We're hurdling toward the end of July. Hurdling, I say! Ten games are on the slate for MLB on Monday, with the first pitch at 6:40 p.m. ET. And now, onto my DFS lineup recommendations.
Pitching
Chase Burns, CIN vs. CLE ($10,700): Burns has built upon his remarkable, if somewhat brief, debut campaign in 2025. His ERA is down to 2.42, and he remains a strikeout machine who seems primed to average double-digit strikeouts per nine innings for years. Cleveland is 29th in runs scored, so Burns may be primed to both rack up strikeouts and keep runs off the scoreboard.
Kyle Bradish, BAL at DET ($9,500): After a tough weekend, the Tigers may be back in, "Okay, let's trade the good pitchers" mode, with an offense in the bottom 10 in runs scored shouldering a lot of the blame. Bradish is walking into a good matchup but he's also been in strong form. Over his last six starts he's posted a 2.02 ERA.
Brandon Sproat, MIL at SFG ($8,700): Sproat doesn't tend to go deep into games, but after a rough start to his tenure as a Brewer, he has a 3.31 ERA over his last seven outings. Though the team's batting average isn't bad, the Giants are stuck in the bottom 10 in runs scored, and a pitcher-friendly home ballpark doesn't help on that front.
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Top Targets
In addition to having 18 homers and 18 stolen bases in only 85 games, as a shortstop no less, Elly De La Cruz ($3,700) has managed to get his batting average up to .278. The switch-hitter is finally hitting lefties, though, for years, facing righties has been De La Cruz's comfort zone. This is Slade Cecconi's fourth season, and he has a career 4.93 ERA and 1.56 HR/9 rate.
He's not going to get to 30 homers again, but to be fair Seiya Suzuki ($3,300) missed time and has hit his 18 home runs in 89 games. Much of his damage has been done against lefties, as he has a .940 OPS in those matchups. Southpaw Matthew Liberatore showed some promise after moving into a fulltime starter role last year, to the extent a 4.21 ERA can be considered promise, but his ERA has ballooned back up to 5.18 in 2026.
Bargain Bats
Over the weekend, Ryan O'Hearn ($3,200) picked up at least one hit in every game, including his 17th homer of the season. That tracks, as in his first campaign with the Pirates he has a .945 OPS at home. Merrill Kelly has an 1.59 K/9 rate, and he's given up at least one homer in six of his last seven outings.
Though he doesn't usually hit for power, Nolan Schanuel ($2,800) has a .979 OPS over the last three weeks. He's the one capable lefty the Angels have, seemingly in MLB or Triple-A, and he has a .375 OBP against righties. That is relevant because Tatsuya Imai has held righties under the Mendoza Line in his rookie season, but lefties have hit .259 against him and played a key role in his 5.59 ERA.
Stacks to Consider
Nationals vs. Blue Jays (Max Scherzer): James Wood ($4,500), CJ Abrams ($4,100), Luis Garcia ($3,200)
Max Scherzer is back! I'm not sure why! He hasn't been a viable MLB pitcher since, say, the summer of 2024. Last year he had a 5.19 ERA. This year he has a 10.23 ERA. Since 2024, lefties have hit .270 against Scherzer, and the Nationals' two star-level hitters are lefties, so this was an easy decision.
I think, like with Kyle Schwarber, we can be at the "Who cares?" level with how much Wood strikes out. Yes, he strikes out a ton. He also may have a .400 OBP this year (it's .396 now) with 30 homers and 15 stolen bases. Abrams may fail to get to 30 stolen bases for the first time in a full campaign, but it's only because he's taking so many trips to home plate in one go. The shortstop has crushed his previous personal high in homers by getting to 27 already, bolstered by a .600 slugging percentage against righties. How impressive has the Nationals' offense been? Garcia is out there quietly posting a .544 slugging percentage with 21 homers in 97 contests. He is particularly bad against lefties, but he's slugged .573 against right-handed pitchers
Red Sox at Athletics (Jack Perkins): Willson Contreras ($3,600), Curtis Mead ($3,200), Jarren Duran ($3,000)
Perkins is getting the experience, and the paycheck, of an MLB pitcher, and he can hopefully enjoy that while he's getting the opportunity. Also, while he may appreciate said opportunity, he may also really wish the Athletics would trade him so he didn't have to pitch so often in Sacramento. Don't wait around for Las Vegas, Jack! Perkins has posted a 7.15 ERA in the Athletics' hitter-friendly ballpark in his two-year career, which is not ideal. Righties have actually hit .279 against him, so I didn't mind going with two righties in this stack.
Contreras has been Boston's best hitter, so he was an easy inclusion given the matchup and the ballpark, though he has an OPS over 1.000 against lefties and at home, his .915 OPS against righties and .862 OPS on the road both work for me. Mead has joined the Red Sox from the Nationals, and he should jump right into the action at second base. He's never been this good before, so I don't think Washington was crazy to move on to bolster the rotation. That being said, Mead has an 1.142 OPS over the last three weeks, and fingers crossed he's looking to make a splash with his new team. Duran has had a rough year, but he still has delivered counting stats. Though he is below the Mendoza Line, he also has 13 homers, three triples and 15 stolen bases in 97 games.
