It’s a lighter night than usual in MLB, and the slate could get even smaller with inclement weather expected in both Minnesota and Chicago.
Who can you turn to in DFS with limited options? Let’s highlight and breakdown three must-start assets for your DraftKings lineups on Monday evening.
Set your DraftKings MLB DFS lineups here: MLB $200K Knuckleball [$50K to 1st]
SP Dylan Cease, Toronto Blue Jays vs. Boston Red Sox, $10,000
I can envision Dylan Cease being a very popular option on tonight’s slate, though you’d hope Max Fried ($9,700) and Yoshinobu Yamamoto ($9,500) pull a little bit of the public’s attention with cheaper price tags. This just feels like slam dunk spot for the right-hander. Cease has arguably been the best starter in the American League to start the season, pitching to a pristine 2.10 ERA and a 1.45 FIP. Walks are always going to be an issue with the veteran, however, a 99th percentile strikeout rate (39.6%) and a 90th percentile ground ball rate (55.8%) help cover up the occasional free pass. Heck, Cease hasn’t even allowed a barrel in his 25.2 innings of work, let alone a home run.
On the other side of this matchup, we find the Red Sox. Now, Boston has scores 22 runs in its past two games. That’s noteworthy. Yet, for the season as a whole, the club ranks dead-last in the American League in home runs (19), ISO (.123), wOBA (.304) and wRC+ (84). The Red Sox also rank first in called strike + swinging strike rate (29.1%). That’s a bad omen with a strikeout artist like Cease toeing the rubber.
2B Brandon Lowe, Pittsburgh Pirates vs. St. Louis Cardinals, $5,100
Off the top of your head, do you know who has been the best hitter against right-handed pitching this season? Well, I guess that’s sort of subjective, but let’s say “best” is a measure of wRC+. It’s not Shohei Ohtani. It’s not Aaron Judge. It’s not Yordan Alvarez. It’s been Brandon Lowe. In his 74 plate appearances within the split, Lowe is batting .311 with a .377 ISO and a league-high 205 wRC+. Lowe also sports a .550 expected wOBA against RHPs, which is easily the highest figure on the Pirates. I’d say it was a pretty good trade for Pittsburgh’s much maligned front office.
Lowe’s value on this slate isn’t solely about how performance, though. It’s equally about the presence of Dustin May ($6,300). The righty is a pitcher whose ERA estimators suggest he’s been better than his ugly surface stats, yet that doesn’t change the fact that opposing LHBs have given him nightmares in 2026. The 71 lefties that May has faced have combined for a .391 average and a .625 slugging percentage. Look for Lowe to exploit that weakness on Monday.
OF Ramon Laureano, San Diego Padres vs. Chicago Cubs, $4,300
Just in general, I think there’s a case to be made that Ramon Laureano is underpriced on DraftKings. After a career-best campaign in 2025, Laureano’s started well again in 2026, slashing .255/.318/.459 with a 118 wRC+ in his 110 plate appearances. Also, while he might not be a very conventional leadoff man — he is the Padres’ leadoff man. There’s obvious value in inhabiting that spot in a team’s lineup.
Still, the real pull on Monday is an opposite-hand matchup with Matthew Boyd ($7,700). Going all the way back to the beginning of 2023, Laureano has managed a .213 ISO and a .831 OPS against southpaws like Boyd. We have a very large sample of the 31-year-old outfielder being able to handle himself against an LHP. As for Boyd, the veteran has been limited to only three starts so far in 2026, but opponents are making a lot of loud contact. In fact, Boyd owns a first percentile opponent hard hit rate (58.1%). That’s how you get a 5.71 ERA despite striking out two of every five batters.
