I’m not going to lie to you. This is a small slate. Heck, there’s almost as many Monday Night Football games being played this evening as there is baseball games. However, let’s just think of this as practice for when we get equally tiny playoff slates next week. Cool? Cool.
Let’s dive into tonight’s action on the diamond and find the best MLB teams to stack on DraftKings.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $75K Relay Throw [$20K to 1st]
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1. Arizona Diamondbacks
Ketel Marte ($6,000)
Corbin Carroll ($5,300)
Christian Walker ($4,900)
Eugenio Suarez ($4,700)
Joc Pederson ($4,600)
It’s almost impossible to overstate how much better than every other team the Diamondbacks have been at hitting since the All-Star break. In that span of time, Arizona owns the league’s best wRC+ at a staggering 133. The next best mark? The Padres at 121. This is the kind of thing that happens when you simultaneously lead baseball in average (.279) and ISO (.215). That’s a seriously impressive combination. Unless you happen to be Hayden Birdsong ($5,000). Then it’s a seriously terrifying combination.
Birdsong has shown flashes of brilliance in his rookie campaign, yet an anemic 13.9% walk rate has often led to trouble for the right-hander. This is especially true when Birdsong is forced to leave the comfy confines of Oracle Park or is facing a right-handed opponent. The 23-year-old is in possession of a 5.55 ERA on the road in 2024. He’s also surrendering an eye-popping 2.39 home runs per nine to opposing RHBs. This should all be music to the ears of Walker and Suarez, who will welcome Birdsong to Chase Field on Monday night. In particular, Suarez is the name to circle. Since the beginning of July, the veteran infielder is slashing .319/.362/.637 with a .999 OPS and a 169 wRC+. After a horrid start to the season, Suarez has seemingly turned back the clock to 2019.
2. Boston Red Sox
Jarren Duran ($5,500)
Tyler O’Neill ($5,100)
Triston Casas ($3,900)
Masataka Yoshida ($3,500)
Trevor Story ($3,400)
Obviously, the Red Sox’s lineup doesn’t look quite as intimidating with Rafael Devers (shoulder) on the IL, yet the team still provides a nice mix of high-end talent and value on tonight’s slate. It certainly doesn’t hurt that Chris Bassitt ($8,000) is toeing the rubber for Toronto, either. While Bassitt has been one of the game’s most consistent assets for a half-decade, the 35-year-old has struggled significantly in the season’s second-half. To wit, since July 4, Bassitt is in possession of a robust 5.45 ERA across 13 starts. As has often been the case in recent campaigns, it’s been LHBs doing most of the damage off the veteran RHP. In that same 13-start span, Bassitt has conceded 1.89 home runs per nine and a .400 wOBA within the split. Not ideal.
Boston has no shortage of left-handed bats to throw at Bassitt, including Yoshida, who is vastly underpriced on tonight’s slate. Yoshida has been hitting in the top-third of the Red Sox’s lineup with Devers sidelined and you can’t blame Alex Cora for assuming that’s the right move. Though Yoshida has never showcased plus-power at the MLB level, he has been an elite platoon bat in 2024, slashing .315/.378/.464 with a 136 wRC+ against right-handed pitching. Those numbers have only gotten better since the start of July, too. In his last 189 plate appearances within the split, Yoshida is batting .331 with a .903 OPS. He might just be Monday’s best bargain.
3. Philadelphia Phillies
Kyle Schwarber ($5,900)
Trea Turner ($5,700)
Bryce Harper ($5,400)
Alec Bohm ($4,400)
Nick Castellanos ($4,100)
This slate may be small, but it somehow features two right-handed pitchers named Hayden with reverse-splits. What are the odds? Hayden Wesneski ($7,900) is not starting tonight’s contest for the Cubs — that would be Nate Pearson ($7,900) — but the 26-year-old is expected to work the bulk of the innings in Chicago’s bullpen game. Wesneski has been nothing special in 2024, pitching to a 4.55 FIP across 63.2 innings. However, as referenced above, it’s been right-on-right matchups that have haunted the RHP. Wesneski has faced 150 right-handed opponents this season and they’ve combined for eight home runs. That’s 2.02 long balls per nine.
That handedness quirk creates clear viability for Turner, Bohm, Castellanos and J.T. Realmuto ($4,200), yet I want to instead focus on an LHB: Kyle Schwarber. Few hitters on this planet are as streaky as Schwarber, who has the ability to carry an entire team when he gets on a hot streak. Well, I think it’s safe to say he’s currently in one. Since a three home run effort back on September 3, Schwarber is slashing .324/.388/.718 with a .394 ISO and a 197 wRC+ in his last 80 plate appearances. I’d say no positional asset has a higher ceiling on this slate.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $75K Relay Throw [$20K to 1st]
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All views expressed are my own. I am an employee of DraftKings and am ineligible to play in public DFS or DKSB contests.
