This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
I hope you had a nice weekend, but I want this to be a nice Monday for you as well. How to make that happen? With a litle DFS success! There are 10 MLB games starting at 7:05 p.m. ET or later. Here are my lineup recommendations. Let's get you some winnings!
Pitching
Luis Castillo, SEA at LAA ($11,200): Castillo is off to a stellar start with his new squad, posting an 1.84 ERA through two appearances. He had a 2.86 ERA with the Reds, so it's not like you have to believe in Mariners Magic to believe in Castillo's pitching prowess. The Angels, for their part, have a sub-.300 OBP and, at the moment, no Mike Trout.
Julio Urias, LAD at MIL ($10,500): Urias has a 2.49 ERA, and also gets plenty of offensive support from baseball's top offense. The Brewers are just above average in terms of runs scored, but Urias has allowed a mere .191 batting average to lefties since 2020. Christian Yelich? Kolten Wong? Rowdy Tellez? All southpaws.
Joe Ryan, MIN vs. KC ($9,000): Ryan had had two tough starts recently, but they were against the Dodgers and Padres. The Royals are a mere 24th in runs scored. Also, those outings came on the road. At home in 2022, Ryan has a 2.92 ERA.
Top Targets
It's clear why the Dodgers wanted Freddie Freeman ($4,100). For example, since 2020 he has an 1.005 OPS versus righties. This year, he has a .983 OPS on the road as well. Freddy Peralta is a righty, and since returning from a lengthy injury absence, he has a 4.15 ERA in two starts.
Fittingly, Matt Olson ($3,800) replaced Freeman in Atlanta, and they are both getting recommended by me. The lefty has 24 home runs, and he also has an .864 OPS versus righties. Carlos Carrasco has a 4.41 ERA on the road this year, and last year his road ERA was 6.17.
Bargain Bats
Over the last three weeks, Anthony Santander ($3,300) has an 1.021 OPS. While he's a switch hitter, his OPS versus lefties is .910. Yusei Kikuchi left Seattle, but it hasn't turned him into a new pitcher. He has a 5.86 FIP and has allowed 2.05 home runs per nine innings
Yeah, Seth Brown ($2,700) rarely gets on base, but he has 17 home runs and eight stolen bases. The southpaw has an .803 OPS versus righties, and also a .791 OPS on the road. Glenn Otto has a 5.28 FIP, and he also has a 6.69 ERA at home.
Stacks to Consider
Blue Jays vs. Orioles (Kyle Bradish): Vladimir Guerrero ($4,000), Bo Bichette ($3,300), Matt Chapman ($3,200)
Bradish has been truly walloped in his rookie campaign. He has a 6.42 ERA, has allowed 1.90 home runs per nine innings, and most strikingly, righties have hit .356 against him. The Blue Jays basically only use righties in their lineup, so this is a perfect opportunity for them.
The 48 homers Guerrero hit last year seem likely to be a career high when all is said and done, but 23 home runs in 112 games is nothing to sneeze at. Plus, Vladito is far from an all-or-nothing hitter, as he has a .284 average and .355 OBP. Bichette has taken a step down from last season, but he's still hit .260 with 17 homers and seven stolen bases. Plus, he has a .759 OPS versus his fellow righties. It took Chapman a little while to get going with his new team, but over the last three weeks he has an 1.109 OPS. He enjoys his new home ballpark as well, posting a .920 OPS there.
Twins vs. Royals (Kris Bubic): Byron Buxton ($3,700), Carlos Correa ($3,000), Jose Miranda ($2,900)
Bubic set a baseline of a 4.32 ERA as a rookie in 2020, and since then he's gotten worse with every campaign. This year his ERA is 5.02. The lefty has also given up 1.42 home runs per nine innings in his career. I have three righties in my stack, but if you want to roll the dice on a lefty, Bubic has allowed a .291 average to lefties as well (though those matchups have been sparse enough I imagine he's mostly faced the best lefty hitters, the kind who aren't platooned).
Buxton's game is power. He's hit 28 home runs in 86 games, and since 2020 he has a .597 slugging percentage against lefties. Correa has had a slightly down year, but he has a .794 OPS versus left handers and an .826 OPS at home. He has a career .831 OPS, so the hitting upside is clear. The rookie Miranda has been called up and is now in the designated hitter role. He's slashed .275/.315/.458 with 11 home runs in 76 games.
Rangers vs. Athletics (James Kaprielian): Adolis Garcia ($3,800), Corey Seager ($3,700), Ezequiel Duran ($2,800)
Kaprielian has a career 4.74 FIP, and this year his FIP is up to 5.19. Even though he plays his home games in pitcher-friendly Oakland, he's allowed 1.48 home runs per nine innings in his career. There's not much to fear from Kaprielian coming from the Rangers' perspective.
Over the last three weeks, Garcia has a .911 OPS. He also has 19 homers and 17 stolen bases. Seager is a lefty who can hit other southpaws well, but since 2020 he has been slightly better against righties, posting an .881 OPS. He enjoys his new home ballpark, too, as he has a .932 OPS there. The rookie Duran is playing as the designated hitter, and he has three home runs and four stolen bases. For some reason, lefties are befuddling him, but he has a .744 OPS versus righties.
