On Monday night, Major League Baseball starts the new work week with seven games on the evening slate, which gets underway a few minutes early at 6:40 p.m. ET. Games in Miami and Washington start just before 7:00 p.m. ET, and games in New York and Tampa begin shortly after that. The final three games of the slate come from the West Coast, where the Red Sox visit Seattle, the Astros take on the A’s and the Dodgers and Padres square off in Los Angeles, where Shohei Ohtani will make his return to the mound. It should be a jam-packed night of excitement with plenty of MLB DFS intrigue. As you assemble your roster, you may need to include a few bargain plays to help stretch your salary cap. In this post, I’ll highlight my top three bargain plays for Monday’s seven-game slate of MLB DFS action.
As always, be sure to double-check weather conditions and lineups before the first pitch. Overall, it looks like a pretty clear weather night, but there could be some rain in Tampa. The wind is forecast to be blowing out at both minor league parks in play today, making George M. Steinbrenner Field and Sutter Health Park favorable spots for offense. When value shopping, it’s especially important to check starting lineups to ensure your bargain plays are in place and hitting in good spots in the batting order.
As you make out your lineup card for this Monday night, be sure to check out the full range of MLB 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 Ryan Pepiot, Tampa Bay Rays vs. Baltimore Orioles, $7,600
The Rays and Orioles start an AL East series this Monday night in Tampa, and Pepiot brings a very high ceiling at this affordable salary on Monday’s slate. While he has given up hard contact and too many runs to be an elite option, he also has a high enough strikeout rate to be a great play under $8,000. The Orioles should be a good matchup for him as well, giving him a chance to compensate for any damage with plenty of punchouts.
Pepiot is only 3-6 in his 14 starts for the Rays, but the 27-year-old righty has over 20 DraftKings points in four straight starts. He has allowed three earned runs or fewer in each of his last 10 starts with a 2.72 ERA and 3.71 FIP. He has at least seven strikeouts in four of those outings, including each of his two most recent games against the Rangers and Red Sox. Pepiot had a season-high nine strikeouts against Boston but failed to complete the sixth inning for the first time in seven starts.
The Orioles’ offense has been inconsistent this season but ranks slightly above league average in run creation with a 110 wRC+ on the year. They have a top-10 K%, though, at 23.3%, and they have only hit .232 on the road, the seventh-lowest mark in the majors. On the road, they have an 87 team wRC+, meaning they are 13% below league average for run creation in that split. On Monday, Pepiot should be a fairly reliable play at this price with a good strikeout ceiling.
1B/3B Otto Kemp, Philadelphia Phillies at Miami Marlins, $2,700
In the other game taking place in the Sunshine State, the Phillies are taking on the Marlins and Sandy Alcantara ($7,200). Kemp is a great bargain play to consider in this matchup who can fit at either corner infield spot for under $3,000. Kemp joined the team when Bryce Harper (elbow) landed on the injured list, and the 25-year-old has flourished in his first taste of the bigs.
Kemp was hitting .313 with 14 homers and 11 stolen bases for the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs, and he has carried over that success, going 10-for-29 (.345) in his eight games with the Phillies. He had four singles and a stolen base on Sunday against the Blue Jays to rack up 27 fantasy points. It was his first stolen base since being called up and his third multi-hit game. Kemp has a nice blend of power and speed, and he is expected to continue to fill in at first base until Harper is ready to return. In such a good lineup, Kemp has a high ceiling, even if he’s hitting low in the order, and his batting average, speed and power give him multiple paths to a successful night as a value play in Miami.
OF Denzel Clarke, Athletics vs. Houston Astros, $2,600
Clarke has been a highlight reel waiting to happen in centerfield for the Athletics over the last few weeks, but his production hasn’t just been on defense.
Clarke has gone 13-for-48 (.271) over his last 15 games with a home run, eight runs scored and four stolen bases. He hit safely in each of his last three games and had multiple hard-hit batted ball events in each of his last two. He may stay in the lineup due to his defense, but if he’s hitting ninth, he actually sets up a nice wraparound stack with the top of the A’s lineup against Lance McCullers Jr. ($8,000) on Monday.
In Triple-A before his promotion, Clarke hit .286 with seven stolen bases, a .402 wOBA and a 50% hard-hit rate in 31 games. He has the potential to provide a big play with power or speed in addition to his defense on Monday night, and he’s a great bargain option in the outfield at barely more than the minimum salary.
