This Monday is absolutely packed for MLB. Though a handful of games starting around 6:40 p.m. ET did not get included on the main DFS slate, there are still nine games that did. First pitch Monday is at 7:05 p.m. ET. Here are my lineup recommendations.
Pitching
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, LAD at SDP ($10,500): I've got a couple pitchers to recommend on lower-level salaries, so I don't mind going to the top of the salary market for Yamamoto. He's coming off his worst game of the season, but he still has a 3.60 ERA and a 4.80 K/BB ratio. The Padres are in the bottom 10 in runs scored and they have a pitcher-friendly park, so I definitely think Monday's start will go better for Yamamoto than his last one.
Zac Gallen, ARI vs. SFG ($7,400): This is about the matchup. The Giants are last in runs scored and in the bottom five in team OPS. Gallen's struggles this season have come on the road, which is how his ERA has gotten over 5.00. He has a home ERA of 2.61 and he has a great matchup, so why not give him a shot?
J.T. Ginn, ATH at LAA ($7,100): Get Ginn away from Sacramento and he's a different man, though aren't we all? This season he has a 5.21 ERA at home, but an 1.48 ERA on the road. If you are concerned about sample size, last year he had a 6.85 home ERA and a 3.14 away ERA. This game is in Anaheim, and Ginn's opponent is also in the bottom 10 in runs scored for good measure.
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Top Targets
The Rockies remain at Coors Field for another series, and Hunter Goodman ($3,700) continues to have plenty of power. He's hit 11 home runs and slugged .506 after hitting 31 homers last season. Oddly, his numbers have been a bit down at home, but he has a .918 OPS on the road. While this game is at Coors, that road OPS shows he is not merely a product of his home park, and ultimately he'll be fine at home. In the lefty MacKenzie Gore's first season as a Ranger, he has a 2.63 ERA at home but a 6.38 ERA on the road.
Though Randy Arozarena ($3,300) has shown less power, that's been the only issue for him. He still has 11 doubles and 12 stolen bases, and he's hit .306 as well. Noah Schultz doesn't allow many homers but he has a 4.91 ERA. A big part of that is his 6.44 BB/9 rate. If Arozarena gets to first base, we know he has the ability to get to second base with gusto.
Bargain Bats
With a lefty starting for the Blue Jays, and the Yankees' lineup dealing with injuries, I bet Paul Goldschmidt ($3,000) will get the call for Monday. He's been good in limited action, posting a .382 OBP with four homers and four doubles. The opponent Monday is Patrick Corbin, a southpaw with a 5.36 ERA since 2020 who has allowed righties to hit over .300 against him in that time.
We're still waiting for Marcelo Mayer ($2,500) to live up to his status as a vaunted prospect, but his salary is low, he's eligible at three positions and he still has the tool set that led to that prospect status. He also has a .736 OPS on the road and is a lefty. Seth Lugo has allowed barely any home runs, but he has a 7.59 ERA over his last four starts. On top of that, lefties have hit .295 against him.
Stacks to Consider
Cubs vs. Brewers (Brandon Sproat): Ian Happ ($3,600), Nico Hoerner ($3,300), Michael Busch ($3,000)
When your 5.75 ERA is paired with a 5.73 FIP, it's hard to claim poor luck. Those are Sproat's numbers, but he's also given up five walks and two home runs per nine innings. This season lefties have hit .267 against Sproat, but righties have hit .268, so while Sproat is a righty, I do have one right-handed hitter in this stack.
Happ hasn't hit for average, but he has a .368 OBP with 10 homers already. Though Happ is a switch hitter, since 2024 he has an .811 OPS versus righties and also an .842 OPS at home. Hoerner has a career .281 batting average, so his .262 average is low for him. However, the second baseman has 16 extra-base hits and nine stolen bases, so he Hoerner gets walks to first base, he could swipe second. Busch got on base three times Sunday, lifting his OBP to .355. He also hit his fourth homer, so his lack of power is concerning, but last year he hit 35 home runs, so I'm not too worried.
Rangers at Rockies (Jose Quintana): Josh Jung ($3,000), Jake Burger ($2,800), Ezequiel Duran, ($2,800)
Looking for a stack lower on the salary side of things? The Rangers could be that team. Jose Quintana has 3.97 ERA but a 5.56 FIP. He's struck out a paltry 4.24 batters per nine innings and allowed 1.32 homers per nine innings. Quintana is a lefty, so I have three righties for this stack at Coors Field. Owing to injuries, the Rangers have limited options among right-handed hitters.
Jung doesn't walk, but he has a .301 batting average, so that's not that big of a deal. He's hit five homers and 13 doubles, and he had 23 homers in 2023, so Jung has some power upside to be sure. Speaking of power, Burger has gone yard eight times. He hasn't hit lefties particularly hard yet this year, but last season he slugged .505 against left-handed pitchers. Duran has hit .270 this year, and he also has three home runs, a triple and four stolen bases. Over the last two weeks he's slugged .500, so the trip to Coors Field bodes well.
