This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
What does Sunday bring to us? Well, it brings us 15 MLB games. The first one begins at 1:05 p.m. ET and we're basically a fourth of the way through the season. That means we can start to respect some sample sizes when it comes to generating DFS lineups. On to the recommendations!
PITCHERS
Shane Bieber, CLE at SEA ($12,200): Bieber was a late addition, as I had John Means in this article until his start got pushed. So why not go with the one true ace in action Sunday? The reigning AL Cy Young winner produced an 1.63 ERA last year and has a 2.95 mark this season. He's an elite strikeout pitcher (career 11.39 K/9 rate) and the Mariners offer a largely punchless offense.
Huascar Ynoa, ATL at MIL ($8,400): Ynoa struggled on the road against the Cubs, but has been stellar otherwise. In fact, since that rough outing in Chicago, he's managed an 1.11 ERA in 24.1 innings across four starts. Milwaukee is near the bottom of the runs scored table, and a big reason for that is the second-lowest team batting average in the majors.
Alex Wood, SF at PIT ($7,500): Wood seems to be in the midst of a reclamation season in San Francisco, his first with the Giants. Through five starts, he's posted a 1.80 ERA, and even his FIP is 2.93. The Pirates finished last in runs scored last season and are down in the bottom-three in runs scored again this year, to the surprise of nobody.
Dylan Cease, CWS vs. KC ($7,400): Cease has improved his ERA every season. And through seven starts in 202, it sits at 2.80. Cease's strikeouts are also up and he's fanning 11.97 batters per nine innings. Pitching at home against a Royals team with an OBP floating around .300 bodes well for that to continue.
TOP TARGETS
Jesse Winker, CIN at COL ($3,900): At least for now, Winker has emerged as one of the top targets for DFS players. He's slashed .346/.403/.606, and this is not some total fluke. The 27-year-old impressed with a .932 OPS last season. If that wasn't enough, the Reds are at Coors Field this weekend. That kind of power in this ballpark is a great opportunity, especially with Antonio Senzatela on the mound for Colorado.
Bo Bichette, TOR vs. PHI ($3,700): Bichette hasn't hit quite as well this season as in his first two. But considering he's produced a career .866 OPS, that's a pretty high standard. And even in a slow start, Bichette has hit eight homers and stolen seven bases. Chase Anderson enters with a 5.26 FIP for the Phillies, and last year struggled with a 6.15 mark as a member of the Blue Jays.
VALUE BATS
Mike Yastrzemski, SF at PIT ($3,000): Last year, Yaz was a pleasant surprise who found himself in way more fantasy baseball rosters than any anticipated by putting up a .968 OPS in 54 outings. He's missed some time this year and has gotten off to a slow start, but this is a tremendous matchup. Mitch Keller comes in with a 7.81 ERA, and since 2019 he's allowed lefties like Yastrzemski to hit .321 off of him.
Jeimer Candelario, DET vs. CHC ($2,700): At times, Candelario has been intriguing. In 2018, he hit 19 homers and last season he batted .297 with a .503 slugging percentage. Candelario's power hasn't been there this year, but the Tigers have hit .286. Kyle Hendricks has been roughed up in 2021, as his 6.62 FIP will prove. The problem? The soft-tossing pitcher has allowed 2.86 homers per nine innings.
STACKS TO CONSIDER
Nationals vs. Luke Weaver: Juan Soto ($4,000), Trea Turner ($4,000), Kyle Schwarber ($2,600)
The Diamondbacks have a park that can be precarious for pitchers, especially when the weather is warmer. Of course, things always tend to be precarious when Weaver is on the mound. He had a 6.58 ERA last season and it hasn't gotten much better this year at 5.00. Obviously, Soto needs little to no introduction. His numbers are down this year, but he's missed a lot of time so I am not concerned. The man has a career .960 OPS! Turner has been on top of his game hitting .317 with nine homers and seven stolen bases. He's close to netting double-digits in both categories for the sixth-straight season already. You don't want Schwarber facing a lefty, but against righties (like Weaver) has posted a .512 slugging percentage since 2019.
Red Sox vs. Jose Quintana: J.D. Martinez ($4,300), Xander Bogaerts ($3,600), Marwin Gonzalez ($2,400)
Quintana used to be a reliably mediocre starter. You could bet on him for an ERA above 4.00, but he would eat up innings. This season? Not so much. Through six starts, Quintana's ERA is at 9.00. He's been unlucky, but the Red Sox lineup doesn't tend to yield much luck to opposing pitchers. Martinez is on a bit of a home-run drought, but he's still gone yard 10 times and has slashed .345/.424/.615. Bogaerts has hit at least .300 in each of his last two seasons and this year he's at .354. Gonzalez is something of a curveball, but he's a switch hitter who has recently been hitting leadoff for the Red Sox. If he can get on base, there are a lot of players who could drive him in. Martinez and Bogaerts command a high salary, so I wanted someone with a more reasonable value to include in this stack.
