Happy Monday, Rotoballers! 10 games occupy the first day of our week on both DraftKings and FanDuel. There are no early games to mess up our slates, so we've got the entire player pool at our disposal. Both sites will lock their lineups at 7:05 pm Eastern, so make sure to get your lineups in before the first pitches get thrown in Washington and Philadelphia.
There are a lot of pitchers to choose from on Monday. Some extremely high-end arms (Alcantara, Nola, Manoah), intriguing mid-priced options (Gray, Darvish, Wood), and even the extreme values like Mike Minor and Zack Thompson have great matchups.
These picks will range from some elite, high-priced players to mid-priced options and value plays. First, I'll give you some of my top pitching options and then some infielders, outfielders, and teams to stack! You can also read more DFS advice and lineup picks for other sports here. Monitoring injury news and today's MLB starting lineups is also essential. Now that we got all of that out of the way, it's onto the picks!
DraftKings, FanDuel Pitchers - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Sandy Alcantara - MIA at PHI ($10,200 DraftKings; $11,300 FanDuel)
Sandy Alcantara deserves all the love as the SP1 one on today's schedule. Over the previous three starts, he's combined an elite 33.3 percent strikeout rate with an absurd 64.2 percent groundball rate to produce a 0.38 ERA, 0.63 WHIP, and 28 strikeouts across 24 innings. Philadelphia is a league-average offense versus RHPs over the last 30 days, so that doesn't scare me off Miami's ace. I'll be starting my cash-game lineups with Alcantara on DraftKings and Fanduel without hesitation, as he has the length (at least seven innings in six straight starts) and consistency (two earned runs or less in 11 of 12 starts) to come through with a phenomenal SP1 performance.
Josiah Gray - WAS vs. ATL ($8,900 DK; $9,200 FD)
It's been an up-and-down year for Josiah Gray, but it looks like things as beginning to click for the young righty. He's at his best when he can ditch the fastball and get into his secondary pitches more. Over the last two starts, he's kept his fastball rate under 40 percent and let his slider and curveball do the work. It's resulted in 30.5 DK points on the road in Cincinnati and another 19.1 points away in Miami. Tonight's opponent, Atlanta, is on an 11-game win streak, and the offense is heating up. However, they still strike out a ton against RHPs (27.6 percent), and I'm taking Gray as a contrarian play versus this red-hot offense.
Zack Thompson - STL vs. PIT ($4,300 DK; $6,200 FD)
I want to quickly shout out Zack Thompson as an option against the Pirates. The lefty pitched on Friday against the Cubs and struck out three over four innings. Today, he sees a Pittsburgh squad with a 28.7 percent strikeout rate and .217/.277/.356 slash line against southpaws. At $4,700, he can quickly return value and open up the entire player pool when it comes to elite pitching and hitting. However, I would only use him in tournaments as I can't see him going more than three or four innings.
Also consider: Aaron Nola, Alek Manoah, Alex Wood, Merrill Kelly, Ian Anderson
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DraftKings, FanDuel Infielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Jose Miranda - 1B/3B, MIN at Chris Flexen ($2,900 DK; $2,500 FD)
It looks like that one-day demotion kick-started the Jose Miranda experience in Minnesota, as the rookie has been lighting it up since he was recalled. Over his last 10 games, Miranda is slashing .314/.333/.571 with five runs, five extra-base hits, and eight RBI. The lineup position will be one to watch for the infielder as he's hit fifth, ninth, third, and sixth in his last four games. Still, at $2,900, going against Chris Flexen's 5.32 xERA and 7.9 percent K-BB rate, Miranda will be in at least one of my lineups.
Bryson Stott - 2B/SS, PHI vs. Sandy Alcantara ($2,700 DK; $2,500 FD)
I outlined in the pitching section how tough Sandy Alcantara is as an opponent. However, if you want to get a little crazy and contrarian, I don't mind grabbing Bryson Stott as a cheap bat in the Philadelphia lineup. Over his last 10 games, the rookie has provided a 1.094 OPS with 12 runs, a double, four home runs, 11 RBI, and a stolen base. He's giving DFS managers those numbers despite hitting eighth for the Phillies. At $2,700 on DK, I can't ignore this value, and neither should you when building a low-rostered tournament lineup.
Jake Burger - 3B, CWS at Rony Garcia ($4,000 DK; $3,500 FD)
Summer is finally here, so it's only right we recommend Jake Burger while we're all getting our grills out and enjoying some excellent baseball weather. The White Sox third baseman is on a tear right now, and his $4,000 price point is just cheap enough to fit him in with some other, bigger bats. Over the last 14 days, Burger's sporting a 1.211 OPS with 10 runs, nine RBI, five doubles, and four home runs. So don't be afraid to slap him onto your lineup and watch him cook against the Tigers.
DraftKings, FanDuel Outfielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Joc Pederson - OF, SF vs. Brady Singer ($4,400 DK; $3,500 FD)
If you play Joc Pederson versus a right-handed pitcher, you'll come out on top more often than not. The slugging outfielder smashes righties, and it should be the same story on Monday against Kansas City's Brady Singer. On the year, Pederson owns a .928 OPS and .304 ISO versus RHPs. Meanwhile, Brady Singer's rocking a 24 percent HR/FB rate, 12.6 percent Barrel rate, and 46 percent Hard-Hit rate. So if Pederson can get a ball up in the air, it's leaving the yard on Monday night.
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. - OF, TOR vs. Kyle Bradish ($3,500 DK; $2,500 FD)
Six Toronto players come in at $5,000 or more on DK, so it's a pleasant surprise to find Gurriel Jr. down at $3,500. When a lineup with this much talent rolls, you'll take all the pieces you can afford. I'd much rather have the Toronto outfielder at $3,500 batting eighth than Santiago Espinal, Matt Chapman, and Teoscar Hernandez battling for the five, six, and seven spots in the $4,600-$5,000 range. Gurriel has five multi-hit games in his last seven outings, along with two doubles and a home run. As a wraparound play, I'll spend down on him and pair him with the Springers, Bichettes, and Vlads of the world in the Blue Jays' upper class.
Lane Thomas - OF, WAS vs. Ian Anderson ($3,000 DK; $2,900 FD)
We've got a leadoff man for $3,000 here, and it helps that he's on a bit of a heater. In June, Lane Thomas has six multi-hit efforts in nine games. For the month, he's 15-for-39 (.384 batting average) with three doubles, three long balls, four RBI, and 12 runs. The outfielder is a streaky hitter, but it looks like he's on a good version of those streaks right now. I'm willing to ride it out another day and see where it goes with this sort of price tag.
DraftKings, FanDuel MLB DFS Stacks
Toronto Blue Jays vs. Baltimore Orioles (Kyle Bradish, RHP)
The team north of the border is finally coming alive as the calendar hits June. This month, a team-wide .854 OPS versus RHPs raises the expectations for the Blue Jays against Bradish. The Orioles righty's metrics spell doom with a 27 percent HR/FB rate, 43.5 percent Hard-Hit rate, and a 6.04 ERA. I really like that stack if you can afford two of George Springer, Bo Bichette, or Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and match them with Gurriel Jr.
Houston Astros at Texas Rangers (Taylor Hearn, LHP)
Houston's offense is in a bit of a slump, but nine runs against the Marlins on Sunday should have them on the right track heading into a new week. Alex Bregman, Jeremy Pena, and even Chas McCormick (if he starts) will receive a platoon boost with Taylor Hearn's 5.40 ERA, 1.66 WHIP, and 9.5 percent strikeout minus walk rate on the mound for Texas.
Game stack: Minnesota Twins (Chris Archer, RHP) at Seattle Mariners (Chris Flexen, RHP)
Both teams are having great months against right-handed pitching, and I see this being a high-scoring affair. They both walk a lot and strike out less than league average. Minnesota's .271/.342/.466 slash line versus righties is countered by Seattle's .340 wOBA and .771 OPS. There's plenty of value to be had in this matchup.
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