Following a great weekend of baseball after the MLB Trade Deadline, 13 new series are ready to get underway this Monday, with four early games on a turbo slate and nine games on the MLB main slate, which starts at 7:10 p.m. ET with first pitch in Boston and New York. We’ll get our first look at some familiar faces in new places on the mound as part of the 18 starting pitchers on the main slate this Monday Taking a look at all the matchups and variables, let’s jump into the player pool and discover my top MLB DFS picks for Monday night.
In the big picture, the weather looks very cooperative for this slate except for one huge exception. The Braves and Brewers are in what could be a smash spot in Atlanta, but the weather doesn’t look great. I’ll skip that game for the most part in this post, since there are plenty of other options to pick from. If they do play the game, though, the Brewers should be in a good spot against Erick Fedde. Be sure to check back for the latest lineup and weather updates before first pitch.
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Pitchers
Stud
Tyler Glasnow, Los Angeles Dodgers vs. St. Louis Cardinals, $9,800: Glasnow and the Dodgers host the Cardinals in the last game of the slate this Monday night. Glasnow was knocked around in his last start against the Reds in Cincinnati, but he should be set to bounce back, especially since this game is back in SoCal.
Glasnow has a 2.16 ERA, 0.80 WHIP and a .159 batting average against him in his 25 innings at home. He has 33 strikeouts in those 25 innings, and in his last two home starts, he produced 20.5 fantasy points and 35.35 fantasy points. That monster game was a 12-strikeout masterpiece against the Twins. He’ll look to return to that form and dominate the Cardinals on Monday night.
St. Louis ranks in the bottom-five teams in the majors in runs scored over the last 30 days while hitting .239. Over the last week, the Cards averaged just 3.2 runs per game while hitting .207 as a team and have a 27.1% K%, which is the fourth-highest in the majors over that timeframe.
Value
Brayan Bello, Boston Red Sox vs. Kansas City Royals, $7,800: Bello and the Red Sox have both been surging in the last few months. Even though his strikeout numbers haven’t been dominant, he has been getting the job done, going 5-4 in his last 10 starts, averaging 18.5 fantasy points per outing with a 2.83 ERA, 3.93 FIP, 1.09 WHIP and 6.9 K/9.
He has allowed three runs or fewer in 12 straight outings, and he’ll be in a favorable matchup at home against the Royals. Kansas City’s offense has been better over the last few weeks, but it still has scored the second-fewest runs in the majors this year and is hitting just .243 as a team with a .298 wOBA and 86 wRC+ that indicates it’s 14% below league average in run creation.
Bello had a good matchup like this at home against the Rockies a few weeks ago and posted 38.55 fantasy points. He had at least 20 fantasy points in three of his five starts in July, and he’ll look to carry over that success to August in this start on Monday.
Infield
Stud
Jose Ramirez, Cleveland Guardians at New York Mets, $6,400: Ramirez is a great fantasy play whenever the Guardians face a lefty, and on Monday, he’ll go up against southpaw Sean Manaea ($9,500) at Citi Field with the wind blowing out.
Ramirez homered in each of his last two games with 23 and 21 fantasy points, and he has double-digit fantasy points in five straight. Over the last month, the switch-hitting veteran is batting .320 (31-for-97) with 10 homers and 11 stolen bases, giving him 23 homers and 32 stolen bases on the season.
Against lefties, he’s hitting .350 with a .398 wOBA and 159 wRC+, making him a great pay-up play to build around at the hot corner on Monday.
Stud
Bo Bichette, Toronto Blue Jays at Colorado Rockies, $5,700: Chasing narratives too much can be a recipe for disaster in fantasy baseball, but sometimes it can also lead to exactly the right player in the right spot for MLB DFS Picks. Bichette will be playing the first regular-season game of his career in Colorado, where his dad was a star in the 1990s. He did appear in the 2021 All-Star Game at the venue, but this will be his first chance to play at elevation during the regular season.
Bichette comes into this series in Denver red-hot, having hit safely in 25 of his last 26 games. He’s hit an impressive .380 (41-for-108) with 13 doubles, two homers and 19 RBIs over that span. He’s in a juicy matchup against Tanner Gordon ($4,800), who has a 4.85 ERA and gave up seven runs in three innings to the Guardians in his last start.
Value
Tyler Locklear, Arizona Diamondbacks vs. San Diego Padres, $2,400: I highlighted Andrew Vaughn ($3,000) in my MLB DFS value picks for the day, and he’ll be a great play if the Brewers-Braves game plays as scheduled. If not, Locklear will be a bargain pivot, who comes at an even cheaper salary at first base. Locklear was one of the key pieces the Dbacks got back in exchange for Eugenio Suarez, and he’s expected to step right in as Arizona’s everyday first baseman. He went 2-for-10 in his first series with the Snakes, going 2-for-3 with a stolen base and 17 fantasy points on Sunday against the Athletics.
Locklear hit .316 at Triple-A this year with 19 homers, 18 stolen bases and a .411 wOBA. He struggled in his cameo in the majors last year, but he’s a good prospect with a high ceiling who can be a nice part of Arizona’s young core if he realizes his potential. The righty is a good, affordable play at 1B this Monday against new Padres lefty JP Sears ($6,000)
OUTFIELD
Stud
Jordan Beck, Colorado Rockies vs. Toronto Blue Jays, $4,800: Beck has had a few strong stretches this season, but the 24-year-old has also struggled through a few adjustment periods. I’m including him in today’s MLB DFS Picks, though, since he has been surging lately, and he is in a good spot at home against lefty Eric Lauer ($6,300) and the Blue Jays at Coors Field.
Beck has gone 20-for-55 (.364) in 15 games since the All-Star break with four homers, a double, a triple and a .460 wOBA over that span. He has a .322 average and .412 wOBA against southpaws as well, so he should be able to light up Lauer and continue his recent surge. Since he doesn’t have “stud” recognition, he comes at a cheaper salary, but he still brings a very high ceiling.
Value
Giancarlo Stanton, New York Yankees at Texas Rangers, $4,600: I highlighted Stanton in my top home run props of the day, and he’s a boom-or-bust play with a high ceiling against the Rangers. He has hit safely in 18 of his last 20 games and comes into this series with a nine-game hitting streak.
In his last 20 games, he’s hitting a solid .297 with eight homers and a .411 wOBA to go with a robust 56.5% hard-hit rate and an impressive average exit velocity of 96.6 miles per hour. He still strikes out a lot and doesn’t hit for much average but his bat speed and power potential are definitely back after his late start to the season, and that’s enough to give him a high ceiling.
Value
Jeff McNeil, New York Mets vs. Cleveland Guardians, $3,000: I highlighted Blue Jays OF Joey Loperfido ($3,400) in my value picks for the day, but if you want to go even cheaper, McNeil makes sense as a bargain play against Slade Cecconi ($8,400) and the Guardians in today’s MLB DFS Picks. Cecconi is letting lefties hit .260 with a .339 wOBA against him this season, and McNeil is hitting .234 with all nine of his homers and a .331 wOBA against righties like Cecconi.
McNeil had a pair of hits and a run scored on Sunday and has hit safely in five of his last seven games with seven hits, including three doubles. While McNeil doesn’t usually bring an extremely high ceiling with his power, he does consistently find ways to chip in, especially at Citi Field, where he has a .284 average and .373 wOBA on the season.
