This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Baseball series.
We kick off the week with 10 games on the schedule Monday, eight of which will make up the main evening slate on Yahoo. There are plenty of exciting matchups, including the Yankees taking on the Astros and the Dodgers facing the Cardinals. Without further ado, here are how some of the ownership percentages could play out.
Pitching Overview
Justin Verlander ($54) will take the mound in the series opener against the Yankees and checks in as the most expensive pitcher. After looking dominant in his first start of the season against the Rays, the Rangers roughed him up for four runs across four innings Tuesday. He still has 13 strikeouts over 11 innings and should continue to have tremendous upside. The Yankees just torched the Orioles in their three-game sweep, which could somewhat suppress Verlander's ownership percentage.
Madison Bumgarner ($44) figures to be a popular option at a cheaper price for his second start of the season against the Padres. He fared well in their first matchup, allowing two runs and recording nine strikeouts across seven innings. After posting just a 9.2 percent swinging strike rate last year, it's an encouraging sign that he has an 11.8 percent rate over his first two outings. He has allowed a .272 wOBA for his career at home, so this has the potential to be another strong outing.
As far as cheap options go, Eric Lauer ($31) should be targeted by a lot of people against the Giants. The first time he faced them this year, he recorded three strikeouts across six shutout innings. The Giants have scored the second-fewest runs (25), so it's not all that surprising that Lauer pitched well the first time around. Even though Lauer wasn't an overpowering pitcher with his 19.8 percent strikeout rate last year, there is still potential here for him to out produce his price point.
Key Values/Chalk
The Seattle Mariners are crushing the league right now with 85 runs across their first 11 games. They have the sixth-highest OBP (.367) and have hit the most home runs (27), which is a deadly combination. Now they will face Homer Bailey, who allowed a 1.64 WHIP and 1.9 HR/9 last year. Expect Mitch Haniger ($24), Domingo Santana ($22) and Jay Bruce ($20) to be included in plenty of DFS lineups.
While the Mariners matchup is extremely enticing, the A's also enter the evening in a favorable spot against Andrew Cashner. The Yankees crushed Cashner for six runs in his first start, although he did rebound to shut out the Blue Jays across six innings on Tuesday. Don't get excited, he only recorded three strikeouts in that game and the Blue Jays have been one of the worst scoring teams out of the gate. Cashner allowed a 1.58 WHIP and 1.5 HR/9 last year, so he's prone to giving up a crooked number whenever he takes the mound. Khris Davis ($26), Matt Chapman ($23) and Stephen Piscotty ($21) should all have high ownership percentages.
The Rockies started off the season with seven straight games on the road and struggled offensively by scoring a total of 18 runs. Back in the friendly confines of Coors Field, they went on to score 15 runs over their three-game series against the Dodgers. They'll have another favorable opportunity to put some runs on the board Monday against Julio Teheran, who allowed 57 home runs across the last two seasons. Look for Nolan Arenado ($20), Trevor Story ($23) and Charlie Blackmon ($21) to all be heavily targeted. It should be noted that Story was removed from Sunday's game after getting hit in the calf, but that might have just been a precaution due to the lopsided score.
Stacks
It's going to be hard to resist a Mariners stack against Bailey. Aside from the trio of Haniger, Santana and Bruce, Daniel Vogelbach ($12) would be an interesting cheap option if he's in the lineup. He recorded a .357 wOBA against right-handed pitchers last year and has four home runs across his last three games.
As far as secondary options for an A's stack, expect Robbie Grossman ($12) to bat leadoff with the right-handed Cashner on the mound. That puts him in a favorable spot considering the frequency at which the A's might score runs in this game. If you're rolling with a Rockies stack, the injury to David Dahl (upper body) makes things a little more interesting. Raimel Tapia ($7) could start in his place and he showed plenty of promise at Triple-A last year with a .368 wOBA and a .194 ISO.
Another team firing on all cylinders out of the gate that could lead to a popular stack is the Dodgers. They are second only to the Mariners in runs scored and home runs and will face Miles Mikolas, who has allowed eight runs across 10 innings so far. He's also recorded just five strikeouts after finishing last season with a paltry 18.1 percent strikeout rate. Cody Bellinger ($26), Joc Pederson ($17) and Max Muncy ($21) will likely among the most popular options for those stacking Dodgers.
Finally, if you're looking for a potentially low ownership stack to deploy in tournament play, it might not be a crazy idea to roll with the Braves against Kyle Freeland. They'll have the benefit of playing in Coors Field, which is always a plus. People might shy away from them based on how well Freeland pitched last year, but the Braves have some hitters who mash lefties. Ozzie Albies ($26) handled them to the tune of a .384 wOBA last year while Ronald Acuna Jr. ($25) was even better with a .415 wOBA against them. Add in the red hot Dansby Swanson ($19) and they could do some damage.
