Yahoo DFS Baseball: Monday Plays and Strategy

Yahoo DFS Baseball: Monday Plays and Strategy

This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Baseball series.

Baseball begins the week with 11 games on the schedule Monday. Seven of them will make up the main slate on Yahoo, so let's sift through the options and highlight some pitchers and hitters to consider.

Pitchers

Spencer Strider ($57) has followed up his 1.83 FIP and 0.99 WHIP from last season with a 2.28 FIP and a 1.05 WHIP this year. He has recorded exactly nine strikeouts in each of his four starts, generating a whopping 40.9 percent strikeout rate along the way. Expect him to provide another excellent performance against a Marlins team that has scored the second-fewest runs in baseball.

Facing the Yankees' lineup isn't exactly daunting right now. They still have a few dangerous hitters, like Aaron Judge and Anthony Rizzo. However, the bottom of their lineup is ugly and Giancarlo Stanton (hamstring) is out again. That has contributed to them averaging a modest 4.2 runs per game. They will also be on the road when they face the Twins, so Sonny Gray ($40) is a viable target. Across his first four starts, Gray has a 0.82 ERA to go along with a 2.19 FIP.

Jordan Montgomery ($38) was roughed up by the Diamondbacks in his last outing, giving up seven runs over four innings. He gave up his first home run of the season in that game, to go along with 10 total hits. He will look to bounce back in a favorable matchup against the Giants, who have struck out the most times in baseball and have the third-worst OPS versus left-handed pitchers.

Top Targets

Corbin Carroll ($18) has shown his unique combination of speed and power in the early going, hitting four home runs to go along with eight stolen bases. He has lowered his strikeout rate to 24.1 percent while recording a .355 wOBA. Up next is a matchup with Brad Keller ($27), who doesn't miss many bats and has a career 1.41 WHIP.

After getting hammered by the Twins in his previous start, Jhony Brito ($27) rebounded to limit the Angels to run one in his last outing. However, he wasn't exactly great, walking three batters over just 4.1 innings. He is certainly not an overpowering force, posting just 11 strikeouts over 15 innings. This could be a good matchup for Byron Buxton ($17). While he strikeouts out a lot, that might not be a problem against Brito.

Bargain Bats

Staying with the Twins' matchup against Brito, Carlos Correa ($12) and Jose Miranda ($7) are also appealing. Correa is off to a slow start, posting just a .278 wOBA. However, he had three hits against the Nationals on Saturday and he had two multi-hit performances during a four-game series against the Yankees earlier this season. Miranda has started to heat up, hitting 13-for-42 (.310) with a .356 OBP over his last 11 games.

Stacks to Consider

Angels vs. Ken Waldichuk ($27), Athletics: Shohei Ohtani ($21), Mike Trout ($27), Hunter Renfroe ($24)

Waldichuk has command issues. Through 54.2 career innings, he has walked 20 hitters. He has also given up 12 home runs, which is a terrible combination. An ideal player to build an Angels stack around is Trout. He is locked in at the plate, hitting 13-for-30 (.433) with two home runs and five doubles over his last seven games. Waldichuk's home run issues could also be a problem against Renfroe, who has a career .251 ISO.

Blue Jays vs. Lance Lynn ($41), White Sox: Bo Bichette ($19), Vladimir Guerrero Jr. ($21), Matt Chapman ($22)

Talk about a rough start. Through his first four outings, Lynn has a 7.59 ERA and a 1.83 WHIP. His FIP isn't much better at 5.90, and he has a 9.8 percent walk rate. Now he will face the Blue Jays in Toronto. Last season, they had the eighth-highest home OPS in baseball. One of their hottest hitters this year has been Chapman, who has a .316 ISO and a .476 wOBA.

Royals vs. Tommy Henry ($29), Diamondbacks: Bobby Witt Jr. ($15), Salvador Perez ($12), Edward Olivares ($9)

The Diamondbacks designated Madison Bumgarner for assignment, opening up a spot in their starting rotation. For right now, they plan to try and fill it with Henry. He made nine starts for them last season, posting a 5.36 ERA and a 5.88 FIP. He wasn't exactly impressive at Triple-A, either, with a 4.55 FIP over 21 starts. The Royals have had problems scoring runs, but this talented trio still has the potential to exploit a favorable matchup.

The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire. Mike Barner plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: FanDuel: mbarner, DraftKings: mbarner51.
RotoWire Community
Join Our Subscriber-Only MLB Chat
Chat with our writers and other RotoWire MLB fans for all the pre-game info and in-game banter.
Join The Discussion
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mike Barner
Mike started covering fantasy sports in 2007, joining RotoWire in 2010. In 2018, he was a finalist for the FSWA Basketball Writer of the Year award. Mike also won the 2022-23 FSGA NBA Experts Champions league. In addition to RotoWire, Mike has written for Sportsline, Sports Illustrated, DK Live, RealTime Fantasy Sports, Lineup Lab and KFFL.com.
Weekly Hitter Rankings: Miami Runs Machine
Weekly Hitter Rankings: Miami Runs Machine
Weekly Pitcher Rankings: May is for Streaming
Weekly Pitcher Rankings: May is for Streaming
Mexico Series MLB Best Bet for Saturday, April 27
Mexico Series MLB Best Bet for Saturday, April 27
Tyler Glasnow Prop & More Expert MLB Picks for Saturday, April 27
Tyler Glasnow Prop & More Expert MLB Picks for Saturday, April 27
MLB DFS Picks: FanDuel Plays and Strategy for Saturday, April 27
MLB DFS Picks: FanDuel Plays and Strategy for Saturday, April 27
DraftKings MLB: Saturday Breakdown
DraftKings MLB: Saturday Breakdown