This Monday is offering up a smaller slate and there are few weather concerns, except some intermittent clouds for the Cleveland-Chicago showdown. However, I don’t foresee any delays/postponements, so it should be smooth sailing for us to kick off the week. There’s some solid value on the board today, with my two favorite plays being an underpriced right-hander and a Houston left-hander. Keep on reading to find out who these two are, as well as other great value plays to help your lineup.

Both Sites:

Aaron Civale, SP CLE ($8,000 FD/$8,500 DK) - Over the last two weeks, no team has struck out more than the Chicago Cubs, and they have the lowest average in the league during that span at .170. They are more than 30 points below the next closest team! At home this month, the Cubs have the third-lowest batting average, and if you look specifically against right-handers, they are hitting just .168 (league worst) with a 23.9 percent strikeout rate (11th-highest) and .633 OPS (fourth-lowest). The Cleveland right-hander is 5-1 with a 3.69 ERA on the road this year and he’ll look to bounce back after a bad outing against the Orioles last week. Civale isn’t a strikeout extraordinaire, but in good matchups, he can miss bats, and just two starts ago, he punched out 11 Mariners in eight dominant innings.

Abraham Toro, 3B HOU ($2,000 FD/$2,100 DK) - Alex Bregman’s injury has opened the door for Toro, and he hasn’t disappointed. In his past three games, he’s hitting .636 (7-for-12) with one home run, five RBI, three runs scored and one stolen base! He’s super cheap on both sites and Baltimore’s Keegan Akin has allowed 11 earned runs in his last 9.2 innings of work, and has an overall ERA of 6.75 for the month of June. Toro doesn’t need to do much to provide a positive return on investment.

FanDuel:

Michael Brantley, OF HOU ($3,200) - Another Houston bat in here? Yeah, they should have a nice little evening against Baltimore’s Keegan Akin. The Baltimore southpaw has allowed a .351 wOBA and .333 average to left-handed hitters, and Brantley has hit southpaws at a .278 clip this year. Brantley has at least nine FanDuel points in four of the team’s last five games, and on the road this year, the veteran outfielder has an impressive .396 average and .436 wOBA. I can’t believe he’s only $3,200 on FanDuel. I truly cannot believe it.

Joey Votto, 1B CIN ($3,000) - Minnesota’s J.A. Happ has been tougher on lefties this year, but Votto is no stranger to Happ, hitting .391 with one home run against him in 23 at-bats. Happ’s numbers are better at home than on the road this year, but his 4.35 ERA is nothing to be scared of, nor should his 9.00 ERA through 14 June innings. Believe it or not, Happ has allowed four or more earned runs in six of his last seven starts. Load up on those Cincinnati bats.

Avisail Garcia, OF MIL ($2,600) - Garcis is a perfect 2-for-2 against Merrill Kelly for his career and he is homering once every 17.8 at-bats against right-handers this year, and that mark is even better when on the road (15.6 AB/HR). Kelly has a 7.07 ERA this month, and righties have posted a .285 average and .353 wOBA against him in 2021. Garcia has recorded nine or more FanDuel points twice in his past four games, and he’s hit safely in four of his last five.

DraftKings:

David Peralta, OF ARI ($2,600) - Peralta is hitting .286 in the month of June and he’s currently riding a six game hit streak. Now, all of his hits have been singles, so he hasn’t packed a punch with his hits, but he’s getting on base and has a .286 average at home this year. Meanwhile, Milwaukee’s Brett Anderson has served up a .340 wOBA to left-handed hitters, and on the road this year, Anderson has allowed a 5.47 ERA and five home runs in just 24.2 innings of work. UPDATE: Peralta isn’t starting. Take a look at Josh Reddick instead!

Jackie Bradley Jr., OF MIL ($2,700) - Bradley hasn’t hit righties all that well for the year as a whole, but Kelly has struggled of late, and has allowed righties and lefties to hit him pretty well. Bradley has done a great job getting on base, as he’s raised his OPS by 15 points over the last four games. During that span, he’s walked five times, notched two hits, scored runs and drove in two runners. Bradley’s patience should reward him, as Kelly has allowed a 7.07 ERA and 14:6 K/BB ratio in the month of June. This is more of a gut call than anything, to be honest.