All 30 Major League Baseball teams are in action this Monday, with five early games and then 10 games on the main DFS slate that starts at 7:07 p.m. ET. As teams get near the end of the first time through their starting rotation, the pitching starts to get a little questionable, improving the matchup for offenses. With 20 teams and matchups on the board, there are lots of ways to put together your lineup for Monday, so let’s take a look at a few of the strongest offenses in the best matchups to build around as the day’s top MLB DFS stacks.
Before we get to the individual teams for today, let’s define exactly what we’re searching for. An ideal target for MLB DFS stacks is a team in a position to score plenty of runs based on its matchup and environment. “Stacking” is the strategy of including multiple players from the same MLB lineup on your roster so that they can boost each other’s production.
Ideally, MLB DFS stacks focus on players who are back-to-back or at least from the same part of the lineup to allow positive correlation. Since most run-scoring plays produce fantasy points for multiple players, stacking a high-scoring team can carry your entry to the top of the leaderboard. 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 matchups.
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1. Chicago Cubs
Pete Crow-Armstrong ($5,200)
Michael Busch ($5,100)
Alex Bregman ($4,400)
Nico Hoerner ($4,100)
Moises Ballesteros ($3,100)
The Cubs have the highest implied run total on Monday as they host the Angels and Ryan Johnson ($6,700) at Wrigley Field. Johnson will be making his first start in the majors after going 1-1 in 14 games out of the bullpen last year on his way to a 7.36 ERA and 5.52 FIP. Johnson was the 74th overall pick in the 2024 draft and made the team out of spring training last year, even though he hadn’t pitched at all in the minors. He was demoted to High-A in May of last season and was effective with a 1.88 ERA and 65 strikeouts in 57 1/3 innings. Johnson has real potential, but he still needs lots of work to get there consistently. He had a 3.05 ERA and a 23/5 K/BB in 20 2/3 innings this spring training, but his splits last year show he was hit very hard by left-handed hitters, which should set the Cubs up very nicely in an offense-friendly environment with the wind blowing out Monday night.
The Cubs scored 17 runs in their three games against the Nationals to start the year, with five homers and a .343 team xwOBA. Lefties Busch and Crow-Armstrong are good solid bats to build around, while Ballesteros is an affordable catcher that can help round out your stack and is also on the strong side of the splits against Johnson. PCA is hitting .308 with a pair of stolen bases this season and brings both power and speed potential. Busch is 4-for-12 (.333) this season, while Ballesteros has started slowly after his big spring. He hit .357 and had two homers and 10 RBIs with a .442 wOBA.
Bregman hit a pair of homers on Sunday and went 3-for-13 in his opening series, while Hoerner went 2-for-11 with a double and two walks after signing his extension.
2. New York Mets
Juan Soto ($6,200)
Francisco Lindor ($5,200)
Luis Robert Jr. ($4,500)
Brett Baty ($3,600)
Carson Benge ($3,000)
The Mets are in St. Louis to face the Cardinals and will take on righty Kyle Leahy ($6,200). In their three-game series with the Pirates, the Mets put up 18 runs with a .336 wOBA as a team, and they will be in a favorable environment in St. Louis with warmer temperatures and the wind blowing out to start the week.
Leahy is another reliever looking to move to the rotation. Last year, he went 4-2 with a 3.07 ERA and 3.04 FIP in 88 innings. In spring training, his strikeout numbers were up, but his 4.58 ERA and 4.45 FIP were also elevated as he gave up nine runs on 14 hits and three home runs in 17 2/3 innings.
Lefties hit Leahy harder last year, so stacking up Soto and Lindor at the top of the lineup with Benge as a bargain option at the bottom is a strong option to consider in Monday’s MLB DFS stacks. Benge homered in his first three games in the majors, going 1-for-10 but with a 60% hard-hit rate and 20% barrel rate. He should be due for some positive regression if he keeps teeing off.
Luis Robert Jr. also got off to a fast start to his first season with the Mets with a 5-for-11 weekend series.
3. Detroit Tigers
Riley Greene ($4,300)
Kerry Carpenter ($4,100)
Colt Keith ($3,800)
Kevin McGonigle ($3,800)
Parker Meadows ($3,000)
The Tigers are in the desert this week to face the Diamondbacks, and on Monday, they’re facing Michael Soroka ($7,500) in his first start for his new club. Soroka spent last year with the Nats and Cubs, going 3-8 with a 4.52 ERA and 4.23 FIP. He allowed 12 homers, including eight to left-handed hitters, who had a .414 SLG and .318 wOBA against him. Soroka struggled early in the season before finding his groove, and he may be set up to follow a similar script this season. He was crushed for 10 hits and six runs in his last spring training start and finished the spring with a 7.50 ERA and 6.07 FIP.
Chase Field is usually a good hitting environment, and it will be a major upgrade in Park Factor for the hitters moving from Petco Park. The Tigers’ offense scored 13 runs in three games in San Diego with just one home run and a .202 batting average.
The lefties in the lineup are a great place to start the stack and should be in a good spot to break out against Soroka. Greene, Carpenter and Keith typically hit in the top four in the order against righties and all provide good left-handed power.
Top prospect McGonigle didn’t appear overmatched at all in his first series in the majors, hitting .417 (5-for-12) with a pair of doubles, which were both barrels. He made excellent contact throughout his rise to the majors and is one of many young bats ready to make an impact right out of the gate this season.
