Below are stacks to consider for Monday’s MLB DFS action.
The Chalk
Seattle @ Texas
There’s a game at Coors Field tonight, but it’s actually the game in Texas that has the highest over/under of the slate per Vegas at 11.5 runs. The teams will play in the extreme and hitter-friendly Texas heat with two less-than-intimidating starting pitchers facing each other, Wade LeBlanc and Martín Pérez . Both lefties have exhibited noticeable platoon splits this season, with Perez especially struggling against opposite-handed hitters as his K-BB% against righties is the worst among tonight’s starters.
Nelson Cruz , Mitch Haniger and Jean Segura are Seattle’s three right-handed hitters who have been above average against lefties this season, and they’ll hit 2-3-4 in the order tonight. Kyle Seager will hit fifth behind them, and he has been above average without the platoon advantage this season. For the Rangers, four of their five best hitters against lefties are hitting 4-5-6-8 in the order tonight, Adrián Béltre , Jurickson Profar , Robinson Chirinos and Isiah Kiner-Falefa . Joey Gallo and his .333 ISO vs. LHP will be in the seven-spot, so that could be a five-man stack option.
Coors Field
It’s rare that a game in Coors doesn’t lead “The Chalk,” but that doesn’t mean the game isn’t still chalky as hell. The Rox will host the Pirates with the right-hander Joe Musgrove going for the visiting team and Kyle Freeland starting for the Rox. There is some chance of rain in Colorado tonight, so that could scare some ownership away, but as of this writing a rainout does not seem likely. Plus, people are used to this weather pattern in Colorado and most likely understand the low risk of a postponement.
Charlie Blackmon is out of the lineup for the Rox tonight, and Trevor Story is their only right-handed hitter who has been above average against righties this season, which makes stacking a bit difficult. Story and Gerardo Parra will hit 5-6 in the order with lefty Carlos González in the three-hole, so that’s where a Colorado stack should be focused.
As for the Pirates, the left-handed Freeland has significant platoon splits, so Pittsburgh right-handers are certainly preferred. Pittsburgh tends to throw very righty-heavy lineups at lefty starters, and they have five right-handers who have been above average with the platoon advantage this season: Elias Diaz , Sean Rodríguez , David Freese (DTD), Jordy Mercer and Francisco Cervelli .
Not the Chalk
Chicago White Sox
The only pitcher going this evening who has walked more batters of the opposite handedness than he has struck out this season is the newly acquired Yankee, Lance Lynn . With 20 starts on the season and a 5.10 ERA, Lynn is an unimposing matchup for opposing hitters. The White Sox are one of only three teams that are at least +170 underdogs, so this is as contrarian as picks get.
The Sox have four left-handed hitters in the top two-thirds of their lineup tonight, and all four have been at least league average against right-handed pitching this season. Those four are Yoan Moncada , Yolmer Sánchez , Daniel Palka and Nick Delmonico. Sandwiched between them are right-handed hitters José Abreu and Avisail García , both of whom have been better than league average against same-handed pitching.
St. Louis Cardinals
There’s not a pitcher going tonight with bigger platoon splits than Wei-Yin Chen . The left-hander has the second-best K-BB% among tonight’s starters against lefties (25 percent) but the second worst K-BB% against righties (3.1 percent). He hasn’t been pitching particularly well of late with a 6.75 ERA and 4.94 xFIP in his last four starts.
After Matt Carpenter leads off, the Cardinals will send nothing but right-handed hitters to the plate throughout the rest of the lineup. As great as Carpenter has been for the better part of months now, it’s probably best to focus your stack on St. Louis right-handed hitters. All seven of their right-handers (excluding pitcher Luke Weaver ) have a wRC+ of at least 91 against left-handed pitching this season, so there is not a bad righty in the lineup. Depending on your positional needs and budget, you should be able to compile a streamlined Cardinals stack at any point in the lineup.