After an exciting Players’ Weekend, Major League Baseball gets the new work week underway with a busy Monday night. Eight games are on the main DFS fantasy baseball slate, which begins at 7:10 p.m. ET. Four of the eight games are divisional matchups, including the Dodgers visiting Coors Field to face the Rockies. With 16 teams in the player pool, there is no shortage of strong options to consider for your squad. If you’re having trouble squeezing your top options under the salary cap, check out these three bargain options with low salaries, and high ceilings who stand out strong MLB DFS value picks on Monday’s slate.
As always at this time of year, it pays to double-check the weather before the first pitch to avoid any delay or postponement issues. Nothing looks awful in terms of rain, but there is some potential for a delay in Minnesota and Colorado. The weather in Kansas City is notable since it will be hot and humid with the winds blowing out, which will make it more hitter-friendly than normal for that matchup between the Royals and White Sox.
Check out the full range of MLB coverage from the team at DraftKings Network, since these bargains are just one piece of the MLB DFS picture to consider.
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SP Nestor Cortes, San Diego Padres vs. San Francisco Giants, $6,500
The Padres started this past weekend’s series against the Dodgers with a one-game lead in the NL West, but after being swept, they’re two games back coming into the week. They’ll look to bounce back at home against the Giants, and they’ll give the ball to Nestor Cortes, who will be making his third start since joining the team at the Trade Deadline. Cortes went 4 2/3 against the Dbacks in his Padres’ debut and was even sharper in his last outing in this same matchup against the Giants.
He only went 4 1/3 innings but picked up six strikeouts while giving up just one run. He finished with 16.3 fantasy points in that start, even though he didn’t stick around quite long enough to qualify for the victory.
Facing the Giants is a favorable spot for him to put up another good total. The Giants scored seven runs on Sunday, but they only managed one or zero runs in five of their previous six games. They also have an MLB-leading 31.9% K% over the last week, and even in their win, they struck out 11 times.
2B/SS Ryan Ritter, Colorado Rockies vs. Los Angeles Dodgers, $2,800
The Rockies are giving more of their young hitters extended playing time, and now Ritter is back in the mix after missing just under a month with a laceration on his right middle finger. Ritter has shown good power upside with 24 homers in the minors in 2023, and had 16 homers in 55 games in Triple-A this year. He hit .303 with a .433 wOBA and a 41.1% hard-hit rate with Albuquerque this year, including going 4-for-15 in his quick rehab.
Ritter went 1-for-3 in his return on Friday with a double and seven fantasy points. He had 12 fantasy points in each of his last two games, going 1-for-4 with a triple on Saturday and 2-for-4 with two RBI on Sunday. Ritter should get plenty of playing time at second base the rest of the season to see if he can contribute to the Rockies’ core for next year. The 24-year-old ran a little bit in the minors, so he brings some speed potential, but he’s primarily a power option and a very good way to get Coors exposure very cheaply at either middle infield spot on Monday night.
OF Jake McCarthy, Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Cleveland Guardians, $2,700
From another NL West team, McCarthy has a nice ceiling with both power and speed potential as he battles for playing time in the Dbacks’ outfield. He has only played eight games in August, but he has gone 9-for-25 (.360) in those contests with a double, a triple, and three stolen bases.
McCarthy had his first three-hit game of the season on Sunday and stole a base while scoring two runs on his way to 18 fantasy points. He has at least 15 fantasy points in three of his last four contests with three multi-hit games and three stolen bases.
If he gets another start on Monday night against Gavin Williams ($8,500) as the Guardians come to Chase Field, McCarthy could be a great bargain play at this salary. He has both power and speed upside with solid recent hit production as well.
