This article is part of our DraftKings MLB series.
There's no Game 7 of the NBA Finals on Sunday as that was already clinched. Fret not, though! Sunday brings us plenty of baseball as the main slate of DFS contests consists of eight games, and that's only part of the afternoon slate. The first pitch is at 1:35 p.m. ET. Here are my recommendations.
Pitching
Alex Cobb, SF at PIT ($8,500): Cobb's numbers look rough, but he's been unlucky. While he's struggled to a 5.73 ERA, his FIP is at 2.63. Cobb is returning from injury and steps into a favorable matchup to find his footing as the Pirates rank 28th in runs scored and have a sub-.300 team OBP.
Corey Kluber, TB at BAL ($8,100): This is a brutal day for pitchers, and Kluber is the only standout. Over his last six starts, Kluber has posted a 2.53 ERA. That should work well against the Orioles, who sit bottom-10 in runs scored.
Dane Dunning, TEX at DET ($7,800): This is all about matchup and the chance to save some salary. Dunning's 4.04 ERA is admittedly middling. However, the Tigers are last in MLB in offense by a wide margin and rank last in team OPS.
Top Targets
After hitting 25 home runs in 140 games last season, Willy Adames ($5,300) already has 13 this year. He's particularly hit lefties well slugging .525 against them. Southpaw Mike Minor has made three starts this year where he's produced a 7.90 FIP while giving up 3.68 home runs per nine innings.
Racking up homers and stolen bases is great for fantasy players, and that's where Adolis Garcia ($4,800) excels with 13 and 10 of each this year after 31 and 16 during his breakout 2021 campaign. Drew Hutchison will be starting for the Tigers, but he's mostly pitched out of the bullpen and struggled to a 4.58 ERA this year and a 4.95 over his career.
Bargain Bats
He's not the Luis Gonzalez, but he is a Luis Gonzalez ($3,300) and he's getting the first real playing time of his career. The 26-year-old has responded by slashing .308/.370/.452 with three home runs and six stolen bases. Mitch Keller has endured a strange career, but ultimately he's a guy with a career 5.79 ERA. Not only that, lefties have hit .302 against him since 2020.
Garrett Cooper ($3,300) is often slotted in at DH for the Marlins, and that makes sense. He's a career .288 hitter and this year he's at .313 with a .384 OBP. Leaving Oakland's pitcher-friendly ballpark, Chris Bassitt has posted a 4.01 ERA this season. Don't be thrown by his eight scoreless innings in his last start since he registered a 6.18 ERA across five starts.
Stacks to Consider
Braves at Cubs (Kyle Hendricks): Dansby Swanson ($5,200), Austin Riley ($5,200), Matt Olson ($4,000)
It's safe to say that Hendricks' 2021 campaign wasn't a fluke after posting a 4.89 FIP then and a 5.06 this year. The problem is suddenly he's getting hit hard allowing 1.55 home runs per nine innings over the last two seasons while lefties are hitting .281 against in 2022 after going .287 last season.
Swanson is on the precipice of producing double-digit homers and stolen bases with nine of each. He's arguably enjoying the best season of his career at the plate slashed .290/.361/.461. Last year was definitely the best effort of Riley's career when he put up an .898 OPS with 33 home runs. This year, he's gone deep 18 times and has slugged .519. Olson maintains a .345 OBP, and he's the one lefty worth a stack with an .832 OPS against righties since 2020.
Yankees at Blue Jays (Yusei Kikuchi): Giancarlo Stanton ($5,200), Josh Donaldson ($4,200), Gleyber Torres ($3,700)
Kikuchi's move to Toronto is going poorly with 5.18 FIP. He lists a career 4.93 FIP, so that's not too surprising. Kikuchi's big problem is the fact he's allowed 1.62 home runs per nine innings over his career. Since he's at least tamped down his fellow lefties, I'm going with three righties.
For the second straight season, Stanton has slugged .516 and greatly prefers being away from Yankee Stadium with a .954 OPS since 2020. Donaldson has also preferred being on the road as a Yankee with a .901 OPS. Also in the last two season, he's produced an .834 OPS against lefties. Torres is showing power like we haven't seen since 2019 when he hit 38 homers and slugged .535 with 12 and .502 in the current campaign.
Rays at Orioles (Jordan Lyles): Yandy Diaz ($4,700), Ji-Man Choi ($4,600), Manuel Margot ($4,200)
Baltimore is Lyles' seventh stop in MLB, but he still hasn't found a home that works. He's posted a 5.10 ERA, in line with his career 5.20 mark. He's allowing fewer home runs, but 1.24 per nine innings still isn't good. And this year, lefties have hit .297 against Lyles and righties .295. This isn't a homer-happy trio, but they can all hit.
Diaz doesn't offer power, but he's legitimately great at getting on base with a career .364 OBP and a .402 in 2022 that's helped him score 27 runs. Choi has slashed .293/.379/.493 and has a .815 OPS against right-handed pitchers since 2020. Five stolen bases from Margot isn't surprising, but he's hitting quite well this year with a .310 average to go with a .372 OBP.
