Time to start another work week with an eight-game MLB slate on Monday night. The slate has a lot of strong pitching options to consider. Some have higher floors and some have higher upside but a pair of youngsters top my list for cash games on this slate. On the hitting side, there is plenty of mid-range value of big-name bats with good matchups and big upside potential. Let’s dig in!
As always, be sure to pay close attention to the lineups when they are released and monitor the weather leading up to game time. For reference throughout the season, be sure to bookmark our overview of MLB Park Factors and how to Use Weather to Your Advantage in MLB DFS.
Check out today’s MLB Pickoff contest at DraftKings
Pitchers
Chris Paddack (SD): $9,500 vs. ARI
My favorite two pitcher combinations on DraftKings for Monday’s slate is either a Patrick Corbin/J.A. Happ pairing or Chris Paddack/Mike Soroka. The Corbin/Happ combo might have a little higher upside, but I also think it comes with more risk, so give me Paddack/Soroka in cash games. Paddack has pitched great this season with a 28.5% strikeout rate and sub-2.00 ERA. He has been even better at home which is where he will face the visiting Diamondback on Monday night as a Vegas favorite in a matchup with the lowest run total on the slate.
Time to start another work week with an eight-game MLB slate on Monday night. The slate has a lot of strong pitching options to consider. Some have higher floors and some have higher upside but a pair of youngsters top my list for cash games on this slate. On the hitting side, there is plenty of mid-range value of big-name bats with good matchups and big upside potential. Let’s dig in!
As always, be sure to pay close attention to the lineups when they are released and monitor the weather leading up to game time. For reference throughout the season, be sure to bookmark our overview of MLB Park Factors and how to Use Weather to Your Advantage in MLB DFS.
Check out today’s MLB Pickoff contest at DraftKings
Pitchers
Chris Paddack (SD): $9,500 vs. ARI
My favorite two pitcher combinations on DraftKings for Monday’s slate is either a Patrick Corbin/J.A. Happ pairing or Chris Paddack/Mike Soroka. The Corbin/Happ combo might have a little higher upside, but I also think it comes with more risk, so give me Paddack/Soroka in cash games. Paddack has pitched great this season with a 28.5% strikeout rate and sub-2.00 ERA. He has been even better at home which is where he will face the visiting Diamondback on Monday night as a Vegas favorite in a matchup with the lowest run total on the slate.
Mike Soroka (ATL): $9,200 @ SF
Soroka doesn’t have quite the strikeout numbers that Paddack has, but he been nearly unhittable allowing just a .172 average and no home runs through six starts this season. Some regression will come eventually but I don’t expect it to occur on Monday, pitching in San Francisco against the Giants. The Giants offense has posted a .295 wOBA (24th) against righties this season with a 24.1% strikeout rate (11th). He is a sizeable road favorite and should cruise to another solid outing giving him a high floor but limited upside. You can try pivot to Brad Peacock if you want a lower floor but more upside out of your SP2.
Other Notables
Hitters
Yoan Moncada (3B – CWS): $4,400 @ HOU
Moncada has been crushing right-handed pitching this season with a .404 wOBA and .305 ISO. Meanwhile, he’ll face the Astros righty Brad Peacock on Monday who has had some trouble with lefties allowing a .339 wOBA and 1.74 HR/9 this year.
Juan Soto (OF – WAS): $4,200 @ NYM
Drew Gagnon is expected to get a spot start for the Mets on Monday against the Nationals. He has allowed a .367 wOBA to lefties over his brief career and will likely only be able to pitch limited innings opening up things to the Mets bullpen which has the ninth highest xFIP (4.67) in the league this season. Soto has produced five hits over his last three games including a double in all three outings. He has a career .412 wOBA and .269 ISO on the road against righties.
Manny Machado (SS/3B – SDP): $4,100 vs. ARI
Machado has been hitting well in May with a .393 wOBA and .288 ISO over 17 games. While he has done his most damage against lefties this season, he is still making plenty of hard contact against righties with a 42.3% rate. He’ll face Diamondbacks right-hander Luke Weaver on Monday night who he matches up well with going 3-for-6 with a pair of long balls. The price is still right to plug in Machado at SS or 3B.
Bryce Harper (OF – PHI): $4,000 @ CHC
Speaking of the price being right, how often do you see Harper priced down at $4,000? The answer is “never,” so be sure to take advantage on this slate. Harper has homered in back-to-back games and will face righty Yu Darvish in Chicago on Monday night. The weather conditions aren’t ideal in Chicago at Wrigley Field on Monday but at this price and with his recent performance, Harper is hard to ignore. Darvish pitched well in his last start but has been a disaster prior to that, so I’ll bank on “Bad Yu” showing up Monday.
Kendrys Morales (1B – NYY): $3,400 @ BAL
This endorsement of Morales is an endorsement for the top half of the Yankees lineup, in general. They will face righty Andrew Cashner who has given up eight runs in 10 innings to the Yankees this season. Morales has collected a hit in all three games since joining the Yankees including a home run and three RBI. He has had a lot of success against Cashner during his career going 7-for-14 with three home runs, four walks, and zero strikeouts. Save the money at 1B on Monday night.
Other Notables
- Ronald Acuna (OF – ATL): $4,600 @ SF
- Trea Turner (SS – WAS): $4,600 @ NYM
- Rougned Odor (2B – TEX): $4,300 vs. SEA
- Josh Donaldson (3B – ATL): $4,300 @ SF
- DJ LeMahieu (2B/3B – NYY): $4,200 @ BAL
- Aaron Hicks (OF – NYY): $4,200 @ BAL
- Nomar Mazara (OF – TEX): $4,100 vs. SEA
- Yuli Gurriel (1B/3B – HOU): $3,900 vs. CWS
- Renato Nunez (1B – BAL): $3,500 vs. NYY
- Kyle Schwarber (OF – CHC): $3,500 vs. PHI
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Brad Richter is a Featured Writer and correspondent at FantasyPros and a contributor at DailyOverlay. For more from Brad, you can view his archive or follow him @RotoPilot.