This article is part of our DraftKings MLB series.
Sunday and afternoon baseball go hand in hand. DraftKings gets that, which is why the featured slate of contests covers the nine early afternoon games. That means getting your lineup in by 1:10 p.m. ET. If you're a regular MLB DFS player, you're used to that. Here are my recommendations to help you out on the contest front.
Pitching
Logan Webb, SF at WAS ($10,000): This is not so much a knock on the Nats – who were middling in runs scored last year and look similar to start this season – as it is a belief in Webb. He remade himself last year by posting a 2.71 FIP. Through three starts this year, he's recorded a 2.47 FIP. Webb looks like a legitimate ace these days, and it's easy to trust in aces.
Adam Wainwright, STL at CIN ($9,600): What Wainwright has done this deep into his career is incredible. Over the last three seasons, he's made 45 starts and posted a 3.06 ERA. The Reds are off to a slow start down in the bottom five in runs scored, which isn't surprising after they shed so much talent this offseason.
Justin Steele, CHC vs. PIT ($6,900): This is the inverse of my Webb recommendation. Steele has a career 4.30 ERA, but the matchup is what matters. The Pirates were last in runs scored last year and I expect them to finish in that range this year. Pitching at home against Pittsburgh is a good bet for a win for Steele if he can go five innings. At this salary, he's worth a shot.
Top Targets
The Rays don't have a lineup that's ideal for matchups with lefties, but they do have Wander Franco ($5,200). Baseball's wunderkind has been everything that was promised, especially against southpaws like Rich Hill. Franco has produced a 1.075 OPS versus left-handed pitchers since the start of his MLB career.
Since he's only in his first season as a Rockie, we know Kris Bryant ($5,200) doesn't rely on the elevation of Coors Field for his offensive numbers. He posted an .835 OPS and hit 25 homers with 10 stolen bases last season much closer to sea level. The righty will be facing Tyler Alexander, who has allowed right handers to hit .278 against him since 2020.
Value Bats
Last season, Rafael Ortega ($4,000) put up a .900 OPS against righties. The southpaw also batted leadoff Saturday and will continue to benefit if he stays in that spot. Ortega will likely be relied upon Sunday against the righty JT Brubaker, who comes in with a career 5.38 ERA.
Joey Wendle ($4,000) jumped ship, but stayed in state this offseason by moving from Tampa to Miami. He won't mind the shift given he's managed an .864 OPS on the road since 2020 compared to a .628 at home. And as with many lefties, Wendle prefers when a righty is on the mound. Bryce Elder will be making his third-career start Sunday. In his first, he allowed two home runs. And in the second, he walked five.
Stacks to Consider
Braves vs. Jesus Luzardo ($8,500): Ozzie Albies ($5,000), Austin Riley ($3,600), Adam Duvall ($2,400)
Luzardo has yet to live up to his previous status as a vaunted prospect with a 5.33 ERA during his career. This season, he's produced one good start and one poor effort, and being on the road against the Atlanta lineup is not encouraging from my perspective.
In Albies' first two full MLB seasons, he averaged 24 home runs and 15 stolen bases. Last season, he boosted that to 30 and 20. The switch hitter also prefers lefties like Luzardo, with an .898 OPS against them since 2020. Riley remade his swing last season and proceeded to slash .303/.367/.531 with 33 homers. This year, he's avoided regression with a .268/.379/.500 line. Duvall is one of the premier "Maybe he'll get you a home run" plays. Last season, he hit .228 but crushed 38 homers. And over the previous three campaigns, he's averaged .236 but slugged .512.
Cardinals vs. Nick Lodolo ($6,700): Nolan Arenado ($5,900), Paul Goldschmidt ($5,200), Harrison Bader ($3,300)
The first two starts of Lodolo's career could have gone better considering his ERA is at 8.00. If you think he's possibly just been really unlucky, his 7.04 FIP would beg to differ. Lodolo is a young pitcher who debuted with some promise, but until he shows it I'm happy to stack against him, especially with a couple of reliable veteran bats.
Arenado is having an "It wasn't all about Coors Field" campaign slashing .392/.456/.784 with five homers. Goldschmidt is off to a much slower start, but has managed a .278/.362/.483 line with two 30-homer seasons since joining the Cards in 2019 . Bader prefers to be on the road, as he posted a .984 OPS in away games last season. He also prefers a lefty like Lodolo having produced an .820 slash line against southpaws since 2020.
White Sox vs. Chris Archer ($6,100): Jose Abreu ($4,900), Andrew Vaughn ($4,600), Yasmani Grandal ($4,400)
I don't look at Archer's 2.16 ERA through two starts and feel like he's turned things around. He's basically made one good start, which doesn't make up for his 4.29 ERA since the start of 2016. The White Sox are dealing with a couple of banged-up players and a looming suspension for Tim Anderson, but I was still able to compile a worthwhile stack.
Abreu represents a reliable bat, so I'm betting he puts his slow start behind him. After all, he hit 30 home runs last year, and posted a .987 slash line during his 2020 MVP campaign. Vaughn was drafted for his bat and has slashed .306/.3875/.611 with three homers in his second year. You need a catcher on DraftKings, and Grandal is traditionally as good of a hitting backstop as you will find with five 20-homer seasons to his name and a .376 OBP over his four previous campaigns.
