After a great Opening Day and a fun weekend full of drama, the first Monday night of Major League Baseball features eight games on the main DraftKings slate, which gets underway at 7:05 p.m. ET. The torpedo-toting Yankees aren’t on the slate, but it should still feature plenty of offense, since we’re getting to the back end of most rotations. Let’s take a look at the 16 teams on Monday night’s slate and examine my top three MLB stacks.
It looks like another relatively issue-free night from a weather perspective, with the MLB putting most potential trouble spots in the afternoon matchups. The slate includes our first look at the Athletics’ new home in Sacramento, as well as the 5–0 Dodgers hosting the 0–4 Braves in an interesting National League matchup. Finding the right MLB Stacks is a lot about finding lineups in good form in good matchups, and we’re starting to get enough data to know what form each team is in coming into their Monday night matchups.
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1. San Diego Padres
Fernando Tatis Jr. ($5,400)
Jackson Merrill ($5,200)
Manny Machado ($4,700)
Luis Arraez ($3,800)
Gavin Sheets ($2,200)
The Padres completed a four-game sweep of the Braves on Sunday Night Baseball and now host the Cleveland Guardians. They’ll face new Guardians hurler Luis Ortiz ($6,800), who had a miserable spring training and may be holding onto his rotation spot with a very tenuous grasp. He allowed 21 runs in 18 2/3 innings this spring, issuing 14 walks and giving up 23 hits, including three home runs.
Tatis has started the season on a tear, going 7-for-15 with a double, a home run, and three stolen bases. He delivered another big game in my Sunday Night Baseball picks and should keep rolling against Ortiz. Merrill has also started hot, going 6-for-13 with a double, a walk and five RBI. A less expensive but still productive way to round out the slate is lefty Gavin Sheets, who is 4-for-11 with a home run and a stolen base, who has typically been starting against right-handed starters like Ortiz.
2. St. Louis Cardinals
Willson Contreras ($4,300)
Nolan Arenado ($3,900)
Ivan Herrera ($3,100)
Victor Scott II ($2,400)
Luken Baker ($2,300)
Of the 16 teams on the slate on Monday night, no team has a higher team wOBA than the Cardinals, who also won with a sweep this past weekend as they trounced the Twins. They’ll continue their homestand by facing the Angels and going up against Tyler Anderson ($7,800). Like Oritz, Anderson struggled this spring, going 1-2 with a 7.41 ERA and giving up 14 runs on 23 hits in 17 innings. Since Anderson is a lefty, we’ll get our first look at the Cards’ lineup against a southpaw starter this season.
Arenado has five hits already this season with two doubles, a home run and a walk in his three games. Herrera got Sunday off but went 4-for-7 with two doubles and two RBI in his two games. While Willson Contreras is oddly 0-for-14, Victor Scott II has already picked up three hits and three stolen bases along with a home run. I also listed Luken Baker in my top value picks for the day, and he brings a high ceiling at his bargain salary. You can stack Baker, Scott, and Herrera all at bargain prices and then spend up on the big bats you want around them.
3. Chicago Cubs
Kyle Tucker ($6,000)
Seiya Suzuki ($5,000)
Ian Happ ($4,800)
Matt Shaw ($3,400)
Miguel Amaya ($2,200)
The Cubs’ offense struggled in Tokyo but looked much better in Arizona, piling up 21 runs in a four-game split with the Snakes. On Monday, they’ll head to Sacramento and take on Joey Estes ($6,600) in what should be a favorable spot. Estes went 7-9 with a 5.01 ERA and 4.94 FIP in 25 games last season, and he let righties hit .277 with a .343 wOBA. This Spring, he gave up 24 hits and 14 runs in 16 2/3 innings, including three home runs.
The righties’ bats of Suzuki and Shaw will be on the strong side of the split. Suzuki had two hits and his first home run of the season on Sunday, while Tucker homered in his second straight game and went 4-for-8 in his last two games. Amaya is also a sneaky solid cheap play behind the plate after starting the season 5-for-16 (.313) with four doubles as he continues to build on a strong second half from last year. The Cubs have a few big bats at the top of the salary structure but also offer nice value throughout as one of the best MLB stacks on Monday.
