Monday night offers a solid nine-game schedule on the main DraftKings MLB slate. While there are a few tough starting pitcher matchups to avoid, there are also some juicy matchups to attack for Monday’s MLB DFS stacks. As you fill out your lineup card for Monday night, let’s look at some of the strongest offenses to build around who can carry your team to victory with their favorable matchups.
Before we get to the picks, let’s define what exactly we’re looking for. Stacking is a strategy that can be very effective in daily fantasy baseball. It relies on multiple players from the same MLB lineup to boost each others’ production in high-scoring matchups. Ideally, MLB DFS stacks focus on players who are back-to-back or at least from the same part of the lineup to allow plenty of positive correlation. Most run-scoring plays produce fantasy points for multiple players, so stacking a high-scoring team can carry your entry to the top of the leaderboard. It is worth mentioning that stacking always increases the connectedness of your lineup, which raises both the risk and the ceiling of your team since they will either go off or get shut down together. The key to MLB DFS stacks paying off is finding the perfect matchup to attack, so let’s take a look at Monday’s top spots.
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1. Toronto Blue Jays
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. ($6,500)
Addison Barger ($5,800)
Bo Bichette ($5,700)
Nathan Lukes ($4,500)
Joey Loperfido ($3,400)
The Blue Jays have the highest implied run total on the slate this Monday by a wide margin as they take their red-hot offense to the hitter-happy haven of Coors Field. I mentioned Bichette in my MLB DFS picks for the day and my top home run props as well. I also highlighted Loperfido in my top bargain plays since the matchup is so good with such a high ceiling.
The Jays face Tanner Gordon ($4,800), who will be making his sixth start of the season. In his five games, he has a 4.85 ERA, 4.38 FIP and a 1.54 WHIP. In Triple-A, he struggled as well, posting a 5.25 ERA, 4.93 FIP and 1.53 WHIP in Albuquerque. Last year, he went 0-6 in eight starts with an 8.65 ERA and 6.14 FIP. In his career, righties are hitting .373 with a .451 wOBA against Gordon.
Bichette is my favorite part of the stack, but Lukes and Loperfido are excellent options at the very top of the order as well. Guerrero is an expensive play but has a very high ceiling, and Barger’s metrics indicate he can go off in any matchup, but especially in such an offense-friendly spot.
2. Tampa Bay Rays
Junior Caminero ($5,000)
Yandy Diaz ($4,800)
Brandon Lowe ($4,400)
Ha-Seong Kim ($3,900)
Christopher Morel ($3,000)
The Rays are in Anaheim taking on the Angels to start the week, and they have a good matchup on Monday against Yusei Kikuchi ($7,900). Kikuchi has been decent this year, going 4-7 with a 3.30 ERA in Anaheim, but he has given up multiple runs in five straight starts, allowing 16 runs on 34 hits and six homers in 25 2/3 innings over that span.
Diaz is 7-for-26 (.269) with a double and a home run against Kikuchi in their past meetings and has averaged 7.8 fantasy points per game over his last nine. He and Caminero will be on the strong side of the splits against Kikuchi, who has allowed righties to hit 16 of the 17 homers he has allowed this year along with a .332 wOBA.
Kim and Morel are cheaper righties who can also supplement the Rays’ stack. Kim has only played 13 games and is hitting only .214, but if he hits second the Tampa’s batting order, he’ll have good upside as he settles into his everyday role. Morel went 4-for-10 in his last three games before getting Sunday off, and he still brings good upside, even though it’s been a disappointing year for him overall.
3. San Diego Padres
Fernando Tatis Jr. ($5,800)
Manny Machado ($5,600)
Jackson Merrill ($4,300)
Jake Cronenworth ($3,800)
Ramon Laureano ($3,500)
The Padres are in Arizona for a matchup between one of the biggest buyers at the trade deadline and one of the biggest sellers. The Padres added Ramon Laureano and Ryan O’Hearn to their everyday lineup while strengthening their pitching staff as well, including starting pitcher JP Sears ($6,000), who will make his Padres debut on Monday. He’ll go up against D-Backs starter Brandon Pfaadt ($6,600), who should be a good enough matchup to make the Padres the third of my MLB stacks for Monday night.
Pfaadt is 10-7 on the year, but he has a 5.11 ERA and 6.29 xERA after giving up a 48.1% hard-hit rate and 13.2% barrel rate through his first 22 starts this season. He gave up seven runs to the Tigers in his last outing and is 3-4 with 40 runs allowed in 54 innings over his last 11 starts. Lefties have 12 of the 20 homers he gave up this year, along with a .357 wOBA.
Merrill and Laureano will be on that side of the split on Monday, and Merrill has posted double-digit fantasy points in four of his last five games while averaging 12.4 fantasy points. He had a triple and three RBI on Sunday to finish with 18 fantasy points and help the Friars secure their seventh win in their last eight games.
Tatis has averaged 12.9 fantasy points per game this season in his seven games against Arizona and 9.4 fantasy points in his last 10 games. Machado has seven multi-hit performances in his last 11 games, including two home runs while averaging 12.2 fantasy points per game over that stretch.
