Monday’s MLB slate rolls out a solid 12-game main card, and there’s real separation to be found between the studs and the values tonight. From a road trip to Coors Field that should juice up a couple of Orioles bats to a pair of established arms anchoring the pitching pool, this is a slate where smart salary allocation can make or break your DraftKings and FanDuel lineups.

Our approach tonight leans on pitchers with swing-and-miss upside who can anchor cash game lineups, then pairs them with hitters who either have a red-hot recent track record or a matchup dripping with upside. Here are five MLB DFS picks worth building around for tonight’s slate.

Jacob deGrom, SP — Texas Rangers ($8,800 DK)

DeGrom draws a home start against an Athletics club that ranks among the league’s weakest offenses, and this is exactly the kind of get-right spot an ace needs after a shaky outing. He was torched for eight earned runs in 3.2 innings against the White Sox on August 25, but that came right after a dominant six-inning, no-run, 10-strikeout gem against Washington on August 20. Across 130.1 innings this season, deGrom owns a 4.21 ERA, a 1.18 WHIP and 159 strikeouts with an excellent 11.0 K/9 rate, and his stuff still ranks in the 95th percentile league-wide for strikeout rate.

The volatility is real, but the swing-and-miss floor makes him a strong GPP anchor at a price point that’s more affordable than some of the other big names on the board. Against an Athletics lineup that’s struggled to make consistent contact all year, deGrom’s strikeout equity alone should clear his salary in most builds.

George Kirby, SP — Seattle Mariners ($8,700 DK)

Kirby gets a road matchup with the Red Sox, and while Boston’s lineup has heated up lately, Kirby brings a strong 126-strikeout season total and sits at a 9-10 record with a 4.02 ERA over a heavy workload. Projection models have him around 12.3 fantasy points on DraftKings, and his floor with a deep pitch mix and command profile makes him a viable two-pitcher-build partner alongside a cheaper arm.

Kirby’s ability to work deep into games gives him access to bonus scoring most mid-tier arms can’t touch, and pairing him with a cheap value bat frees up cap space to load up on the Orioles stack at Coors Field detailed below.

Roman Anthony, OF — Boston Red Sox ($4,700 DK)

Anthony has been one of the more interesting bats on the slate the last week, hitting .320 with a .440 slugging mark over his last seven games after a slower middle stretch of the season. He’s still building toward the ceiling that made him a $130 million extension candidate, and Statcast has him ranked fifth in all of MLB in average exit velocity at 94.5 mph, a signal that the loud contact is legitimate even when the average hasn’t caught up yet.

Facing Kirby and the Mariners at home in Fenway, Anthony’s left-handed pop plays well off the Green Monster, and at under $5K on DraftKings he’s a priced-right building block for a Red Sox stack. His exit velocity profile suggests more extra-base hits are coming, and tonight’s home matchup is as good a spot as any for that positive regression to show up.

Gunnar Henderson, SS — Baltimore Orioles ($5,800 DK)

Henderson and the Orioles travel to Coors Field, and even in a down offensive season by his standards, the shortstop still has 22 home runs and a .715 OPS on the year. Coors Field remains the most hitter-friendly park in baseball thanks to the thin air and expansive gaps, and Henderson’s raw power profile — a career mark of 108 home runs before his 26th birthday — makes him a strong bet to take advantage of the ballpark boost against a Rockies pitching staff that’s allowed a 5.38 ERA from its own starter tonight in Tanner Gordon.

Even with a modest .217 average over the last month, Henderson’s power hasn’t disappeared, and the juiced conditions at altitude give him a legitimate ceiling play at a mid-range price. He’s a strong core piece for anyone building around the Orioles’ trip to Denver.

Colton Cowser, OF — Baltimore Orioles ($3,400 DK)

Cowser is the value piece of this Orioles stack, and he’s been arguably the hottest bat on the roster over the last two weeks. Over his last 15 games, Cowser is hitting .324 with four home runs and a 1.045 OPS, a serious step forward after a slow start to the year. His season line sits at .228 with 13 home runs, but the current form matters far more heading into a game at Coors Field, where his emerging power stroke should have plenty of room to work.

At $3,400 on DraftKings, Cowser gives builders a cheap way to double up on the Orioles’ trip to altitude, pairing with Henderson at a combined salary that still leaves plenty of room elsewhere in the lineup. If you’re looking for cash game plays with a real recent track record behind them, this is one of the better price-to-production matches on the board tonight.

Building Your Lineup

Tonight’s slate rewards builders who can identify one anchor pitcher and lean into a park-driven stack rather than spreading exposure too thin. The Orioles-at-Rockies game stands out as the top stacking opportunity on the board — Henderson and Cowser both profile well at Coors Field, and rostering both together lets you capture correlated upside without needing to pay for a third or fourth piece from that same lineup. If you want to fade the popular Coors angle in tournaments, Anthony and the Red Sox offense against Kirby offer a lower-owned pivot with a similarly strong recent trend.

On the pitching side, deGrom and Kirby both carry strong strikeout equity, but their salaries mean most cash game builds will only be able to roster one. Cash game players should lean toward the arm with the safer recent form, while GPP builders can afford to pay up for both if the roster construction allows it. Before locking your DraftKings lineup or FanDuel picks, double check any late lineup swaps and confirm no last-minute scratches change the math on your intended stacks — and if you’re still shopping around for where to play tonight’s slate, the DraftKings promo code offer is worth a look for newcomers building their first cash game or GPP lineup. Balancing a couple of premium plays with rock-bottom value pieces like Cowser is usually the difference between min-cashing and taking down a large-field tournament on a slate this deep.