This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Baseball series.
Major League Baseball starts off the week with 10 games on the schedule Monday. Let's try to kick things off with a winning entry on Yahoo. Here are some players to consider as you work your way through the options.
Pitchers
One starting pitcher who should be popular in DFS is Patrick Corbin ($51), who will be starting against the Mets. He faced them in his last outing, as well, allowing three runs and recording eight strikeouts across 5.2 innings. Corbin has recorded exactly eight strikeouts in each of his first two starts and has excelled in that department by recording a strikeout rate of at least 28.5 percent in both of the last two seasons.
The Rangers are only 1-5 on the road this season, but they are 5-3 in their new home park, which is where they will play the Mariners on Monday. It's played like a bit of a pitcher's park in the early going with teams combining to average eight runs per contest. That could be good news for Kyle Gibson ($32), who allowed three unearned runs there across five innings in his season debut against the Diamondbacks. Not normally one to record a lot of strikeouts, Gibson might be able to provide added value in that department in this matchup considering the Mariners have struck out the fifth-most times in baseball.
Top Targets
We'll have a battle in the AL East with the Red Sox set to host a series against the Rays, who will start Ryan Yarbrough ($37) in the first game. With the lefty on the mound, Xander Bogaerts ($21) could be in for a big night. He has a career .364 wOBA versus southpaws and an even better .376 wOBA against them at Fenway Park.
Although the Rangers' home park might be more pitcher-friendly than their old digs, this could still be a great night to deploy Joey Gallo ($21) with the Mariners starting Justin Dunn ($25). Dunn has been rocked in his first two starts, allowing six runs (five earned) across seven innings. The stat that sticks out for Gallo is that Dunn gave up three home runs during that stretch.
Bargain Bats
If you're looking to take advantage of the Rangers' matchup against Dunn, but are looking for a more budget-friendly option, then Elvis Andrus ($9) could be someone to target. He's off to a very slow start with a .189 average, but some of that can be attributed to his .217 BABIP that's almost 100 points lower than his career mark. He's still not striking out much and has already drawn six walks in 14 games.
Sean Manaea ($32) has not pitched well through his first three starts, allowing 13 runs (11 earned) across 12.1 innings. That included a bad outing against the Angels, who he will face again Monday. This could be a good opportunity for Jo Adell ($10) to have his first big game. One of the top prospects in all of baseball, Adell's big league career is off to a slow start with him hitting 2-for-15 over his first four games.
Stacks to Consider
Rockies vs. Robbie Ray ($30) Diamondbacks: Trevor Story ($26), Nolan Arenado ($19), Matt Kemp ($17)
Ray has the ability to rack up strikeouts in bunches, but his inability to limit base runners and home runs continues to be his downfall. He's been crushed across his first three starts, allowing 14 runs through 13.1 innings. He's allowed 26 base runners and six home runs during that span, so this could be another disastrous outing at Coors Field. Arenado's salary is very reasonable given his upside, and Kemp has become a valuable right-handed hitting option for a Rockies team that is heavy on left-handed hitters. While Kemp might not hit for a high average anymore at this stage of his career, he does have two home runs and two doubles already.
White Sox vs. Michael Fulmer ($25) Tigers: Luis Robert ($20), Yoan Moncada ($19), Jose Abreu ($14)
Fulmer took a step backward last season, recording a 4.69 ERA and a 4.52 FIP. He doesn't miss many bats given his career 18.9 percent strikeout rate, so he doesn't have a lot of margin for error. He only pitched 2.2 innings in his season debut, which came all the way back on July 27. He hasn't appeared in a game since, so he's not expected to throw a ton of pitchers here. A bullpen game could mean plenty of runs are on the horizon for the White Sox. Robert and Moncada are two exciting young players on the team, but don't overlook the veteran Abreu. His salary is very reasonable and he's been extremely consistent, recording at least 22 home runs and 100 RBI in five of his six seasons in the majors.
Athletics vs. Julio Teheran ($29) Angels: Matt Olson ($18), Matt Chapman ($12), Marcus Semien ($12)
Teheran is coming off of a respectable season with the Braves in which he recorded a 3.81 ERA. However, his FIP wasn't as impressive at 4.66 and his WHIP was 1.32, so he may have been a little lucky. Now a member of the Angels, he'll be making his second start of the season after allowing two runs across 2.2 innings in his season debut Wednesday versus the Mariners. The A's could be set up to score runs in bunches, but you'll need to keep an eye out for possible suspensions after their brawl with the Astros on Sunday. This trio comes at reasonable salaries, especially Chapman. After a slow start, he is 6-for-14 with two home runs across his last three games.
