Monday kicks off the work week with a nine-game MLB DFS slate on DraftKings. I’m not enamored with too many of the options on the mound but there are a ton of good spots for hitters including games at Coors Field, Fenway Park, and Yankees Stadium. Your top ace pitching option is fairly obvious but finding your second pitcher to plug in is a challenge and may come down to how cheap you want to go in order to fit in the bats that you want.
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.
Create Optimal DraftKings lineups using our DFS Lineup Optimizer tool 
Pitchers
Chris Sale (BOS): $10,900 vs. TEX
Sale has been striking out hitters at an elite clip recently with double-digit punchouts in seven of his last nine starts. He is coming off a complete game shutout with 12 strikeouts against the Royals and will be at home as a big Vegas favorite against the Rangers on Monday night. The Rangers rank near the middle of the pack in wOBA, wRC+ and K% against lefties over the last month. Sale has dominated the current collection of Rangers bats over his career allowing a mere .237 wOBA with a 32.4% strikeout rate in 173 plate appearances. Lock Sale into anchor your cash game lineup as he is still fairly priced.
Monday kicks off the work week with a nine-game MLB DFS slate on DraftKings. I’m not enamored with too many of the options on the mound but there are a ton of good spots for hitters including games at Coors Field, Fenway Park, and Yankees Stadium. Your top ace pitching option is fairly obvious but finding your second pitcher to plug in is a challenge and may come down to how cheap you want to go in order to fit in the bats that you want.
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.
Create Optimal DraftKings lineups using our DFS Lineup Optimizer tool
Pitchers
Chris Sale (BOS): $10,900 vs. TEX
Sale has been striking out hitters at an elite clip recently with double-digit punchouts in seven of his last nine starts. He is coming off a complete game shutout with 12 strikeouts against the Royals and will be at home as a big Vegas favorite against the Rangers on Monday night. The Rangers rank near the middle of the pack in wOBA, wRC+ and K% against lefties over the last month. Sale has dominated the current collection of Rangers bats over his career allowing a mere .237 wOBA with a 32.4% strikeout rate in 173 plate appearances. Lock Sale into anchor your cash game lineup as he is still fairly priced.
Sandy Alcantara (MIA): $6,900 vs. STL
My #2 SP on DraftKings will likely come down to Alcantara and Masahiro Tanaka. I’m going to give the slight edge to Alcantara who give you an extra $1,000 of salary to use on your bats. Alcantara has pitched very well recently allowing one or fewer runs in three of his last four starts. He will also be pitching at home where he has seen considerably better numbers this season with a .269 wOBA allowed and a higher strikeout rate. Alcantara will face a Cardinals team that is struggling to hit right-handed pitching as they rank 29th in wOBA (.281) and dead-last in wRC+ (74) over the last 30 days. Their 23.2% strikeout rate during that stretch could also bode well for Alcantara to notch a couple more Ks than normal for the young righty.
Other Notables
Hitters
David Peralta (OF – ARI): $4,600 @ PHI
Peralta might not be the biggest name in the mid-$4k price range in the outfield on Monday night but I like his matchup the most facing righty Jared Eickhoff in Philadelphia. Eickhoff has been lit up by left-handed hitters this season allowing a .384 wOBA (.390 at home) and a 2.65 HR/9 rate (3.86 at home). Meanwhile, Peralta is getting back into a groove at the plate since his return from the IL last week and has ripped right-handed pitchers this season. For the year, he has posted a .389 wOBA and a .267 ISO.
Yoan Moncada (3B – CWS): $4,400 vs. WAS
Moncada is currently riding a 10-game hitting streak. During the streak, he is batting .381 with a .450 wOBA including three homers. He has demolished right-handed pitching this year with a .391 wOBA and .257 ISO and has had success against Monday’s opposing pitcher, Anibal Sanchez, with a pair of homers in six at-bats. Consider putting together a mini two-man stack with Jose Abreu, who has also ripped Sanchez over his career.
Corey Seager (SS – LAD): $4,200 @ LAA
Almost all of the Dodgers hitters seem underpriced on Monday for their matchup with Griffin Canning and the Angels. Canning has had the ball bounce his way so far this season with a low .232 BABIP which contributes to his ERA (3.52) being almost a full run lower than his xFIP (4.30). Meanwhile, Seager has been swinging a hot bat with a seven-game hitting streak that has included four multi-hit efforts. He has a .380 wOBA and .260 ISO for the season against righties.
Cesar Hernandez (2B – PHI): $3,600 vs. ARI
Hernandez has moved in the leadoff spot for the Phillies with Andrew McCutchen out for the season. The prime lineup spot hitting in front of the Phillies’ big boppers is ideal for Hernandez to see better pitches to hit and an increase in runs. Hernandez has a .357 wOBA and .191 ISO against righties this season and on Monday he will face the Diamondbacks right-hander Taylor Clarke who has allowed lefties to post a .371 wOBA off him through his first five big league appearances (four starts). With a low salary and batting leadoff for a good team in a favorable matchup, it is the perfect spot to plug in Hernandez at 2B.
Carlos Gonzalez (OF – CHC): $3,000 @ COL
Gonzalez could threaten to be 100% owned in cash games on Monday night while making his return to Coors Field while priced at a mere $3,000. He hit his first homer with the Cubs on Sunday and should feel right at home in Coors Field after playing 10 seasons with the Rockies. He will face the Rockies best pitcher with German Marquez taking the mound but at his current price, ballpark, and his expected ownership, it is good to just eat the chalk in cash games.
Other Notables
- Mookie Betts (OF – BOS): $4,500 vs. TEX
- Kyle Schwarber (OF – CHC): $4,500 @ COL
- Bryce Harper (OF – PHI): $4,400 vs. ARI
- Luke Voit (1B – NYY): $4,400 vs. NYM
- Joc Pederson (OF – LAD): $4,400 @ LAA
- Jose Abreu (1B – CWS): $4,200 vs. WAS
- Max Muncy (1B/3B – LAD): $4,100 @ LAA
- Aaron Hicks (OF – NYY): $4,100 vs. NYM
- Alex Avila (C – ARI): $3,600 @ PHI
- Starlin Castro (2B – MIA): $3,100 vs. STL
Create Optimal DraftKings lineups using our DFS Lineup Optimizer tool
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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.
