It has been a strange ride so far this MLB DFS season with many unexpected outcomes, but that is why we are here -- to help the FA Nation (and SN readers getting this free sneak peek) build the most competitive daily fantasy baseball lineups possible and land in the green at the end of the night. DraftKings brings us a seven-game slate that locks at 6:10 p.m. ET, while FanDuel and Yahoo start at 7:07 p.m. ET with five games. We have elite pitching to go along with some stud bats this Monday evening, so let's break it all down, from the high-priced studs to the value sleepers.
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Today's MLB DFS Playbook: Lineup picks, tips for Monday
Miles Mikolas, SP, Cardinals (vs. Mets). Mikolas is sneak GPP play today. He is stretched out (91 pitches his past two starts) and has allowed only one run over his past two starts with a total of 12 strikeouts (almost a K per inning). With a 1.76 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, and 13:3 K:BB rate on the season, Mikolas should be a low-owned play on all sites.
Kyle Gibson, SP, Phillies (vs. Rockies). The Rockies are striking out over 30 percent of the time with a .140 batting average and .176 ISO against righties. Enter a cheap Gibson and his 2.87 SIERA and 9.68 K/9. Gibson may be a popular cash play tonight on DK due to his price and matchup, but anyone who has played MLB DFS long enough knows that he can go off the rails at any time, so this is a 'boom-or-bust" GPP pay for me.
Austin Hedges, C, Guardians (@ Angels). Hedges is starting to hit a bit (.330 BA over the past week with a home run on Saturday). In four at-bats against Michael Lorenzen, Hedges has three hits, which isn't much of a sample size but still good enough to put him in play as a minimum-priced GPP dart.
Max Muncy, 1B, Dodgers (@ Diamondbacks). I like Merrill Kelly as a low-owned GPP play, but you can't deny these Dodger BVPs. Muncy is 8-for-18 (.444) off him with a .259 ISO against righthanders. He is slumping with a .100 average over the past week, but he's too good of a hitter to keep down for this long.
Cavan Biggio, 2B, Blue Jays (vs. Red Sox). Ray Kuhn highlighted Biggio in his Daily Alarm Value Vault article this morning. He noted that Biggio has been terrible all season but does have two things going for him tonight: Platoon advantage over Nathan Eovaldi and nice BVP split of two home runs in just eight at-bats. He might be worth a GPP dart at stone minimum price. Biggio is also a punt play on FD at 3B.
Alex Bregman, 3B, Astros (@ Rangers). Bregman is at near-elite advanced metrics to start the season: .235 ISO and .406 wOBA with a 176 wRC+. Tonight, he gets a smash matchup against Dane Dunning, who is allowing 43.5-percent hard contact and has given up 17 hits in his three starts. Bregman also has three straight double-digit fantasy-point games, yet DK has dropped his price lower every day.
Mike Brosseau, SS, Brewers (vs. Giants). I have always been a Brosseau fan. He is multi-position eligible and can handle the bat a bit with a .208 ISO and hard-contact/fly-ball rates both over 40 percent against lefties. Sam Long comes in with an xFIP of 5.29 and gets rocked by hard contact. Brosseau is a sneaky minimum-priced punt.
Mike Trout, OF, Angels (vs. Guardians). Trout is my favorite pay-up on FD since the Phillies game is not on that slate. I am seeing Shohei Ohtani with much higher ownership projections at the moment, so why not slide over to Trout? He's been vintage Mike Trout lately with a .500 average, .500 ISO, and .641 wOBA the past week. Shane Bieber is no pushover, but Trout is as matchup-proof as they come.
MORE PICKS: SP Corbin Burnes, Brewers (vs. Giants); C J.T. Realmuto, Phillies (vs. Rockies); 1B Yuli Gurriel, Astros (@ Rangers); 2B Jeff McNeil, Mets (@ Cardinals); 3B Matt Chapman, Blue Jays (vs. Red Sox); SS Jeremy Pena, Astros (@ Rangers); OF Cody Bellinger, Dodgers (@ Diamondbacks)
For even more picks, plus full analysis and strategy advice, subscribe and check out Fantasy Alarm's full MLB DFS Playbook for Monday's slate!