This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
With roughly 50 games left per team in the MLB season, Monday brings us eight games starting at 7:05 p.m. ET or later. Mondays can feel drab, but not if you have DFS success. Here are my lineup recommendations.
Pitching
Freddy Peralta, MIL vs. COL ($10,500): It's been an up-and-down season for Peralta, but he has a 4.23 FIP all in all with a 10.80 K/9 rate. Suddenly, a guy who was previously above-average about keeping the ball in the park has gotten homer happy, but that may not be an issue here. The Rockies are in the bottom 10 in runs scored, and also home runs. That's significant, because the Rockies play their home games in baseball's best park for hitters, so for their numbers to be that bad they have to be really struggling.
Dane Dunning, TEX at OAK ($8,400): Called upon to step into the rotation after beginning the year as a bullpen arm able to go a few innings if necessary, Dunning has stepped up to deliver a 3.14 ERA this year, including a 3.43 ERA in his 16 starts. Of course, a lot isn't likely to be asked of Dunning in this matchup. The Athletics are last in runs scored and team OPS, and they are in a neck-and-neck battle with the Royals to see who will finish with the worst record in MLB.
Top Targets
While Christian Yelich ($3,600) has always done better against righties, for a few years it was more of a "pretty good" performance versus righties compared to struggling against lefties. He still can't hit southpaws, but he's put up an .931 OPS versus right-handed pitchers, which has helped pace him to 16 homers and 23 stolen bases. Peter Lambert has barely pitched since 2019, but all in all he has a 6.66 ERA, and in limited at-bats since 2021 lefties have hit .361 against him.
As per usual, Rafael Devers ($3,400) has been better at home, as since 2021 he has a .902 OPS at Fenway Park. This year, though, he's been unusually good against his fellow southpaws, posting a .907 OPS. Cole Ragans, a lefty who started the season in the Rangers' bullpen, has a career 4.66 ERA. He's also allowed his fellow lefties to hit .297 against him.
Bargain Bats
The homers are a bit down for Hunter Renfroe ($2,800) in his first season with the Angels, though he still has 17 to go with 26 doubles as well. While he has a new home park once again, he has posted an .870 OPS in home games. Alex Wood has a 5.08 FIP this season, and righties have hit .265 against him.
With Amed Rosario dealt, the Guardians called up top prospect Brayan Rocchio ($2,000) to play shortstop. The switch hitter has gotten off to a slow start, but he's been better against lefties, and he posted a .382 OBP in Triple-A this year. Hyun Jin Ryu has only made one start this season, but since 2021 the lefty has a 4.61 ERA. Also, righties have hit .272 against him.
Stacks to Consider
Atlanta at Pirates (Osvaldo Bido): Matt Olson ($4,500), Michael Harris ($3,300), Eddie Rosario ($2,700)
Bido has had a tough rookie campaign, having posted a 5.18 ERA with a 30.8 line-drive percentage. In fact, he has an 8.40 ERA at home, mostly based on the performance of lefties against him. Southpaws have averaged .308 against Bido, so I have three lefties in this stack.
Olson is going to end up pacing the National League in homers, as he has 39 of them. His success has been powered by his performance against righties, as he's slugged .651 in those matchups. Harris has hit .280 with 11 homers and 13 stolen bases in 87 games. So far in his career he has an .876 OPS versus right-handed pitchers for good measure. Rosario has been cold, but he's a lefty, so I will include him in this stack. He does have power upside, having hit 16 homers in 97 games.
Rangers at Athletics (Ken Waldichuk): Adolis Garcia ($3,700), Marcus Semien ($3,600), Mitch Garver ($2,900)
Waldichuk had a 4.93 ERA in seven starts last season, but this year has been even worse for the lefty. He has a 6.52 ERA and has allowed 1.63 homers per nine innings while walking 13 percent of the batters he's faced. Lefties have done reasonably well against Waldichuk in 2023, but didn't last year. However, righties have hit him in both seasons, having averaged .287 against him in his career, so I went that route with this stack.
Garcia hasn't run as much as in the past, but he has seven stolen bases to go with 28 homers, plus a career high .266 average. While he tends to be better at home, he has a .912 OPS against lefties so I still will use him in this stack. Semien has been hot, having posted an 1.028 OPS over the last three weeks. All in all, he's hit .281 with 18 homers and 10 stolen bases, while scoring 92 runs for good measure. You don't need a catcher on FanDuel, but Garver still ended up as my third member of this stack. One, his .834 OPS on road stands out on the Rangers. Two, since 2021 he has an .867 OPS versus left-handed pitchers.
