This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
Feliz Cinco de Mayo, let's get to the MLB action. Monday's docket features eight MLB games starting at 6:40 p.m. ET or later. In order to help you get the traditional work week off on the right foot, here are my MLB DFS lineup recommendations.
Pitching
Cole Ragans, KAN vs. CWS ($9,600): I'm not worried about Ragans' 4.40 ERA. One, his groin was bugging him enough he missed a bit of time, and his last two starts were his iffiest. Two, he has a 2.73 FIP and 5.11 K/BB rate, so his performance has been better than his ERA would suggest. Surprisingly, the White Sox aren't buried in the bottom three in runs scored here in early May. Unsurprisingly, they are in the bottom three in team OPS.
Brady Singer, CIN at ATL ($9,400): Finding a second pitcher was a little trickier, but I ended up with a former Royal to go with the extant Royal. Swapped for Jonathan India, Singer has enjoyed a good start to his Reds tenure. Through six outings he has a 3.24 ERA and 9.72 K/9 rate. The righty also only has a 34.9-percent groundball rate, and he's never finished below 47.1 percent. More balls will end up on the ground. Atlanta has picked things up after a slow start, but it is still middling in terms of runs scored.
Top Targets
His usual power hasn't been there yet, but Manny Machado ($3,300) has hit at least 28 home runs in every full MLB season since 2015. He'll add to his three homers, and Machado is running more and has notched seven stolen bases. I wouldn't be surprised if Machado goes yard Monday. To the degree Carlos Rodon's numbers looks better in 2025, it's because of his improvement on the road. At home this year, the southpaw has a 4.76 ERA and 2.1 HR/9 rate.
After stealing 50 bases last season, Brice Turang ($3,300) has notched eight to start the 2025 campaign. His bat has looked decidedly better, though. The second baseman has averaged .315 and hit three home runs, which for him represents an uptick in power. Ronel Blanco never got the full dose of reality I expected after starting 2024 with a no-hitter, but it has arrived in full this season. Blanco has a 5.08 ERA, and lefties have hit .256 against him and only struck out five times.
Bargain Bats
Remember when the Astros had an imposing lineup? This year has been a struggle, but Jeremy Pena ($3,100) is rounding into form. The shortstop has four home runs and five swiped bags, and notably he's actually performing against righties this year. In the past he's produced against southpaws but has been mediocre-to-poor against right-handed pitchers. This season, Pena is flirting with an .800 OPS against righties, which would be huge for him. There's a good chance Tobias Myers, a righty, won't make it even five innings. He started the year in Triple-A, and he has a 6.63 ERA with the Brewers this season.
Last season Spencer Steer ($2,700) managed to have a 20/20 season while hitting .225. As such, I'm not too worried that he's started this year batting .206, and he does have three home runs and two stolen bases. AJ Smith-Shawver is only 22, so there is plenty of room for improvement for him. However, in his MLB career thus far he has a 5.38 FIP and 4.07 BB/9 rate. Plus, over the last two seasons his fellow righties have hit over .300 against him.
Stacks to Consider
Cubs vs. Giants (Landen Roupp): Kyle Tucker ($4,500), Pete Crow-Armstrong ($3,800), Jon Berti ($2,300)
Last year, mostly pitching out of the bullpen, Roupp limited home runs, but he also issued 4.65 walks per nine innings and had a 3.58 ERA. Now a starter, the righty still has issues with walks, but he's also allowed 1.20 home runs per nine innings and has a 5.10 ERA. I have two red-hot lefties from the Cubs, but I wanted to include a righty because in his career righties have hit .274 against Roupp.
I mentioned the Astros' scuffling offense, and no longer having Tucker is part of that. He has a career .875 OPS, and with nine homers and nine stolen bases he's likely to have his first proper 30/30 campaign. I say "proper" because he has a 30/25 and a 29/30 campaign to his name already. Crow-Armstrong has been a revelation from a power perspective, so much so I still have to have some skepticism. He already has nine home runs! What I believe in, though, are his 12 stolen bases and his triple. Last year, in all his rawness, Crow-Armstrong still had 10 triples and 27 stolen bases in 123 contests. It seems Berti has earned the third-base role for the Cubs, and he quietly has some high-level skills on the bases. Do you remember that in 2022 he stole 41 bases with the Marlins? This year he's stolen seven bases already. Plus, since 2023, he's averaged .282 against right-handers, who are easier to steal on.
Cardinals vs. Pirates (Carmen Mlodzinski): Brendan Donovan ($3,200), Victor Scott ($2,900), Nolan Arenado ($2,800)
Starting isn't going great for Mlodzinski. He still has kept the ball in the park, but many of those balls in the park have been line drives. The righty is being hit hard and hit often. Both lefties and righties have hit over .325 against him. That meant I wanted Cardinals, but not necessarily sluggers.
For second base, the fact Donovan hit 14 home runs last year almost qualifies him for a power hitter. However, he also hit 34 doubles, and the lefty already has nine doubles this season. You know, the kind of extra-base hit a line drive usually generates. Scott is one of the many MLB players taking advantage of the increase in base stealing. Not only does he have 11 stolen bases (and a triple), Scott has yet to be caught even once. Even if Arenado isn't the player he used to be, after picking up multiple hits in both games of a Sunday doubleheader with the Mets, he has a .341 OBP on the season. Also, the last few seasons he's been better against his fellow righties. Since 2023 he's averaged .276 and slugged .436 in those matchups.
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