This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
Monday night may be about, you know, football, but it can also be about baseball. There are six MLB games starting at 7:05 p.m. EDT or later. These are my lineup recommendations to help you get your MLB DFS rosters all situated.
Pitching
David Festa, MIN vs. LAA ($8,500): This is, in general, a lackluster night for pitching options. Festa has a 4.75 ERA in his rookie campaign, but he also has a 3.81 FIP. Plus, his K/9 rate is an enticing 11.03. The Angels have secured themselves a spot in the bottom four in terms of runs scored, and are just barely keeping their team OBP about .300.
Joey Cantillo, CLE at CWS ($6,900): The "maybe we can squeeze a start in from a fringe-rotation pitcher against the White Sox" gambit has been a mixed bag. However, as I said, this is a rough day for pitchers, and Cantillo does have a 3.23 ERA at Triple-A. He's facing an offense that one might argue is equivalent to what he's seen down in Triple-A. Though the White Sox did have a couple games this weekend where they scored a handful of runs, they are still over 100 runs behind every other team, and still have a .619 OPS collectively. At this salary, I'd roll the dice.
Top Target
Yes, Gunnar Henderson ($4,400) fell off an MVP pace, but he may put together a 40/20 season and he has a .936 OPS versus righties. You need not take home hardware to have a great campaign. On the flip side, spare a thought for Brayan Bello. He was originally going to face the White Sox on Sunday, but had his start pushed up a day. Now, a guy with a 4.92 ERA at home who has let lefties hit .270 against him has to face Henderson and the Orioles' other lefty sluggers.
Bargain Bat
Mets pitching benefits from Citi Field, but lefty hitters who don the Mets uniform tend to have pretty stark home/road splits. Brandon Nimmo ($3,200) is no different. Since 2022 he has a .723 OPS at home, but an .860 OPS on the road. Chris Bassitt also has more issues at home, where he has a 4.78 ERA. On top of that, southpaws like Nimmo have hit .297 against him.
Stacks to Consider
Guardians at White Sox (Nick Nastrini): Jose Ramirez ($4,000), Josh Naylor ($3,500), Steven Kwan ($3,100)
Nastrini has fit right in with the White Sox since being called up, which is to say his performance has been an exercise in futility. The righty has made eight starts and has a 0-7 record. That's not pertinent to DFS players, but here are some things that are. Nastrini has a 7.79 ERA, an 1.95 HR/9 rate, and somehow a K/BB rate below 1.00. Since lefties have hit .275 against him, I have three guys who can hit right handed.
If you like counting stats, Ramirez has over 30 homers, stolen bases, and doubles, and over 100 RBI and runs scored. He's been stellar against lefties this season, but since 2022 he has an .849 OPS versus righties and an .850 OPS versus lefties. Naylor has his first 100-RBI season, and he's one homer away from hitting 30 for the first time. He's had issues with lefties, but has slugged .493 against right-handed pitchers. Kwan doesn't bring the same power, but he's hit .288 with 13 homers and 11 stolen bases in 116 games. While he will face a righty to start, Kwan actually has an .849 OPS versus lefties, which is good to know considering the inevitability of the bullpen being involved.
Dodgers vs. Cubs (Kyle Hendricks): Mookie Betts ($4,200), Freddie Freeman ($3,400), Gavin Lux ($2,700)
Hendricks was not good, per se, the three prior seasons, but in 2024 the wheels have come off. He has a 6.60 ERA, but on the road he has a 7.89 ERA and 2.1 HR/9 rate. Righties have hit .282 against Hendricks, but lefties have hit .319, so I have two southpaws in this stack.
Betts is a righty, but he has a .926 OPS versus right-handed pitchers in 2024. He also has a .960 OPS over the last three weeks. Freeman isn't going to bat .300, which is rare for him, and his counting stats are down, but 21 homers and 31 doubles are still impressive. Mostly, Freeman has regressed against lefties. When a righty is on the mound he has a .940 OPS. Lux has a .743 OPS versus righties, but also changed his approach at the plate during the season to be less of a slap hitter. To that end, he's slugged .510 over the last three weeks, and that is eye catching from a second baseman.
