After a wild weekend with plenty of walk-offs and big wins, Major League Baseball gets right back to work with a six-game slate lined up for Monday night. To include the early starts, the main MLB DFS slate begins at 6:35 p.m. ET, so be sure to get your entries in early. With 12 teams in the player pool, there are plenty of strong options to consider, but you may find yourself short on salary since many of the stars are so expensive. In this post, the goal is to help you find the best cheaper alternatives that still bring a high ceiling. Let’s dive into the bargain bin to find three MLB DFS Bargain Plays for this Monday, 4/28/25.
The two early games are both divisional matchups as the Yankees visit the Orioles and the Cardinals take on the Reds in Cincinnati. Three games get started shortly after 8:00 p.m. ET, including another divisional matchup between the Athletics and Rangers along with a Coors Field matchup, featuring the Braves and Rockies. In the final game of the slate, the Dodgers host the Marlins at 10:10 p.m. ET in the late-night hammer. The weather looks solid across the slate, so we should have six good games to enjoy this Monday.
As you make out your lineup card for Monday’s contests, be sure to check out the full range of MLB DFS coverage from the team at DKNetwork, since these bargain values are just one piece of the MLB DFS picture to consider.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $200K Knuckleball [$50K to 1st]
SP Will Warren, New York Yankees at Baltimore Orioles, $6,800
The starting pitching options on Monday’s slate get sketchy in a hurry once you get past the very top of the salary structure. Of the shaky options under $8,000, Warren is the best of the bunch and brings a pretty good ceiling as he takes the mound in Baltimore, even though his matchup against the Orioles isn’t ideal.
Warren is 1-0 in his five starts with a 4.79 ERA, 3.73 FIP and 9.2 K/9. He has worked five innings in three of his starts, earning over 12 fantasy points in each of those three outings. His best start of the year came at home against the Giants, when he had six strikeouts in five innings and totaled 20.9 fantasy points. After that ceiling performance, he struggled a little bit in his next outing, lasting just 1 2/3 innings against the Rays, but he bounced back with a strong outing in Cleveland last Tuesday. He threw five shutout frames but allowed two singles to begin the sixth inning, and both runs came around to score after he left.
The Orioles have not quite found their stride on offense yet, ranking in the bottom half of the league in runs, while hitting only .223 with a .302 wOBA in 27 games. They also have the fourth-highest K% in the MLB, so there’s some good upside against the O’s even though they do bring some power potential.
OF Kevin Pillar, Texas Rangers vs. Athletics, $2,700
Pillar has become a key part of the Rangers’ lineup against left-handed starting pitching, hitting leadoff in his last two starts, including one last Wednesday when the Rangers faced JP Sears ($8,700), who they’re scheduled to take on again this Monday. Pillar went 1-for-3 with five fantasy points in that game, and he was even better on Saturday, hitting leadoff again and going 1-for-4 with two stolen bases and a 15 fantasy points.
Pillar is 9-for-30 (.300) on the season with two doubles, three stolen bases, and a .294 wOBA. The veteran has always brought good speed and power potential, and if he’s hitting leadoff at the top of the Texas order, he has good potential to deliver excellent bargain value at this salary.
C Agustin Ramirez, Miami Marlins at Los Angeles Dodgers, $3,200
Ramirez’s raw power potential has made him a fun player to watch all year long. I highlighted him as a potential breakout at the very beginning of spring training, and he’s started to realize his potential since getting called up last week.
The Marlins got the slugging catcher as the main prospect in return for Jazz Chisholm Jr. last year, and he made his MLB debut last Monday. He went 2-for-3 with a stolen base and 17 fantasy points in his debut and since then has hit three doubles, three home runs and worked his way to an impressive .694 wOBA. He had three homers and five stolen bases in his 19 games this year in Triple-A and already has three homers and an average of 16.6 fantasy points per game in his five MLB contests.
Furthermore, he’s a high-ceiling prospect both long and short term, and his batted ball metrics show there’s nothing fluky about his hot start. He does have swing-and-miss issues at times and could struggle with strikeouts at some point as he adjusts to the MLB, but for now, ride the heater and enjoy getting the rookie at such a low price as he faces Dustin May ($9,500) and the Dodgers this Monday.
