Clayton Kershaw is worth the hefty price tonight
Monday night provides eleven games to choose from with plenty of solid options. There are only two games that may have weather concerns, and one of them plays a bigger factor than the other. I will get to that after I provide to you my lineup for tonight.
Here is my lineup for the evening with plenty of value options that will provide you enough salary relief to fit Kershaw along with a solid offense. Remember to bookmark our FanDuel Cheat Sheet for updated DFS advice.
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Pitcher
- Clayton Kershaw – LAD – $11,300
I am going to pay up and roll out Kershaw tonight vs. the Brewers in Milwaukee. Kershaw hasn’t had a monstrous outing yet, and the Brewers offense is the perfect team for him to do that against. He has a 12.35 K/9 while holding batters to a .213 AVG with a 2.42 FIP. The Brewers just fired manager Ron Roenicke, which is an indicator of how awful they have been. Kershaw is going to dissect this lineup.
Other Notables
- Jordan Zimmermann $8,900
- Dallas Keuchel $8,500
- Tyson Ross $8,300
- Alex Wood $7,700
- Jesse Hahn $7,200
Catcher
- Yadier Molina – STL – $2,200
It doesn’t get much better than this! Yadi is minimum salary tonight facing a lefty in Travis Wood. Molina has faced Wood plenty of times and has a .395 AVG with a 1.121 OPS. The Cardinals are at home and the weather is heating up which will make the ball carry more. Molina crushed LHP last season with a .348 wOBA and a 123 wRC+. This is the best bargain tonight at a position you don’t have to pay up for.
Other Notables
- Evan Gattis $3,400
- Derek Norris $3,000
- Miguel Montero $2,800
- Yasmani Grandal $2,400
First Base
- David Ortiz – BOS – $3,200
If you believe in batter versus pitcher (BvP) you probably won’t like this pick. Big Papi is 1-for-13 vs. Jake Odorizzi. Ortiz is playing at home, and Odorizzi is a fly-ball pitcher who pitches much better at home. The wind is projected to blow out to left at 16 MPH, and the temperature will be in the high 70s/low 80s. Ignore the BvP and take Big Papi, he has an absurd .497 wOBA with a 219 wRC+ at home this season vs. RHP.
Other Notables
- Adrian Gonzalez $4,300
- Anthony Rizzo $4,200
- Freddie Freeman $3,400
- James Loney $2,500
Second Base
- Dustin Pedroia – BOS – $3,000
I really like this matchup for Pedroia. The wind is blowing out heavily to left and Pedroia’s wOBA is .464 at home along with a 197 wRC+ vs. RHP. He only costs $3,000, and will be able to provide a ton of value.
Other Notables
- Jose Altuve $4,900
- Howie Kendrick $3,100
- Kolten Wong $2,400
- Logan Forsythe $2,400
Third Base
- Pablo Sandoval – BOS – $3,200
As you can tell I am targeting Odorizzi on the road at Fenway Park. The Las Vegas run total isn’t out yet, but it should be at least 8.5. Pablo hits much better from the left side of the plate facing RHP. His advanced stats are absolutely ridiculous this year when facing a righty at home. You make sure to have him vs. a right-handed fly-ball pitcher when he has a .535 wOBA and a 244 wRC+. His AVG is .462 with an OBP of .548. It really doesn’t get much better than that. LOCK HIM IN.
Other Notables
- Matt Carpenter $4,200
- Kyle Seager $2,800
- Chase Headley $2,700
Shortstop
- Jimmy Rollins – LAD – $2,700
I wasn’t sure which route to go at SS tonight. I decided to take Rollins over Peralta because Kyle Lohse has been atrocious this season. Lohse is struggling and is facing a red-hot Dodgers’ offense that leads the league in most offensive categories. Rollins will hit second in the lineup that should score plenty of runs, he has SB upside and has taken Lohse deep twice. Oh and by the way, Lohse has a 5.97 FIP. He has also been lucky as hard as that may seem, as he currently has a .220 BABIP vs. lefties that will surely correct itself sooner than later.
Other Notables
- Jhonny Peralta $2,500
Outfield
- Matt Holliday – STL – $3,500
- Mookie Betts – BOS – $3,00
- Andre Ethier – LAD – $2,800
Holliday has 4 HR with a .375 AVG over 42 ABs. If that isn’t enough, he has a .463 wOBA, 200 wRC+ and a .636 OBP vs. LHP this season.
I’m expecting the % of Red Sox to be lower than it should due to Odorizzi having a solid start to the season. Odorizzi is a much better pitcher at home. His career road ERA is 5.31, as he is allowing hitters to get on base .337% of the time and has a road wOBA of .354. I love Betts in this matchup as the leadoff hitter with a power/speed upside.
Ethier is doing a great job at filling in for the injured Carl Crawford and Yasiel Puig. He gets a favorable matchup in a hitter’s park; .465 wOBA, 203 wRC+ vs. RHP. Don’t shy away from Lohse, pick on him and enjoy the benefits.
Other Notables
- Bryce Harper $4,300
- Jacoby Ellsbury $4,200
- Joc Pederson $3,900
- George Springer $3,900
- Brett Gardner $3,400
- Nick Markakis $2,800
- Jon Jay $2,500
- Carlos Beltran $2,300
Cubs at Cardinals has a 40% chance of thunderstorms before the game begins, but the likeliness decreases throughout the evening and should clear up in time for that game to be played. Some people might fade that game due to the probability of the game starting in a delay. If anything it would be the pitchers you should worry about. The game that you need to monitor much more closely is the Diamondbacks at Rockies. Anytime the Rockies are playing at home the Vegas projected run total is usually the highest of the night and the % owned on each player is high. The weather forecast shows a high chance of thunderstorms throughout the night. With eleven games tonight and plenty of other solid options, I will fade this game unless the weather clears up substantially. Plus it is a division game that will give them more opportunities to get the game in on another date.
My Lineup
- P: Clayton Kershaw – LAD – $11,300
- C: Yadier Molina – STL – $2,200
- 1B: David Ortiz – BOS – $3,200
- 2B: Dustin Pedroia – BOS – $3,000
- 3B: Pablo Sandoval – BOS – $3,200
- SS: Jimmy Rollins – LAD – $2,700
- OF: Matt Holliday – STL – $3,500
- OF: Mookie Betts – BOS – $3,00
- OF: Andre Ethier – LAD – $2,800
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Matthew Davis is a correspondent for FantasyPros. You can find more from Matthew by viewing his archive or following him @_mattywood_.
