Major League Baseball gets back to work with a busy Monday night on the diamond. The main slate on DraftKings gets underway at 7:05 p.m. ET, including the eight games that start at that time or later. The early games that are part of a separate slate have some forecasted weather issues, but tonight’s games look mostly clear—only Minnesota will be potentially rainy. With 16 teams on the board, let’s identify some top matchups to attack for MLB stacks. While there are some top aces on the mound, there are some very favorable matchups to attack as well.
In case you’re new to the term, “stacking” is an MLB DFS strategy that creates a positive correlation in your lineup by including multiple players from the same MLB team on your fantasy roster. The most effective stacks usually include players from the same section of the lineup so they can work together to boost each other’s run production. Stacking does raise the risk of your lineup, but the added ceiling is often worth the added risk. The important thing for MLB stacks is finding the right team in the right spot to smash. If you nail it, though, the stack can carry you to victory.
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1. Los Angeles Dodgers
Shohei Ohtani ($6,500)
Mookie Betts ($6,200)
Teoscar Hernandez ($5,000)
Tommy Edman ($4,600)
Andy Pages ($2,700)
The Dodgers dropped two of three to the Cubs to open their homestand, but now they welcome in the hapless Rockies. Colorado is giving the White Sox a real challenge as the worst team in the MLB. Coming into this series they were swept by the Padres while not scoring a single run and will now send Antonio Senzatela ($5,500) to the mound as their stopper. Senzatela hasn’t stopped much this season, though, giving up at least eight hits in each of his three starts and coming into this contest with a 5.14 ERA, 4.64 FIP and 2.14 WHIP. Giving up that many base runners against an elite lineup like the Dodgers is an ideal spot for MLB stacks since they should have traffic on the basepaths and pile up runs.
Ohtani seems overdue after a quiet series against the Cubs, while Betts has hit safely in seven of his last eight games but hasn’t homered since April 1. Hernandez has been carrying the offense, hitting .281 on the year and has gone 10-for-26 (.385) with 20+ fantasy points in two of those contests. Edman has also been very productive this season, averaging 9.3 fantasy points in 17 games. Pages is a cheap way to round out the stack and balance out the some expensive superstars in the stack.
2. Toronto Blue Jays
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. ($5,400)
Andres Gimenez ($4,700)
Anthony Santander ($4,500)
Bo Bichette ($4,400)
Alan Roden ($2,500)
There are a pair of Holmes on the market this Monday night, but the one to invest in stacking against is definitely Grant Holmes ($6,500) rather than Clay Holmes ($7,500), who I actually like as a value play. Grant Holmes of the Braves has given up four runs on seven hits in eight innings over his two starts this season. He also has a high 80.9% strand rate, which indicates he has been fortunate to not give up more runs. His hard-hit rate against is 45.5%, so the Blue Jays should be in a good spot to make some noise against him at home at Rogers Centre.
Offseason addition Gimenez has started his Blue Jays’ career swinging a hot stick. While he is best known for his defense, he has produced 9.6 fantasy points per game with three home runs, five stolen bases and a .348 wOBA. His double-play partner Bichette has also been productive with at least five fantasy points in five of his last six games and two with over 15 fantasy points during that stretch. While Roden hasn’t been red-hot from the bottom of the order, he can be a bargain part of a nice back-door stack since he bats ahead of the leadoff part of the order from his ninth spot in the order. The rookie had two hits on Saturday and is up to .250 for the season. With multiple hits in three of his last four games, the newly-extended Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is always the right place to start when considering the Blue Jays as one of your MLB stacks.
3. Kansas City Royals
Bobby Witt Jr. ($5,900)
Vinnie Pasquantino ($4,500)
Salvador Perez ($4,400)
Maikel Garcia ($4,300)
Kyle Isbel ($2,700)
The Royals roll into the Bronx for a series at Yankee Stadium that should give them plenty of home run potential. They’ll face familiar foe Carlos Carrasco ($6,000) who earned a spot in the Yankees’ rotation with a big spring but has allowed 10 runs in 11 2/3 innings during the regular season. In his last start he served up three home runs to the Tigers in Detroit and took the loss to fall to 1-1 with a 7.71 ERA and 6.52 FIP.
The Royals have plenty of history against Carrasco from his time in Cleveland. Perez is 8-for-33 (.242) against him in the past and Witt went 2-for-3 with a home run. Witt is the right centerpiece for this stack as the leader of the team and its most productive hitter. He’s hitting .322 with a home run and five stolen bases on the season to average 9.8 fantasy points per game. Garcia has also been playing well and is coming off a three-hit game on Sunday that earned him 15 fantasy points. Vinnie P. should enjoy the short right-field porch at Yankee Stadium and is also coming off a good finish to the weekend series against the Guardians. Like Roden with the Blue Jays, Isbel can be a cheap part of a sneaky stack and the lefty is coming off a three-hit game on Sunday in the team’s 4-2 win to avoid being swept in Cleveland.
