This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
For a Monday, we have ourselves a fine slate of MLB action. There are 10 games on the docket, with the first pitch at 6:40 p.m. ET. In hopes of kicking off the traditional work week in style, here are my lineup recommendations to try and bring you some DFS success.
Pitching
Michael King, SDP vs. LAA ($10,400): Given that trading Juan Soto was something of a fait accompli for the Padres, getting King as part of the return has worked out well. After a rough opening outing he has an 1.71 ERA over his last seven starts. King now has a 2.80 ERA as a Padre. Getting on base is kind of important to a baseball team, which is a problem for the Angels. They have MLB's lowest team OBP.
Tyler Mahle, TEX vs. COL ($8,500): Sure, Mahle has a 3.28 FIP compared to his 1.48 ERA, but a 3.28 FIP is quite good. It's certainly sufficient for me to like him in this matchup against the Rockies. Though the Rockies are not last in runs scored or team OPS, they are in the bottom five in both. Given they play their home games at Coors Field, that qualifies them for MLB's worst offense in my book.
Clarke Schmidt, NYY at SEA ($7,900): Schmidt's first two starts went poorly, but his last two have yielded a 2.45 ERA. Last season he had a 4.50 ERA at home, but a 1.39 ERA on the road. Seattle's offense has been surprisingly above average, but it has a pitcher-friendly ballpark. Also, the Mariners are starting Emerson Hancock, so if Schmidt can go five innings, there's a good chance he gets a win.
Find out which projected starters will be in action with RotoWire's Probable Pitchers page!
Top Targets
I mentioned Hancock, Seattle's projected starter, earlier, and now I am recommending Ben Rice ($3,400) against Hancock. The lefty has a .368 OBP and hit his ninth homer of the season Sunday. He also now has an OPS over 1.000 against right-handed pitchers. Hancock has an issue and it's that he's not good enough to pitch in MLB. He has a career 4.95 ERA and 5.79 K/9 rate. This year that ERA is up to 5.70 through five starts, and he even had a 3.72 ERA in two Triple-A starts.
After having 16 homers and 19 stolen bases in a somewhat overlooked rookie campaign, Wyatt Langford ($3,400) has six of the former and seven of the latter this season. Though he's been much better on the road in 2025, he was decidedly better at home as a rookie, so I'm willing to chalk that up to noise in the sample size. Chase Dollander has only made six MLB starts, so there could be noise in his sample size as well. However, away from Coors Field he has a 6.10 ERA and 1.7 HR/9 rate, so I'm willing to take a shot on that.
Bargain Bats
With a .901 OPS over the last three weeks, Riley Greene ($3,200) has put a slow start behind him. He's also now up to nine homers and six doubles, showing plenty of power, especially against righties. Even if a lot of Tanner Houck's 6.10 ERA still comes from one horrendous start against the Rays, he has a 3.57 ERA in four starts since then, and on the season lefties have smashed him to the tune of a .348 average.
Look, we're all Tigers fans here. Or, you know, maybe it's just me. However, fond memories aside, Justin Verlander just can't hack it at the MLB level any longer. He's 42 and has a 5.17 ERA over the last two seasons. It's a real "Let me add to my counting stats and hope Hall of Fame voters forget just how bad I looked on the mound at the tail end" kind of vibe. All that's to say I like Pavin Smith ($3,000) against Verlander even if he isn't likely to continue to post a .313/.447/.535 slash line. Last year, in 135 plate appearances against righties, the southpaw did have a .920 OPS.
Stacks to Consider
Cubs vs. Marlins (Cal Quantrill): Kyle Tucker ($4,400), Seiya Suzuki ($3,600), Dansby Swanson ($3,100)
It's remarkable, and speaks to an overall lack of quality in Quantrill's pitching, that he's primed to sandwich his one season with the Rockies with two campaigns wherein he posted a higher ERA. He had a 4.98 ERA with Colorado, which is not good, but the year prior he had a 5.24 ERA with Cleveland, and this year in Miami he has a 7.11 ERA. Though Quantrill is a righty, I have two right-handed hitters in this stack. Since 2023 righties have hit .296 against him, and this year they have hit an incredible .426. Righties have collectively been Rogers Hornsby out there.
Tucker is a lefty, but he's also awesome so he's well worth stacking. He already has 10 homers and 10 stolen bases and you can't even neutralize him with a southpaw out of the bullpen. Over the last three seasons he has a .905 OPS versus lefties. Suzuki's OBP is barely over .300, but he's slugged .493. He's already racked up nine homers and two triples, and Quantrill's 6.25 K/9 rate means the Japanese outfielder will have a chance to put the ball in play. Swanson started slow but has a .988 OPS over the last three weeks. He also has eight homers and four stolen bases from the shortstop position.
Padres vs. Angels (Yusei Kikuchi): Fernando Tatis ($4,000), Manny Machado ($3,400), Xander Bogaerts ($2,900)
Kikuchi can viably handle his fellow lefties, but that's about it. He has a 4.60 FIP this season, in line with his career 4.49 FIP. Kikuchi also has a 5.19 ERA on the road this year. While his homer rate has remained steady, his strikeouts are down and his walk rate is up. In fact, his swinging strike rate is all the way down to 8.9 percent. The problem is those right-handed hitters. Since 2023, he's held lefties to a .216 average, but righties have hit .259 against him and have averaged .277 this season.
Tatis has hit .320 with nine homers and eight stolen bases. He's been quite poor against lefties to start the season, but as recently as 2023 he had a .915 OPS in those matchups. Plus, he's better at home where he has an .866 OPS over the last three seasons. Machado has hit .324 and altered his style a bit. While he only has three homers he's tallied 14 doubles and seven stolen bases. He's been excellent against lefties and has an .869 OPS in those matchups since 2023 so there's no hesitation here. Playing shortstop, Bogaerts doesn't have to deliver as much offensively to provide value. He has two home runs and six stolen bases, and over the last three seasons he's averaged .270 against lefties.
Check out who to target the rest of the way with RotoWire's MLB Rest of Season Projections!
