This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
Monday is one of the two days of the week where the MLB schedule is traditionally less robust. That is the case this week. We have six games on the slate for DFS purposes, with the first one starting at 6:35 p.m. ET. Here are my MLB DFS lineup recommendations.
Pitching
JP Sears, ATH at TEX ($9,800): Sears has built his 3.21 ERA off of an early slate of opponents, but he's handled them well enough to have a 3.21 ERA. Plus, one of those was this same Rangers team. Sears went five innings and allowed two runs along with five hits and two walks while striking out five. Not great, but sufficient. I know there is a lot of season left, but the Rangers are last in runs scored at this point. That's a surprise, but it becomes less surprising the longer it continues to be the case.
Jack Flaherty, DET at HOU ($9,600): Flaherty has been living the good life the last couple years. He reasserted himself as an above-average MLB starter with the Tigers last season, got dealt to the Dodgers, won a World Series, and then re-signed with the Tigers who have proceeded to start the 2025 season as one of the hottest teams in the league. Flaherty has been a part of that, as he has a 2.63 ERA and 11.20 K/9 rate. While the Astros have climbed out of the bottom five in runs scored after facing an overmatched Kris Bubic on Sunday, this offense has still been poor. The Astros are also very righty-heavy, leaving them vulnerable whenever a southpaw isn't starting for the opponent.
Top Targets
Even encumbered by a fluky injury, Freddie Freeman ($3,700) has been just fine when he's been able to play. Well, he has started off quite poor against lefties and on the road, but that is likely to continue. Also, neither of those matter here. Since 2023, Freeman has a .947 OPS versus righties, and now he gets to face Edward Cabrera. With Cabrera, you can expect a lot of strikeouts, a lot of walks and a lot of runs. To that end, he has a 6.14 ERA this year.
Though the Mile High City is cloud-adjacent, finding silver linings for the Rockies has been difficult this season. However, on that front, Jordan Beck ($3,700) hasn't looked overmatched by MLB pitching this season. In fact, he's been downright good. The 24-year-old has five homers and four stolen bases, and he's slugged .630. Bryce Elder has a 5.57 ERA and has allowed 2.14 homers per nine innings in four starts, and that's not likely to play at Coors Field.
Bargain Bats
Considering that Brent Rooker ($3,400) managed to hit at least 30 home runs in each of his last two seasons while calling Oakland home, his power bona fides are established. Indeed, even with a slow start this year the righty has slugged .496 and hit seven home runs. Patrick Corbin having a 3.77 ERA through three starts is a real credulity strainer, and indeed he has a 5.41 FIP. This is a guy who had a 5.62 ERA over the prior five seasons. Corbin also can be inked in every year to allow righties to hit over .300 against him.
He lacks for power, but the Tigers find ways to get Zach McKinstry ($3,100) in the lineup because he has speed. Last year he had 16 stolen bases and five triples in 118 games. This year he's stolen two bases but already has three triples. The lefty is also getting on base at a .426 clip. Ronel Blanco's luck seems to have run out. Last season he came out of nowhere to have a 2.80 ERA, but with a 4.14 FIP. This year he has a 5.01 ERA and a 4.53 FIP. Blanco has also, simply, pitched worse. He hasn't allowed any more home runs, but his strikeouts are down and his walks are up, and lefties have hit .265 against him for good measure.
Stack to Consider
Atlanta at Colorado (Ryan Feltner): Marcell Ozuna ($4,300), Ozzie Albies ($3,400), Michael Harris ($3,300)
Feltner was originally supposed to start Sunday, but his back was bugging him so he's presumably in line to start Monday. Even if he can't go, with the Rockies, everybody but Kyle Freeland is a righty, and everybody is a below-average pitcher. It really doesn't matter who is on the mound for Colorado. When this team with this rotation is at Coors Field, it makes sense to target them. With a righty, be it Feltner or perhaps German Marquez, in line to start, this is the stack I went with.
Ozuna is a righty, but he's the one Atlanta hitter that's been good all season, and he's on pace to slug over .500 for the third year in a row. Additionally, since 2023 he has a .550 slugging percentage against righties, so he's fine in such matchups. Albies is coming off a tough campaign in 2024, but he has four home runs and three stolen bases this season. The switch hitter tends to be better against lefties, but in 2023 he had an .803 OPS versus righties, and that's encouraging for this matchup. Harris had 16 homers and 10 stolen bases last season, but injuries limited him to 110 games. Even so, it was his third season in a row with at least 15 homers and double-digit steals, and he has three homers and five stolen bases this year.
