Monday night boasts lots of action, with only Miami and Tampa Bay idle. With some vulnerable pitchers taking the mound, we’ll look at some matchups to target and also give you some value plays to help you construct those lineups. Good luck!
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Matchups to Target
Julio Rodriguez
The Mariners are rolling right now, having won three in a row and eleven of their last twelve; a big reason why is because of how hot the 2022 AL Rookie of the Year has been lately. Rodriguez has a 12-game hit streak going right now, during which time he’s 28-for-57 (.491) with 5 2B, 4 HR, 18 RBI, 10 R, and 8 SB. He faces A’s LHP Kyle Muller on Monday night in Seattle. Muller was recalled 8/16 but in two starts since then he has totaled just 7.1 innings and carries a season ERA of 7.28 and WHIP of 1.89 into the contest. He has much worse numbers on the road this season and the lefty tends to give up more power to right-handed hitters. There is a small sample size to go off of here too, with J-Rod going 2-for-3 off of Muller in his career, including a double and 0 K.
Corey Seager
Seager is closing in on another strong month, slashing .314/.686/1.070 in August, with 5 2B, 9 HR, 21 RBI, 19 R, 1 SB, and 11 BB:15 K. Seager is a capable hitter versus both LHP and RHP, but tends to have a bit more pop against RHP. He’ll face the Mets and RHP Tylor Megill on Monday in New York. Megill has actually been better at Citi, but Seager is a superior hitter and with Texas having eyes on a division title and the Mets having waved the white flag on the season, look for Seager and the Rangers to be locked in Monday night. Seager has seen Megill in the past and in 4 plate appearances he’s 1-for-3 with a double and a strikeout.
Christian Yelich
Yelich and the Crew will take on Jameson Taillon Monday in Chicago. Taillon had been roughed up through the first few months of the season, but seemed to have made an adjustment that allowed him to sport a 2.67 ERA in five July starts and carried that momentum into August with a couple more good outings until the Blue Jays beat him for 8 ER in 3 IP up in Toronto. I’m not convinced though that Taillon has figured anything out; I think it was more a product of weaker offenses: Guardians, Yankees, Nationals, Cardinals (twice), etc. Last time out the chinks in the armor showed, allowing 4 earned to the Royals in 5.1 IP, and he’s given up a HR in five straight outings. Yelich is 8-for-20 (.400) in his career against Taillon, with a double, a HR, and 1 BB:3 K. Yelich is 0-for-9 over his last 3 games, but look for him to get back on track at Wrigley with the Brewers riding high on an 8-game winning streak. 
Anthony Santander
Santander is 9-for-23 (.391) over his last 6 games, which includes a double, 3 HR, 5 RBI, and 6 R. He’ll take on RHP Michael Kopech Monday at Camden Yards, and Kopech likes to give up the long ball, particularly in bunches. He’s given up 28 HR in 24 games, with games where he’s given up 2, 3, 4, and even 5 HR! So why not go with the Orioles HR leader and hot hitter in Santander? Well, maybe because he also strikes out a lot and doesn’t walk much (47 BB:119 K), but he does have a HR off of Kopech in his career (1-for-7, HR, 1 BB, 4 K). You could pivot to Adley Rutschman here if you wanted a more conservative option with upside.
Value Plays
Garrett Cooper
Cooper has broken out a bit lately, riding a 5-game hit streak during which time he’s gone 8-for-18 (.444), and he’ll square off against Adam Wainwright Monday in San Diego. Cooper has had success against Waino, going 5-for-8 with 2 doubles, a HR, 2 BB, and 1 K. Waino and the Cardinals are limping toward the finish line, with the veteran allowing 6 ER on 7 hits in 4.2 IP his last time out against the lowly Pirates, and carries an 8.61 ERA/1.99 WHIP into the contest.Â
Seiya Suzuki
The Cubs have had a favorable schedule as of late, facing the Royals, Tigers, and Pirates. Suzuki has taken full advantage, collecting a hit in all 10 of those games (16-for-37, .432) including 5 doubles and 2 HR. He faces Wade Miley on Monday, and he’s 2-for-3 off of the southpaw, which includes a triple (0 K).Â
Travis D’Arnaud
D’Arnaud and the Braves get the treat of hitting in Colorado on Monday night. There are other hitters in the Braves lineup that are much hotter than D’Arnaud, but if you’re looking for a cheap option at catcher he could be your guy. In addition to playing at Coors, D’Arnaud will see LHP Austin Gomber on the hill for the Rockies. Gomber allows an opponent batting average of .314 at Coors and has a 7.06 ERA there. D’Arnaud is 3-for-3 off of him in his career, and two of those three hits have been home runs.Â
DFS Stacks
Braves vs Austin Gomber
This game of course has the highest O/U on the slate and the Braves have many options to choose from. We already mentioned D’Arnaud, but Ozuna is destroying the ball right now and hits LHP well so you’d want to plug him in. Of course you can use Riley and Acuna, but Orlando Arcia has some of the better peripheral numbers against LHP (think ISO, wOBA, etc.) so he could be a sneaky value play too. This could be a high-ownership game though, so you might want to stay away from this game if you want a differentiated lineup (Rockies hitters could be high too against Bryce Elder).
Padres vs Adam Wainwright
It’s sad to see him go out this way, but you have to target Waino when he’s out there. We already talked about Cooper, but you’d have to consider the other stars here, such as Juan Soto, Fernando Tatis Jr., Xander Bogaerts, and Manny Machado. Ha-Seong Kim is having a nice year too and will atop the lineup, and if you’re looking for an under-the-radar source of power you could use Gary Sanchez.Â
Orioles vs Michael Kopech
The O’s have hitters aplenty to choose from, so in addition to Santander you could use Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson who has been much better in the second half of the season, Cedric Mullins who is 3-for-6 off Kopech in his career, Jorge Mateo who also has had success and is a stolen base threat, Ryan O’Hearn who could be a value play with some pop, and of course Ryan Mountcastle – although he’s 0-for-7 against Kopech with 2 K.
Brewers vs Jameson Taillon
I’m using Yelich, but Willy Adames has been a hotter hitter lately and so has William Contreras. Both are batting over .300 over the last 7 days and both have a pair of home runs during that time.
DFS Value Pitcher
Bryan Woo ($7800 on FanDuel)
Woo had a rough stretch from mid to late July which ended up with him on the IL. He was reinstated and pitched well his last time out on 8/22, going 4 innings while allowing just 3 hits and 1 ER (1 BB:3 K). Woo and his 9.6 K per 9 rate will take the hill against the young Oakland Athletics. The A’s have been surprisingly productive offensively lately, but Woo and the Mariners will be at home looking to collect W’s in a divisional race that has little margin for error at the moment. The A’s have one of the MLB’s highest strikeout rates per nine innings and Woo will take advantage.Â
Kyle Harrison ($6900 on FanDuel)
We talked about Harrison prior to his debut last week, and he got the strikeouts we expected (5 K in 3.1 IP) but was on a short leash, throwing just 65 pitches and allowing 5 hits and 2 ER. He faces the Reds in Oracle Park on Monday night, and despite having one of the younger and exciting offenses in the league, the Reds do strike out a lot (6th-most in the MLB). Look for Harrison to get a tiny bit more run in this one and hopefully rack up 6+ K’s.Â
Betting Angle
Kyle Harrison Over K’s : looking for him to get through 5 IP this time out and if he does, he should get this number.
Julio Rodriguez 2 Total Bases : see above for reasoning why!
Brewers Spread : Brewers could win this one outright, but at the very least they should keep it close with veteran Wade Miley on the hill who has had a terrific season.
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