Slate Details
There are nine games on the slate for Monday night beginning at 7:05 p.m. with a lot of hitter-friendly environments in play as the Yankees, Blue Jays and Rockies host games.
Weather Impact
The good news is that the Padres are traveling to Coors Field in hopes of recreating some of the offensive magic they mustered in Mexico City earlier in the year. The bad news is that Denver might be underwater. According to weather reports, Denver is expecting widespread thunderstorms and has already issued a flood watch for this evening. With the start of this game coming two hours after the slate locks, players may not want to risk a delay or, worse, a postponement. Clearly, the pitchers were never in play, but with the weather being volatile, players can go two ways with the bats in Coors. The safe route would be to ignore Coors entirely, assuming that weather curtails the game. The game theory route would be to stack Coors in GPPs in hopes that the game plays with lower exposure on the hitters due to weather risk.
Every other game on the slate looks good to go from a weather standpoint. Pitchers in Wrigley may get a slight boost from the wind blowing in lightly.
Pitching
Corbin Burnes ($10,200 on Draftkings) and Tyler Glasnow ($10,500) highlight the elite arms on Monday’s slate. Burnes will likely garner the higher rostership percentages based on his stellar recent performances, putting up double-digit strikeouts in each of his last outings. His cutter-curveball combination should be enough to flummox the Nationals lineup that, outside of CJ Abrams, has not looked that impressive. Glasnow is an interesting pivot, as he matches up with a Yankees lineup that looked punchless in two out of three games at Camden Yards over the weekend. Glasnow has returned at least 22 fantasy points in each of his last six starts, making him a consistent and reliable source of points, but he lacks the type of ceiling that Burnes has in this matchup. Andrew Abbott is also priced way up, especially on Fanduel where he is the most expensive pitcher on the slate at $10,800. Abbott has posted back-to-back stellar outings, but it’s difficult to justify his pricing when Burnes is sitting right there. Abbott is a great GPP pivot, just because his rostership will be so much lower, but should be shied away from in cash games.
In the mid-tier, George Kirby ($8,600) is looking for a bounce-back start after posting a dud against the Twins last time out, facing the Red Sox Monday night. Marcus Stroman ($8,400) hasn’t looked good in either of his last two outings, but faces a Cincinnati lineup that he has traditionally pitched well against. Alex Cobb ($8,000) pitching at home against Arizona is an intriguing arm on this slate. Last time out, Cobb struck out nine and allowed just three hits to post 28.5 fantasy points, but that was against Oakland. Cobb and Kirby could make a solid 1-2 punch in Monday’s GPP slate if players want to go that route. However, pairing one of the cheaper arms with one of the elite may be a better roster construction for the slate.
Nick Pivetta ($6,600) is listed at a season-low salary on Draftkings, and faces off against a Seattle Mariners lineup that isn’t that scary. Last time out, Pivetta earned 22 fantasy points against the Atlanta Braves, posting five innings of three-hit ball with five strikeouts. He could absolutely replicate that performance in Seattle, one of the friendliest pitcher parks in the league. Jake Irvin is listed at $5,500 on Draftkings and could open up some salary for bigger bats. Irvin has posted four starts of 14 or more fantasy points this season, including each of his last two outings.
Hitting
If weather updates later in the day look favorable for Coors Field, the Padres bats (especially the righties) are almost lock-in plays. Targeting Austin Gomber in Coors Field has traditionally been a pretty good decision. Last time he faced the Padres (June 9 in Coors), he allowed seven earned runs on 11 hits, including three home runs. Manny Machado, Trent Grisham and Gary Sánchez each touched up Gomber for a home run in that game. On the opposite side, the Rockies get to face Seth Lugo. A groundball specialist, Lugo will look to keep the ball in the park against a Rockies lineup that just lost two of its better hitters. Ryan McMahon is an option, but his price tag ($4,500) may scare many away. Of course, if it rains out, players could lose their chances at cashing. NOTE: RANDAL GRICHUK AND CJ CRON ARE LISTED ON DRAFTKINGS, BUT ARE NO LONGER ON THE ROCKIES’ ROSTER.
Aside from Coors, players should be looking at the Houston Astros, Toronto Blue Jays, Tampa Bay Rays and, of course, the Atlanta Braves. The Astros get to face off against Noah Syndergaard in his debut with the Guardians on Monday night. With four hitters priced at $5,000 or more on Draftkings, players will have to pay up for the Astros stars. However, cheaper options like Corey Julks ($2,900) and Chas McCormick ($4,100) are definitely in play due not only to their power potential but their stolen base potential as well. Syndergaard has a well-documented history of struggles against baserunners.
Toronto is another star-studded lineup with three batters at $5,000 or more, as they face off against Kyle Gibson and the Orioles. Baltimore finished their Sunday Night Baseball game on an emotional high, defeating the Yankees to take two out of three games, and then had to travel to Toronto for Monday’s series. There may be a hangover effect looming over the Baltimore squad, making the Blue Jays an appealing option. Riding a rollercoaster season so far, Gibson has shown potential to implode with four starts of five earned runs or more this year. Several Blue Jays own solid career numbers against Gibson, including Danny Jansen (6-for-10 with three doubles).
Tampa Bay faces off against Domingo Germán, another boom or bust arm that projects to bust on Monday night. German has allowed a combined 11 earned runs in his last two starts, and hasn’t looked quite the same since throwing his perfect game at Oakland in June. Yandy Díaz at $4,800 is a solid play, owning a very good BvP record against German while projecting to lead off. Tampa lefties Luke Raley, Josh Lowe and Brandon Lowe also make high-quality plays on Monday night, though each are priced between $4,000 and $4,500.
Atlanta faces off against Griffin Canning and the new look Angels on Monday night. The Braves are one of the best lineups in baseball night in and night out and could pop off for double-digit run production at any time. Canning has been solid recently, so perhaps tonight isn’t the night to stack Atlanta, but one-off bats like Eddie Rosario and Michael Harris could pay off for fantasy squads.
Design by J.R. Caines (@JRCainesDesign on Twitter and @caines_design on Instagram)