This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Baseball series.
Baseball starts off the week with 12 games Monday, eight of which will make up the main slate on Yahoo. Let's dig into the matchups and discuss some hitters and pitchers to consider.
Pitching
Gerrit Cole ($54) was excellent again in his last outing, allowing two runs and recording eight strikeouts over seven innings against the Rays. He has allowed two or fewer runs in each of his last four starts and he hasn't given up more than three runs in an outing since May. Up next is a great matchup against the White Sox, who have scored the seventh-fewest runs in baseball.
Freddy Peralta ($43) hasn't been as dominant as Cole, but he has given up three or fewer runs in seven of his last eight starts. He also continues to miss plenty of bats, recording a 28.3 percent strikeout rate for the season. That is noteworthy for his home matchup against the Rockies, who have struck out the sixth-most times in baseball.
Dane Dunning ($35) steamrolled the aforementioned struggling White Sox's lineup in his last start, giving up one run and recording 11 strikeouts over 7.2 innings. His 3.14 ERA is on pace to be the best mark of his career, but his 4.13 FIP indicates that he hasn't been quite as dominant. His strikeout rate has also fallen to a career-low 17.0 percent. Still, he is difficult to resist for a matchup against the Athletics, who have scored the fewest runs in baseball.
Top Targets
Marcus Semien ($23) is locked in at the plate, hitting 19-for-55 (.345) with five home runs and two doubles over his last 14 games. He's up to a .352 wOBA for the season and has the potential to capitalize on a matchup with Ken Waldichuk ($25). There hasn't been much to be excited about with Waldichuk, who has a 6.52 ERA and a 5.65 FIP. His walk rate checks in at 13.0 percent and he has given up 1.6 HR/9.
Pete Alonso ($17) is only hitting .220, which is on pace to the lowest mark of his career. However, his .283 ISO is also his highest mark since his rookie season. It wouldn't be a surprise to see him go deep against Drew Smyly ($30), who has allowed 1.7 HR/9.
Bargain Bats
J.D. Davis ($10) doesn't have eye-popping numbers with his .170 ISO and .331 wOBA. However, he has a .193 ISO and a .342 wOBA on the road. The Giants will travel to face the Angels, who are starting Patrick Sandoval ($36). With Sandoval sporting a 1.41 WHIP, Davis could provide value.
Going back to the Rangers facing Waldichuk, Ezequiel Duran ($9) is also worth considering. Although he only has a .740 OPS against right-handed pitchers, he has a robust .979 OPS versus southpaws.
Stacks to Consider
Braves vs. Osvaldo Bido ($25), Pirates: Ronald Acuna Jr. ($27), Matt Olson ($27), Ozzie Albies ($18)
Bido has been wild, walking 14 batters over 33 innings on his way to a 1.52 WHIP. That should be especially troublesome against a powerful Braves lineup that has hit the most home runs in baseball. The center of any Braves stack should be Acuna, who has already racked up 25 home runs and 53 stolen bases.
Red Sox vs. Cole Ragans ($29), Royals: Rafael Devers ($20), Justin Turner ($20), Adam Duvall ($15)
Ragans made a return to the starting rotation last week and pitched six shutout innings against the Mets at home. However, facing the Red Sox at Fenway Park could lead to a much different outcome for a pitcher who has a career 1.42 WHIP. The Red Sox do have a lot of prominent left-handed hitters in their lineup, which makes the righty Turner so important when they face a lefty. For the season, he has a .928 OPS against southpaws.
Brewers vs. Peter Lambert ($29), Rockies: Christian Yelich ($23), William Contreras ($18), Sal Frelick ($19)
After a surprising performance in which Lambert limited the Nationals to one unearned run over six innings, he came back down to Earth in his last outing when he gave up four runs over 4.1 innings to the Padres. He has a 5.07 ERA and a 5.16 FIP for the season, making him someone to attack in DFS. With the catcher position often being difficult to fill, putting Contreras into a Brewers stack could be key. After logging two more hits Sunday, he is batting .276 with a .345 wOBA for the season.
