This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
Monday is devoid of day baseball. That means every game on the schedule is also included for DFS purposes. First pitch is at 7:05 p.m. ET. There are 10 matchups on the slate. Now, the pitching information from teams has been slow to arrive, this is the second set of series after the All-Star break, but using Rotowire's probable pitchers grid, I feel good about the pitcher projections. Here are my recommendations.
Pitching
Sonny Gray, MIN at SEA ($9,600): Gray is coming off a rough start, but it has left him with a 2.89 ERA and 2.84 FIP, so I'm not worried. In fact, he has a 3.00 ERA across 42 starts with the Twins. The Mariners are below average in terms of runs scored and in the bottom eight in slugging percentage, so Gray should rebound.
Matt Manning, DET at KC ($8,500): Manning has a 3.72 ERA through five starts, but he hasn't been eased into action. He's faced the Rangers, the Astros and pitched at Coors Field, but on the plus side, he went 6.2 innings in Detroit's combined no-hitter recently. The Tigers may be 28th in runs scored and team OPS, but the Royals are 29th on both fronts, so this will be Manning's first easy matchup.
Quinn Priester, PIT vs. CLE ($6,800): After posting a 3.38 FIP in 18 starts at Triple-A, the 23-year-old Priester is about to make his MLB debut. He's getting a nice opportunity to make a splash. The Guardians are 27th in runs scored and a notable last in team home runs.
Top Targets
Cody Bellinger ($3,800) has racked up 12 homers and 11 stolen bases. While he's a southpaw, he's surprisingly posted an 1.100 OPS versus lefties. Meanwhile, MacKenzie Gore has a 4.42 ERA and has allowed lefties to hit .346 against him. Will both of those trends continue? If so, that bodes well for Bellinger.
The Phillies gave up on first-overall pick Mickey Moniak ($3,200), but he has found a home with the Angels. While his issue with lefties that got his career off to a slow start remain, the southpaw has an 1.083 OPS versus righties. Luis Severino, somehow, has a 9.27 ERA on the road. He's also allowed lefties to hit .330 against him.
Bargain Bats
A top prospect, Gunnar Henderson ($3,000) has lived up to the hype in 2023, mostly by lighting up righties. The southpaw has an .867 OPS versus right-handed pitchers, plus an .827 OPS at home. Emmet Sheehan is projected to start for the Dodgers, and each of his MLB starts has gone worse than the previous outings. All in all, the rookie has a 4.78 FIP.
Being healthy has been a concern for Riley Greene ($3,000) but when he's played, he's taken a step forward in his sophomore season. He has a .299 average with six homers and six stolen bases. The southpaw also has an .872 OPS versus right-handers. In his first season with the Royals, Jordan Lyles has a 6.42 ERA, and lefties have hit .267 against him.
Stacks to Consider
Dodgers at Orioles (Grayson Rodriguez): Freddie Freeman ($4,300), J.D. Martinez ($3,900), Jason Heyward ($2,500)
Rodriguez has returned from Triple-A, but this year he has been the 2023 equivalent of Hunter Greene. That is to say, he has a massive fastball, he strikes out a bunch of guys, but he's also getting lit up and allowing homers left and right. Rodriguez has a 7.35 ERA and has allowed 2.58 home runs per nine innings. Righties have hit .292 against him, while lefties have tooled Rodriguez up to the tune of a .329 average.
Freeman is a lefty, one who has slashed .314/.394/.546 with 17 homers and 12 stolen bases. Since 2021, he has a .944 OPS against right-handed pitchers as well. Martinez has been crushing righties, as he has a .923 OPS in those matchups. In his first season as a Dodger, he's actually preferred to be away from Los Angeles. The slugger has a .979 OPS on the road. Heyward has been starting in a corner outfield spot recently. He's been reasonably even in terms of home/road performance, but the southpaw has to sit against lefties, but has an .839 OPS versus righties. Of course, Heyward is also dealing with some neck pain, but James Outman and David Peralta are also lefty outfielders.
Red Sox at Athletics (Paul Blackburn): Rafael Devers ($3,800), Masataka Yoshida ($3,300), Alex Verdugo ($3,300)
Blackburn has a 4.86 ERA, in line with his career 5.06 ERA. While he's been better at home this year, since 2021 he has a 6.09 ERA in Oakland. Also over that time, lefties have hit .285 against Blackburn, and this is my go-to all-lefty stack for the Red Sox.
Devers has real-deal power, having slugged .523 this season to bolster his career .512 slugging percentage. A lot of his success has been against righties, as he's managed a .923 OPS versus righties since 2021. Yoshida's first season in MLB has been a smash success, and he's slashed .317/.381/.502. He also has 10 homers and six stolen bases. Verdugo has been way worse on the road this year, but he had a .772 OPS in away games last season, so that may just be a little fluky. What's not fluky is his .871 OPS versus righties, in line with his .826 OPS in those matchups since 2021.
Cardinals vs. Marlins (Jesus Luzardo): Paul Goldschmidt ($3,900), Nolan Arenado ($3,800), Jordan Walker ($2,900)
Luzardo's overall numbers are good, but there's still a reason to like this stack. The lefty has a 2.43 ERA at home, but a 4.64 ERA on the road, where he's allowed 1.5 home runs per nine innings. Plus, Luzardo has wiped out lefties, but righties have hit .249 against him. The Cardinals have a three-righty stack worth using, especially with this game in St. Louis.
Even in a down year, Goldschmidt has a .285/.370/.480 slash line with 16 homers and eight stolen bases. Oddly, he's been better against righties this year, but since 2021 he has an 1.064 OPS against lefties, not to mention a .951 OPS at home. Arenado started the season a little cold, but now he sits here with 20 home runs. He has an 1.169 OPS over the last three weeks, and he has a .902 OPS at home this year as well. Walker hasn't quite lived up to the hype yet, but he had the hype for a reason. He's hit .274 and slugged .442 with eight homers and three stolen bases.
