We’ve got a seven-game MLB featured slate with a stacked group of starting pitchers on Monday night, as many of the arms that started on Opening Day will make their third appearance on 2025.
Who do you build your lineups around? Who should you stack against? Let’s dive in and break it all down.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $300K Bat Flip [$100K to 1st]
PITCHER
Stud
Logan Gilbert, Seattle Mariners vs. Houston Astros, $9,500 – There’s three really good options priced above $9,000 on this slate, and with Michael King ($9,200) and Kodai Senga ($9,000) drawing easier matchups, I think there’s a chance Gilbert goes a little under-appreciated. The right-hander has been all you could ask for in his first two starts of 2025, maintaining a 2.10 xERA and a 1.42 FIP across 12.0 innings of work. Still, the most pleasant surprise has been Gilbert’s 40.9% strikeout rate and his 20.6% swinging strike rate. Not bad for someone who entered the season averaging just over a strikeout per inning for his career. It’s also worth noting the Astros’ recent struggles. Houston has not hit the ball well through nine games, registering a league-worst .093 ISO to go along with a massive 26.8% strikeout rate as a team. This might not be your slightly older brother’s Astros anymore.
Value
Hunter Greene, Cincinnati Reds at San Francisco Giants, $7,900 – The Giants have been swinging the bats during their 8-1 start, yet Greene’s viability simply comes down to price. There’s no way someone this talented should ever have a salary this low again — especially when it’s a Reds’ starter that gets to pitch away from Great American Ball Park. Greene’s mustered a 1.45 xERA over his first 12.0 innings of the season. The former second-overall pick has struck out 36.4% of opponents he’s faced in this span, while also maintaining an 8.00 K/BB ratio. That last part is key for the high-velocity RHP, as Greene has generally sacrificed control for stuff throughout his career. If Greene isn’t issuing free passes, he’s one of the best pitchers in the National League, let alone this specific slate.
INFIELD
Stud
Manny Machado, San Diego Padres at Athletics, $5,000 – The Padres own this slate’s highest implied team total. That might be because they’ve hit .285 with a 120 wRC+ as a team through 10 games. It might also be because this tilt will take place at Sutter Health Park, which played like Coors Field 2.0 last week — just ask Luis Severino ($7,300). The veteran RHP surrendered two long balls and six runs to the Cubs in his first “home” start of 2025. Woof. Meanwhile, Machado’s managed a .316 average and a noteworthy five stolen bases in his 41 plate appearances. There are many paths to his viability on Monday.
Stud
Vinnie Pasquantino, Kansas City Royals vs. Minnesota Twins, $4,600 – It hasn’t been the best start to the season for Pasquantino, but the Royals’ slugger remains a potent left-handed bat in the middle of the team’s lineup. He draws a relatively soft matchup this evening in the form of Simeon Woods-Richardson ($6,300), who allowed five hits and a pair of earned runs over four innings in his first outing of 2025. Woods-Richardson’s issues are a carry-over from the second-half of 2024, where the RHP posted a 5.23 ERA after the All-Star break. Not ideal.
Value
Geraldo Perdomo, Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Baltimore Orioles, $3,700 – With Ketel Marte (hamstring) on the IL, Perdomo has been elevated to the two-spot in the Diamondbacks’ batting order. Why not? The switch-hitting shortstop has had a fantastic start to 2025, slashing .314/.341/.457 with a 114 wRC+. Perdomo doesn’t possess a lot of power, but what little he does comes from the left-side of the plate, as he’s hit 14 of his 15 career long balls against right-handed pitching. That fact is appropriate with Zach Eflin ($6,900) on the mound for the Orioles.
OUTFIELD
Stud
Juan Soto, New York Mets vs. Miami Marlins, $6,000 – It’s sort of funny to say that Soto only owns a 139 wRC+ across his first 39 plate appearances as a Met, but the bar is higher for the $765 million man. I’m expecting big things tonight against Valente Bellozo ($4,000), who served up 1.97 opponent home runs per nine over his 13 starts in 2024. For his career, Soto possesses a .292/.437/.559 slash line against RHPs with a .267 ISO and a .419 wOBA. Needless to say, it’s this one particular trait that allowed Soto to become generationally wealthy.
Stud
Wyatt Langford, Texas Rangers at Chicago Cubs, $4,200 – It’s unclear if Langford has truly broken out yet, but the former fourth-overall pick has certainly looked at his best against left-handed pitching in his brief MLB career. In 123 plate appearances within the split, Langford owns a .301 ISO, a .901 OPS and a 149 wRC+. In layman’s terms, he’s been really, really great versus southpaws. Justin Steele ($7,700) is a lefty. Steele has also allowed opposing RHBs to register a .464 wOBA in his three starts in 2025. You can see where I’m going with this, right?
Value
Gavin Sheets, San Diego Padres at Athletics, $2,600 – Sheets is a very cost-effective addition to any Padres stack. The 28-year-old has thrived in his role as a platoon bat in 2025, slashing .435/.458/.652 with a 216 wRC+ in 24 plate appearances against right-handed pitching. Is it a small sample? Yes. Is this a smaller price tag? Also yes. Sheets won’t continue to be left-handed Aaron Judge, yet he’s red-hot and cheap. At Sutter Health Park, that’s a glorious combination.
