Monday’s MLB DFS Lineup Advice & Picks: Luis Castillo, Graham Ashcraft, Paul Blackburn (8/21)

Tonight’s MLB DFS main slate is medium-sized. It has eight games, starting at 7:05 pm ET on DraftKings and FanDuel. Today’s primer focuses on three starting pitchers, two stacks, three studs and three values/punts as the most attractive options on the slate.

For our full MLB DFS lineup advice article, including cash game and GPP pitchers and top lineup stacks, check out our daily premium article

Monday's Starting Pitcher Strategy
One starting pitcher is head and shoulders above the others on tonight's slate. The top-ranked pitcher has a good matchup, favorable betting info and will almost certainly be chalky. The rest of the starting pitching options leave much to be desired. Hence, even the second and third-listed pitchers on the table are deemed high-risk choices.

Cash Game Recommendations:

Luis Castillo (SEA) at CWS
Castillo is in decent form. According to FanGraphs, in his previous five starts spanning 32.0 innings, he's had a 3.94 ERA, 3.90 xFIP, 3.73 SIERA, 1.06 WHIP, 5.5 BB%, 26.0 K%, 25.3 CSW%, 101 Stuff+, 105 Location+ and 102 Pitching+. Castillo has a cushy matchup tonight.

The White Sox are 30th in wRC+ (83) and have a 23.5 K% versus righties in 2023. They're also 29th in wRC+ (77) and have a 24.6 K% in the previous 30 days. And Chicago is tied for 28th in wRC+ (87) and has a 22.4 K% at home this year. In addition, per Betting Pros, the Mariners are -172, and the game's total is 9.0 runs. So, Castillo checks all the requisite boxes to be the top hurler on tonight's slate.

Monday's Hitter Strategy
The Cardinals are the most exciting source of hitters tonight. And the Pirates have some nifty value choices to free up cap space for the highlighted studs and Castillo at pitcher.

For our full MLB DFS lineup advice article, including cash game and GPP pitchers and top lineup stacks, check out our daily premium article