Well NY Giants fans, at least there’s still baseball – for now. Then again, after the Jasson Dominguez news, maybe it’s time to turn to, oh I don’t know, horse racing? The ponies are always racing somewhere out there. But for those of you trying to win some money tonight on something other than pigskin, we’ve got some DFS hitters to target for your MLB matchups on Monday night.
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Matchups to Target
Bo Bichette
Bichette missed almost two weeks of game action, but came off the IL on 9/8 and promptly gathered two hits, 2 RBI, and scored a run, so it looks like he hasn’t missed a beat. He’s got the 7th-highest batting average in the MLB at .313 and a robust .829 OPS. Monday night in Toronto, the Jays will take on the fading Rangers who have dropped 7 of their last 10 games. RHP Dane Dunning will be on the mound for the Rangers who has had a decent season but might be running out of gas. Dunning pitched to a 1.77 ERA in April (mostly in relief), then 2.28 in May, then 3.62 in June, then 5.06 in July. It dipped back to 4.01 in August, but his last time out on 9/5 against the Astros was a forgettable one; he allowed 11 hits (3 HR) and 9 ER in 5.1 IP. And he’s not a “strikeout” pitcher as evidenced by his 115 K in 146 IP. Bichette has 11 at-bats against Dunning, going 5-for-11 (.455) with a double and THREE home runs in his career versus the righty.
Brandon Nimmo
Pete Alonso? Nope. Francisco Lindor? Nope. Brandon. Nimmo. Not that you can’t use the other guys, they’d probably all make a viable stack against Zach Davies (although Alonso is 0-for-7 off Davies, but Lindor does have 2 HR), however, Nimmo has been one of the more productive hitters for the Mets all season and perhaps even more so lately. He’s got at least 1 hit in 10 of his last 11 games, and he’s got 4 HR in 8 September games while easily eclipsing his previous career high in home runs (has 23, prior high was 17). The Mets take on the D-Backs in NY on Monday night, and Nimmo is 4-for-8 off of Davies in his career, with all four hits going for extra bases (1 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR). There’s a chance of rain in NY so keep an eye on the weather, but it should be warm and the wind is supposed to be blowing out, which should make for some good hitting conditions. Davies lasted just 3 innings his last turn while allowing 5 ER on 6 H, 3 BB, and 2 K, and brings a season-long 6.81 ERA and 1.60 WHIP into Citi Field.
Dansby Swanson
It’s another game in Coors so it’s another high O/U game with the total sitting at 11.5 as of this writing. Kyle Freeland will take the ball for the Rockies and while he shows flashes of being a quality pitcher at times (did you know he finished 4th in NL Cy Young voting back in 2018??), he hasn’t been great this season. He’s got a 5.09 ERA and 1.47 WHIP in 2023 and gives up a lot of production to righties (.312/.554/.911 vs .250/.356/.645 to lefty hitters). Swanson is a righty himself and he’s had success against Freeland in the past. Dansby is 7-for-15 (.467) off of Freeland, including a double, a triple, and a homer plus a walk. Perhaps most importantly is that in those 16 plate appearances Freeland has yet to strike Swanson out. The Rockies’ bullpen is one of the worst, so there should be opportunities there too. Swanson is having a very Swanson-like season, batting .249 with 20 HR, 73 RBI, and 69 R, but in his last two contests he’s 5-for-9 (.556) with a homer, 2 RBI, and a run scored, so he’s certainly seeing the ball well right now.
Rafael Devers
The Yankees-Red Sox rivalry plays out again Monday night in Boston, and while neither team is really in the playoff hunt (Sox 6 games out in the Wild Card, Yanks 8), there could still be some fireworks at Fenway. Clarke Schmidt will be on the hill for the Yanks, and while he was pretty good his last time out against the lowly Tigers (6.1 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 6 K), he struggles a bit more on the road (5.29 ERA vs 3.94 ERA at home; .282 opponent BA away vs .249 OBA at home). Devers has had some cold streaks but overall he’s having a pretty solid season and the power stroke is still there; he’s got 29 HR (17th) and 93 RBI (11th) on the year. In his career he’s 4-for-10 (.400) off of Schmidt with a double and a HR (1 BB:3 K). Between 2 games this past Saturday and Sunday he was 5-for-10 with a double, a walk, 2 RBI, and 4 runs scored. There’s a chance of rain in this game too and the wind could be a factor, so keep an eye on this one too. This game has a pretty high O/U of 9.5 and the Sox are favored.
DFS Value Plays
Tony Kemp ($2700)
I wish I had some intriguing numbers to throw at you to explain why you want to use him, but sadly he’s batting just .215 on the season and .176 in September. The only reason he’s here is because of his success against the opposing pitcher. He’s 3-for-6 off of Framber Valdez with a walk and zero K’s. One of those hits was a double. Valdez is a lefty and Kemp is too, but Kemp has reverse splits, meaning he’s been better against lefty pitchers this season (16-for-50, .320 vs 55-for-281, .196 against RHP). We’re trying to catch lightning in a bottle, just make sure he’s playing if you put him in there.
Leody Taveras ($2600)
After batting just .194 in August, Taveras has picked the pace back up in September, going 12-for-32 (.375) in nine September games, with 5 of those games being multi-hit efforts. He’s going against Chris Bassitt of the Blue Jays on Monday night, and he’s 3-for-5 off of Bassitt in his career. Bassitt has been very good at home this year, but if Taveras can keep up his hot hitting then maybe he can also steal you a base — he’s got 13 of them on the season. Â
Betting Angle
Mets Cover Spread : too many Mets have had success against Davies and they’re at home. Veteran lefty Jose Quintana goes for the Mets and he’s been serviceable with a 3.00 ER through 9 starts, and perhaps he can neutralize lefty Corbin Carroll.
Blue Jays Moneyline : Bassitt too good at home against slumping Rangers and some Jays have good numbers vs Dunning.
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