This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
By the end of this week, the MLB playoffs will have begun. Monday sees all 30 teams in action, but only 22 of them factor into this slate of DFS contests, which is to say those teams are taking the field at 7:05 p.m. ET or later. I'm excited for the playoffs, but I am also excited for these DFS lineup recommendations for Monday!
Pitching
Patrick Sandoval, LAA at OAK ($9,000): Sandoval has been a silver lining in the Angels' rotation. He has a 3.03 ERA, including a 2.75 ERA on the road. Oakland has a great ballpark for pitcher, and an offense that is kind to its opposition hurlers as well. The A's are actually going to finish last in team OPS, not the Tigers.
Carlos Carrasco, NYM vs. WAS ($8,900): It hasn't been the steadiest season for Carrasco, but he does have a 3.47 FIP, as opposed to his 3.95 ERA. Plus, his home ERA is 3.52. Washington is going to end the season 25th in runs scored, and with the Mets in need of a win, Carrasco isn't going to have his arm saved for the playoffs, and his team will be going all out.
George Kirby, SEA vs. DET ($8,400): In his rookie campaign, Kirby has been quite impressive. In fact, his 2.89 FIP is even better than his 3.21 ERA. He has a great chance to put a capper on his season against the Tigers, who are going to finish last in runs scored.
Top Targets
Though Cedric Mullins ($3,700) saw his power dip this year – though he's still hit 16 home runs – he's tallied 34 stolen bases. Plus, the power drop was largely a product of matchups with lefties, as the southpaw has a .791 OPS versus righties. Jose Berrios has a 5.37 ERA, and a big part of that is the fact left handers have hit .305 against him.
Following up a 20-20 rookie campaign, Randy Arozarena ($3,600) has 20 home runs and 32 stolen bases in 2022. He's stolen less against lefties, but he has a .946 OPS in those matchups so I don't really care. Rich Hill is, unfortunately for him, finding his last start of the season happening at Fenway. He has a 5.19 ERA at home.
Bargain Bats
Mitch Haniger ($3,100) has missed a lot of time this season, but when he's played, he's actually been better versus righties. His OPS against right-handed pitchers is .757 and his OPS at home is .764. Bryan Garcia has a 3.29 ERA in three MLB starts this season, but his career ERA is 5.64, and in Triple-A this year he has a 3.80 ERA.
Joining the Brewers this season, Hunter Renfroe ($3,000) has responded with 28 home runs. He also has an .827 OPS versus lefties and an .821 OPS at home. Tommy Henry is getting another start because the Diamondbacks are playing out the stretch, but in eight games the rookie has a 6.16 FIP and has allowed 1.99 home runs per nine innings.
Stacks to Consider
Dodgers vs. Rockies (Jose Urena): Freddie Freeman ($4,300), Max Muncy ($2,800), Cody Bellinger ($2,700)
Urena has a 5.24 ERA, which means he will have an ERA over 5.00 for the fourth season in a row. Sure, he's away from Coors, but he hasn't even been a Rockie for a full season in his career. Lefties have completely demolished Urena, who has allowed a .336 average to them since 2020.
Freeman is going to hit over .300 for the third season in a row, so this matchup is right up his alley. Also, he happens to have an 1.008 OPS versus righties since 2020. Muncy has had a tough year, but he has a .790 OPS over the last three weeks. He also has a .791 OPS against righties since 2020. Bellinger has tallied 18 homers and 14 stolen bases. He's struggled on the road, but the lefty has a .772 OPS at home.
Angels at Athletics (Adrian Martinez): Shohei Ohtani ($4,100), Taylor Ward ($3,700), Jo Adell ($2,300)
The friendly confines of Oakland's ballpark cannot make up for Martinez's issues on the mound. He has a 6.08 ERA on the season but that includes a 6.94 ERA at home. While he does allow fewer home runs at home, that just says to me a lot of balls are getting sprayed around that spacious park. Mike Trout is a little banged up, though still playing, but with the season all but over for the Angels, I decided not to include him just in case, and also to make this not a seriously high-salary stack.
The only real difference for Ohtani this season compared to his MVP year in 2021 is that he "only" has an .809 OPS against lefties. Versus righties, he has a .926 OPS. Ward is ending the season on fire, as he has an 1.083 OPS over the last three weeks. He also has an .855 OPS against righties this year, in spite of the fact he is right handed as well. Adell has never lived up to the prospect hype, but like I said, I wanted to provide an option for this stack that was not a high-salary player. Right now, he has a regular spot in the lineup, a .695 OPS over the last three weeks, a .664 OPS against righties, and a .678 OPS on the road. Those aren't good numbers, I know, but they are better than the other side of his splits.
Mets vs. Nationals (Cory Abbott): Pete Alonso ($4,200), Jeff McNeil ($2,600), Daniel Vogelbach ($2,500)
Well, Abbott has at least managed to lower his FIP from 8.93 last season with the Cubs to 6.29 this year. Of course, that's still terrible. The righty has allowed 2.64 home runs per nine innings in his career, and also has let lefties hit .282 against him for good measure.
Alonso has 40 home runs and 131 RBI on the season, and over the last three weeks his 1.007 OPS has helped him add to that. He's slugged .533 against righties in 2022 and also has an .869 OPS at home. McNeil has an impressive .326 average, and while he doesn't hit homers, he does show some power against righties. In those matchups, he has an .840 OPS. This matchup is exactly what the southpaw slugger Vogelbach needs. He can't hit lefties, but he has an .874 OPS against righties, and all 18 of his home runs have been in those matchups.
