This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
Sunday featured some blah weather but some exciting baseball. Hopefully Monday brings more of the latter and less of the former. We have six games on the slate for DFS purposes, with the first starting at 7:40 p.m. ET. Here are my lineup recommendations.
Pitching
Walker Buehler, LAD vs. MIA ($8,300): Buehler hasn't made a start for the Dodgers in a couple years due to injury, so he may struggle the first couple of times he faces an MLB lineup. As such, I won't be recommending him once he, you know, faces an MLB lineup. The Marlins are 29th in team OPS and just dealt Luis Arraez. They are not, as they say, a serious MLB team. My only fear is Buehler won't be given the chance to go five innings to get the win, but that's not uncommon in modern baseball.
Sean Manaea, NYM at STL ($7,500): Manaea has had issues with walks, and his 3.07 ERA would be his best ever aside from 2019, when he only made five starts. That being said, he's only had one bad outing, and I doubt a second is coming Monday. The Cardinals are 29th in runs scored, ahead of only the White Sox. Plus, Manaea is a lefty, further complicating things for St. Louis' lineup.
Top Target
Whatever began to plague Pete Alonso ($3,400) in terms of hitting for average last year has continued into 2024, but his power remains as robust as ever. He hit 46 homers and slugged .504 last year, even though he only batted .217, and he has eight homers this season. Notably, the last two seasons have seen him slug .536 on the road, but under .500 at home. The 36-year-old journeyman Kyle Gibson has a career 4.53 ERA, and this year he's allowed 1.42 homers per nine innings.
Bargain Bat
Last season, Brent Rooker ($3,300) came out of nowhere he hit 30 home runs for the Athletics. Even with Oakland's pitcher-friendly ballpark, Rooker slugged .486 at home. He already has eight homers this year as well. The lefty Andrew Heaney has long had an issue with the long ball, having given up 1.59 homers per nine innings in his career.
Stack to Consider
Rangers at Athletics (Alex Wood): Marcus Semien ($3,900), Nathaniel Lowe ($3,000), Ezequiel Duran ($2,300)
Wood's career 3.80 ERA is built upon his early years in MLB. Over the last six seasons he has a 4.71 ERA. This year, now with Oakland, the lefty has a 6.32 ERA through seven starts. Wood has allowed one home run in each of his last five starts as well. Since he is a southpaw, that did impact my selections for this stack.
Semien will be returning to his former home in Oakland. He once hit 33 home runs while playing for the Athletics, so clearly that park doesn't bother him. Additionally, since 2022 the second baseman has slugged .460 on the road. Lowe may be a lefty, but he's a lefty with a .782 OPS versus southpaws over the last three seasons. He also has an .831 OPS on the road in that time as well. With a lefty on the mound, there's a good chance Duran will draw into the lineup Monday. Last year, his first full season in MLB, he had an .837 OPS versus lefties.
Editor's note: this article originally contained a recommended Dodgers stack against lefty Braxton Garrett (shoulder), but Garrett will now be making one more rehab start, with righty Roddery Munoz taking the mound tonight in his place. The RotoWire MLB Optimizer recommends such a stack, as well as the Rangers stack listed above and an Athletics stack against lefty Andrew Heaney.
