This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
We're somehow two weeks from the end of the regular season, with quite a few teams still having plenty to play for and a few already starting to pack things in. Sunday's FanDuel slate will cover 11 contests, including the majority of those starting between 12:35 p.m. and 3:10 p.m. EDT. Neither half of the Phillies-Marlins doubleheader will be included. The early finish means there's no need to worry about the Giants-Padres game at 4:10 p.m. EDT, which hasn't been officially canceled as of writing.
Pitchers
Max Scherzer, WAS vs. ATL ($11,000): Scherzer will take up far more of your budget than any other pitcher on the slate and certainly doesn't face an easy matchup against a strong Atlanta lineup, but is still so good even at age 36 that he's virtually matchup-proof. He's perhaps fallen off a bit since his 2019 season, but the numbers remain excellent. Scherzer's ERA has risen from 2.92 to 3.40 while his strikeout rate has fallen from 35.1 percent to 31.9 percent and his walk rate has jumped from 4.8 percent to 7.9 percent, but even this slightly worse version still places him among the league's best pitchers.
Michael Pineda, MIN vs. CLE ($8,200): Pineda has missed most of this season after testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug late last year. He hasn't missed a beat since returning to action, giving up four runs on nine hits in 13 innings while striking out 12 and walking just three. That gives Pineda a 24.0 percent strikeout rate and a 6.0 percent walk rate, very similar to his career-long marks of 24.2 percent and 5.4 percent, respectively. Long-ball problems have generally kept his ERA mediocre despite that strong combination, though that may not be an issue against a Cleveland team ranked 25th in the league in homers through Friday's games.
Frankie Montas, OAK at TEX ($6,800): Montas is easily the most interesting option among the day's cheaper arms. Some of that comes from his matchup against an awful Rangers lineup, which ranked last in the league with a 65 wRC+ - the product of a .215/.289/.351 slash line - heading into Saturday. There's plenty of reason to be interested in Montas for his own right despite his 5.73 ERA. The righty struck out 26.1 percent of opposing batters last season while walking just 5.8 percent en route to a 2.63 ERA, and that talent is still present. Montas looked to be heading down a similar path this year after cruising to a 1.57 ERA in his first four starts before stumbling to a 16.76 ERA in the next three. It's probably wrong to overreact to that short sample, especially as he bounced back to only allow two runs in five innings against the Astros in his last start.
Top Targets
Juan Soto, WAS vs. ATL ($4,900): It's not exactly news Soto is an incredible hitter, but it's still a surprise to see him hit quite this well. His 145 wRC+ and 142 wRC+ in his age-19 and age-20 seasons already represented a remarkable start, but he's taking a huge step forward in his third MLB season by posting a 207 wRC+ thanks to a .358/.485/.743 slash line. Soto demonstrated excellent plate discipline over his first two seasons, but he's now walking a career-high 19.1 percent of the time while posting a career-low 13.2 percent K rate. Those numbers are unlikely to get worse Sunday, as he'll earn the platoon advantage against Kyle Wright with his 8.05 ERA and 2.21 WHIP this year.
Bo Bichette, TOR vs. NYM ($3,500): The Blue Jays certainly could have been one of the stack recommendations for this slate, as they'll face Mets' rookie David Peterson and his 4.26 ERA with a 5.51 xFIP thanks to a poor 17.8 percent strikeout rate and 12.6 percent walk rate. If Bichette is allowed to play two games in a row immediately after missing nearly a month with a knee sprain, he should provide an excellent value. If he doesn't play, consider some of Toronto's other top righties instead. That injury has limited Bichette to just 15 games this season, but he's doing a fine job following up his strong rookie campaign. His .354/.382/.646 slash line does come in a small sample, though he may not fall all that far going forward since he hit .311/.358/.571 in 46 games as a rookie.
Bargain Bats
Gleyber Torres, NYY vs. BAL ($2,900): It's true Torres hasn't been at his best this season by hitting a modest .255/.367/.372. It's also true he's only homered twice. But this is still far too low of a valuation for a player who hit .278/.337/.535 with 38 homers last season. The 23-year-old shortstop appears to be starting to turn things around, as he's grabbed six hits over his last four games. Torres should be able to stay hot in hitter-friendly Yankee Stadium, especially as he'll get the platoon advantage against John Means, who's struggled to a 6.58 ERA this season.
Jose Iglesias, BAL at NYY ($2,700): Speaking of Yankee Stadium, selecting an Oriole or two on the opposite side of the same contest doesn't look like a bad idea against J.A. Happ and his mediocre 4.31 ERA that comes with a 5.33 FIP. Iglesias may be the best bet on Baltimore. The nine-year pro hasn't been known for his offense for most of his career, but he's suddenly hitting .351/.371/.469 in his age-30 season. While it's taken a .402 BABIP to get Iglesias there, Statcast actually loves what he's doing by giving him a .356 xBA. He still doesn't hit the ball particularly hard, though his hard-hit rate has jumped from a very low 24.2 percent all the way up to an above-average 37.6 percent.
Stacks to Consider
Angels vs. Ryan Castellani: Mike Trout ($5,000), Anthony Rendon ($4,500), David Fletcher ($3,500)
It's nearly always a good idea to stack at least one lineup at Coors Field, and picking on Castellani seems like the way to go here. The 24-year-old simply hasn't shown much of anything in his first seven big-league outings by posting a 5.34 ERA and a 7.52 FIP. He's allowing far too much contact, striking out just 15.7 percent of opposing batters and far too much of that contact has come in the air with a 36.8 percent groundball rate. Castellani is also walking 9.9 percent of opposing batters. The stack featured here includes likely leadoff man Fletcher and a pair of middle-of-the-order bats in Trout and Rendon who should love hitting in Denver.
Cubs vs. Adrian Houser: Anthony Rizzo ($3,300), Ian Happ ($3,300), Kyle Schwarber ($2,900)
Houser showed some promise last season by posting a 3.72 ERA backed up by a 25.3 percent strikeout rate in 111.1 innings as a swingman. He hasn't been able to maintain that level of performance, as his strikeout rate has collapsed to 17.6 percent while his ERA has jumped to 5.48. That ERA even overrates how Houser has pitched for much of the year, as he allowed just a single run in his first two starts. But across the last six outings, he's produced a 7.34 ERA. Toss in the fact this game is taking place at hitter-friendly Miller Park and this looks like quite an opportunity for the Cubs. The stack given here features the top three hitters who should get the platoon advantage against Houser, ignoring struggling righties Kris Bryant and Javier Baez.
