This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
We roll out of the weekend and into Monday (though it is Juneteenth, so holiday-wise we're looking at a four-day weekend), and we've got seven MLB games on the slate starting at 7:05 p.m. ET or later. If you play MLB DFS on the regular, you're used to less games being on the docket Mondays, so you're prepped. Now, my lineup recommendations can help you prep more.
Pitching
Hunter Brown, HOU vs. NYM ($9,800): Brown's 3.14 ERA on the road in his career isn't exactly disheartening, but his 2.45 ERA at home is even better. Plus, in spite of being a righty, he's held lefties to an .182 average in his career. The Mets may have Pete Alonso back, but they are still below average in runs scored and field a lot of lefties in their preferred lineup.
Andrew Heaney, TEX at CWS ($8,800): Perhaps what Heaney needs is more time away from his new home ballpark. While he has a 5.35 ERA at the Rangers' stadium, he has a 2.43 ERA on the road. In addition to being in the bottom 10 in runs scored, the White Sox have a sub-.300 OBP as a team. Heaney should enjoy his visit to Chicago.
Top Targets
With one of the best batting eyes in baseball, Juan Soto ($3,500) has always been excellent at getting on base. He has a .410 OBP in 2023 and a career .423 OBP. Now, his power and production is down a bit this year, even if he has 11 homers and six stolen bases. That being said, he still has a .948 OPS versus righties, and a .915 OPS on the road. With Alex Cobb injured, we have Anthony DeSclafani to take his turn in the rotation Monday. It will likely be a righty, even if it isn't DeSclafani, so I'm good with Soto.
The Red Sox got some skeptical looks for the contract they handed to Masataka Yoshida ($3,400), but it's paying off beautifully thus far. In his first campaign in MLB, Yoshida has slashed .308/.381/.483 with seven homers and three stolen bases. He has an .899 OPS versus righties, and while his OPS on the road is .785 compared to a .932 OPS at Fenway, he's still hit .295 with a .365 OBP on the road. Mostly, he just loses power. Pablo Lopez has a 4.27 ERA, but a 5.88 ERA at home, even though he's only allowed 0.9 home runs per nine innings in Minnesota. Lefties have hit .265 against Lopez, so while perhaps Yoshida will be spraying doubles instead of going yard, that's not a bad thing.
Bargain Bats
You can slot Royce Lewis ($3,000) in at shortstop or third base in your DFS lineup, making it easier to bet on his upside. A top prospect who was drafted first overall in 2017, injuries have really hampered his career. He hasn't even made it to 30 MLB games total yet. The sample sizes don't tell us much, but he is a righty, so his success against lefties feels sensible. Lewis also has a .984 OPS at Triple-A in his career. James Paxton has made three starts at home and three starts on the road, and in his road starts he has a 4.50 ERA. The southpaw hasn't pitched regularly since 2019, so he has a lot to prove.
I want to take a shot here with TJ Friedl ($2,900). In his career he has a .909 OPS at home, high but not surprising necessarily, as Cincinnati has a hitter-friendly park. However, what is surprising is that the southpaw has a .933 OPS versus lefties as well. Austin Gomber, a lefty, has a 6.32 FIP and has allowed 2.16 home runs per nine innings. In the past, righties have performed much better against him, and this year righties have hit .291 against Gomber. Here's the thing, though, lefties have hit a staggering .390 versus the Colorado pitcher in 2023. Is that a fluke? Perhaps. Will I put a guy like Friedl in my lineup in case it isn't? Absolutely.
Stacks to Consider
Rangers at White Sox (Jesse Scholtens): Marcus Semien ($3,900), Josh Jung ($3,400), Nathaniel Lowe ($3,200)
The White Sox flew home from Seattle on Sunday to host the Rangers on Monday, and we have them projected to turn to Scholtens in what will likely be a bullpen game. While Scholtens was a starter in Triple-A and has done some bulk-innings work with the White Sox, he pitched in relief a couple times against the Mariners, including picking up a save, so I'd imagine he goes once through the order at most, and maybe he doesn't even make it that far. I really don't care who is on the mound for Chicago. The Rangers are packed to the brim with guys having strong seasons at the plate, so the only concession I made was not going with Corey Seager in case they can hit him with a lefty out of the bullpen repeatedly. I mean, the dude has crushed lefties this year, but at his salary, and with so many options, I didn't need to get cute.
Semien has been the inverse of Seager, his compatriot in free-agency glory from 2022, in that he has struggled at home but mashed on the road. After posting an .836 OPS in away games last year, he has an .876 OPS in those games this season. He's also one of those righties who does better against righties, notching an .819 OPS in those matchups since 2021. I debated between Jung and the under-the-radar Ezequiel Duran, but while both prefer lefties and being at home, Duran has been brutal on the road in his career, while Jung has managed fine away from home, posting a .788 OPS in those outings. His power upside is also robust, as he's slugged .502 and hit 14 homers. This season, the southpaw Lowe has been better at home and against right-handed pitchers. However, just last year he had a .920 OPS versus southpaws and a .919 OPS on the road, so he has shown skill in basically all four conceptual quadrants of baseball.
Cubs at Pirates (Osvaldo Bido): Christopher Morel ($3,600), Cody Bellinger ($3,400), Nico Hoerner ($3,400)
Bido's only MLB start came against these same Cubs, and it went reasonably well. He only allowed one run and struck out six over 4.0 innings, but he also allowed four hits and three walks. I mentioned Lewis' success at Triple-A for the Twins. Well, in 174.1 innings at the Triple-A level, Bido has a 4.70 ERA. That's not imposing, so I'm down to see if the Cubs do better in their second crack at the rookie pitcher.
Morel has been scorching hot in his sophomore campaign, having slashed .291/.342/.700 with 13 home runs. Hey, even in his rookie campaign Morel had a .782 OPS versus righties, so he showed acumen in these matchups. Bellinger is trying to get back in the groove after missing time with injury, but he has seven homers and nine stolen bases after having 19 of the former and 14 of the latter last season. In addition to getting to face a righty, in his first season with the Cubs the former Dodger has an .888 OPS on the road. Hoerner's base stealing has slowed down a bit, but he still has swiped 16 bags after stealing 20 last season. He also has a .284 average, so he can get himself on base to take a shot at stealing a couple more.
