This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
Monday is a lighter day for MLB, but at least the action isn't divvied out across the day. Eight of the nine games are in the evening, which makes getting your lineup in for DFS contests is simple. Get your lineup in by 7:05 p.m. ET. Here are a few suggestion to help you make your lineup decisions.
Pitching
Gerrit Cole, NYY at TAM ($10,300): Cole bounced back nicely from his nightmare start against the Twins. He went six innings and allowed zero runs against these same Rays. That dropped his ERA back down to 3.33. Speaking of the Rays, they happen to be down in the bottom eight in runs scored.
Yu Darvish, SD vs. ARI ($10,200): Darvish is really getting the benefit of pitching his home games in Petco this year. He has an 1.35 ERA at home, and last year his home ERA was 3.38. The Diamondbacks have a hitter-friendly ballpark, but they still are in the bottom 10 in runs scored and have a sub-.300 OBP as a team. Being at Petco Park will only lower their offensive upside.
Noah Syndergaard, LAA vs. KC ($7,800): Syndergaard isn't the pitcher he was before his injury, but he has a solid 3.53 ERA. However, at his new home ballpark he has an 1.48 ERA. Monday he'll face a Royals team that is 27th in runs scored.
Top Targets
I would have liked to have gone with Manny Machado in San Diego's matchup with Arizona, but he sprained his ankle Sunday. As such, I am going with Jake Cronenworth ($3,700) since the Diamondbacks are starting a righty. Also, Cronenworth has been red hot for a little while, putting up an 1.034 OPS over the last three weeks. Zach Davies was with the Padres in 2020, but this year he's with the Diamondbacks and has a 4.03 FIP.
After winning the AL MVP last season with 46 home runs and 26 stolen bases, Shohei Ohtani ($3,600) has 13 home runs and seven stolen bases in 2022. The only real difference is that Ohtani's numbers have dipped against his fellow lefties. Against righties he has a .904 OPS, the same as his OPS against righties since 2020. Daniel Mengden is back from the KBO, and he has a career 4.63 ERA in MLB.
Bargain Bats
Placed in the role of designated hitter, Jake Burger ($2,900) has performed fairly well, having slugged .472 with eight home runs. He's particularly enjoyed hitting at home, as he has a 1.043 OPS in home games this year. On the other hand, Jose Berrios has really struggled on the road. He has a 5.97 ERA in away starts.
Daniel Vogelbach ($2,600) truly takes his lefty/righty splits to the extreme. Against his fellow southpaws he's a disaster, but against righties he has a .785 OPS since 2020. That's not great, but he has some power upside, and the Pirates have a lineup that has been ransacked by the injury bug. The Cubs are starting righty Caleb Kilian, who has an 8.00 ERA through two starts.
Stacks to Consider
Red Sox vs. Tigers (Alex Faedo): Rafael Devers ($4,400), J.D. Martinez ($3,700), Alex Verdugo ($3,100)
Faedo started off his MLB career fairly well. Then in his last start he was shelled for seven runs in three innings. Now, he has a 4.28 ERA and 4.41 FIP, and he's allowed 1.35 home runs per nine innings. Maybe it was just one bad start, but I am willing to stack the Red Sox against Faedo just in case.
Devers has hit 16 home runs, and twice in his career he's hit over 30 homers. The southpaw also loves facing a righty, as he has a .977 OPS against right-handed pitchers since 2020. Martinez bounced back from a rough 2020 last year with an .867 OPS. This year, though, he's picked it up and has slashed .336/.405/.547. Verdugo has struggled this season, but in his first two seasons with the Red Sox he slashed .294/.355/.440. Also, since joining the Red Sox he's put up an .837 OPS against righties.
Cubs at Pirates (JT Brubaker): Christopher Morel ($3,500), Ian Happ ($3,400), Patrick Wisdom ($2,500)
Sure, Brubaker has improved from last season, when he had a 5.36 ERA. However, a 4.50 ERA is nothing to write home about. All in all, he's allowed 1.64 home runs per nine innings. The Cubs' lineup has dipped from the beginning of the season, but they still have some interesting bats to take advantage of a poor pitcher.
The rookie Morel got called up about a month ago and has really taken to the majors. He's slashed .264/.333/.472 with seven home runs and five stolen bases. Happ has hit .284 and managed a .384 OBP with seven home runs and five stolen bases of his own. As a switch hitter Happ can turn around to face a righty, and he has an .821 OPS against righties since 2020. Wisdom is a swing for the fences type. Last year he got his first real MLB action and hit 28 home runs and slugged .518. This year he's added 12 more homers to his career total.
Blue Jays at White Sox (Lance Lynn): Vladimir Guerrero ($3,700), Bo Bichette ($3,200), Teoscar Hernandez ($2,900)
In Lynn's first game this season he didn't look quite ready. He allowed three runs in 4.1 innings to the Tigers, baseball's worst offense. Facing the Blue Jays is a daunting step up. Perhaps Lynn will get into the swing of things in time, but I want to see it before I trust him. I definitely trust this Toronto trio more.
After hitting 48 home runs last year, Guerrero has 17 this season. There was a time when his power left him, but over the last three weeks he's slugged .592. Bichette has 10 home runs and four stolen bases after he had 29 homers and 25 stolen bases in 2021. He also has an .833 OPS over the last three weeks. Hernandez, meanwhile, had 32 home runs and 12 stolen bases in 2021. Man, all three of these guys were so good last year. Plus, Hernandez has also put a slow stretch behind him recently. He has an 1.008 OPS over the last three weeks.
