MLB DFS: Best/worst plays for Monday, June 14th

It’s Monday, the start of a new week, which means it is yet another day for us to fiddle with our phones to compose what we believe are perfect lineups in MLB DFS. There are 13 games on the schedule, with Coors being on the main slate. Besides inserting pieces from the Coors game between the San Diego Padres and the Colorado Rockies, this is a huge slate to dig into.

Weather

The only game on the schedule that currently is calling for any weather issues is the AL East showdown between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. There is a slight chance of rain around game time, so it will be worth monitoring the weather as the day progresses.

Pitching

At the top of the list of pitchers, Tyler Glasnow and Lance Lynn should both be pretty popular despite facing each other. It’s hard to argue that Glasnow and Lynn aren’t the best options on the slate, especially with a guy like Tony Gonsolin inexplicably priced as the fourth-most expensive pitcher on DraftKings. Sean Manaea is another expensive pitcher to consider. Outside of three starts that Manaea has made this season, he’s eclipsed 17 fantasy points, including in two outings versus the Los Angeles Angels (who he faces on Monday).

Will the real Dylan Bundy please stand up? Back at the beginning of the season, I wouldn't have hesitated to insert Bundy into my lineup at $8,400. However, in his last four starts, Bundy has surrendered eight home runs, with two of them coming against the Oakland Athletics late last month. Bundy will take the mound versus the Athletics on Monday and I’m not interested in him or any of the mid-tier options at pitcher.

If you’re looking for some cheaper options as your SP2 on DraftKings, then look no further than Vladimir Gutierrez and Brad Keller. Gutierrez has looked solid in his first three starts in the majors, limiting opposing hitters to 0.53 HR/9, and he’s only allowed a 2% barrel rate in his small sample size. He’ll draw the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday, who have Christian Yelich back in the lineup, but they have the second-worst average and the fifth-most strikeouts versus righties. As for Keller, he’s been hot/cold throughout the season due to relying on inducing ground balls. While it can be dangerous leaning on ground ball pitchers, there is always upside when a pitcher faces the Detroit Tigers.

Hitting

With Coors on the docket, there’s no doubt that there is going to be high ownership on players from the Padres and the Rockies. I’ll personally say that I’m not going to go out of my way to fit in a ton of exposure to Coors, as Austin Gomber has held his own at home and the Rockies aren’t exactly fielding a premier lineup in the MLB. Instead of the obvious choices, one way to get different is to play the lefties in San Diego’s lineup, like Trent Grisham, Eric Hosmer, or Jake Croneworth. On the other side, Raimel Tapia hitting leadoff and Yonathan Daza in the two-hole are priced affordably on DraftKings.

If the weather holds up in Boston, the Blue Jays have been one of the hottest teams in baseball, regardless of what handed-pitching they face. While Nathan Eovaldi isn’t a pitcher I usually target, Toronto is slashing 262./.326./.450 against right-handers this season. Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Marcus Semien, and Bo Bichette are all players who sport ISOs over .200 versus right-handed pitching. Cavan Biggio is another member of the Blue Jays to consider, as he’s hit a home run in back-to-back games against the Red Sox at Fenway.

The Minnesota Twins are a team that could go a bit overlooked due to playing in one of the later games. Minnesota will square off against Marco Gonzales, who has struggled this season, especially at home. Gonzales is giving up 33 percent hard contact to both sides of the plate at home, along with a whopping 41.4 percent fly ball percentage to righties. While the Twins aren’t at full strength, they still have guys who excel versus southpaws in Nelson Cruz and Josh Donaldson. Miguel Sano and Rob Refsnyder are worth taking a look at on DraftKings as a way to get cheaper pieces to Minnesota’s offense.

To close my early look at Monday’s slate, I’m also going to have exposure to guys like Kris Bryant, Willson Contreras, and Patrick Wisdom on the Chicago Cubs. Bryant has slaughtered lefties this season, Contreras will be batting ahead of Bryant, and Wisdom actually fields the highest ISO to left-handed hurlers on the Cubs (albeit in a small sample size).

Who are you targeting (or fading) in today’s matchups?