a .894 OPS over the final 20 games of last season. We didn't even mention that he also had a .413 OBP and .957 OPS between Double-A and Triple-A while getting the platoon advantage against this Pittsburgh pitcher.
Stacks to Consider
Cubs vs. Athletics (Joey Estes): Tucker ($6,000), Ian Happ ($4,800), Michael Busch ($4,100), Pete Crow-Armstrong ($3,800)
We briefly mentioned earlier that we wanted to stack against Estes, so let's get into that. The A's have one of the worst pitching staffs in baseball, and Estes is at the back end of that rotation. That's no surprise since the righty has a 5.16 career ERA. He also had a career 5.61 ERA and 1.34 WHIP at Triple-A, which is scary against this revamped Cubs lineup.
We already started our Chicago stack with Tucker, but they have some lower-end options that should pair well with the All-Star. Happ is projected to hit leadoff, totaling a .367 OBP and .818 OPS against righties since 2023. Busch is projected to hit cleanup with the platoon advantage in his favor, picking up two hits in two of his last three outings. As for PCA, the speedster also hits from the left side and flirted with a 1.500 OPS during spring training.
Rays vs. Pirates (Carmen Mlodzinski): Junior Caminero ($5,200), Brandon Lowe ($4,400), Aranda ($2,900)
It's always risky to trust pitchers you can't pronounce. All jokes aside, Mlodzinski simply lacks a sufficient sample size to trust at this level. He's only made five career starts (all openers) after posting a 4.73 ERA and 1.47 WHIP between Double-A and Triple-A. We're willing to stack against a guy like that, especially since Tampa is one of the cheapest stacks out there.
Not many people will ride the Rays, but they'll be a great team to stack all season. This team has a group of underrated bats, with Caminero looking like a star in the making. The third baseman had a .372 OBP and .950 OPS throughout his minor-league career and is hitting third for Tampa. He hits right ahead of Lowe, who's got a .834 OPS against righties throughout his career. We already talked about Aranda, but he rounds out this stack as the cleanup hitter.
