This article is part of our DraftKings MLB series.
The final weekend before the All-Star break kicks off Friday night. We have 12 games on the slate for MLB purposes. Looking to have some DFS success before a couple days without games? Here are my lineup recommendations. First pitch is at 7:05 p.m. ET!
Pitching
Sean Manaea, NYM vs. COL ($8,600): Over his last five starts, Manaea has an 1.57 ERA. The Rockies, meanwhile, are on the cusp of the bottom 10 in runs scored. Given that they play their home games at Coors Field, that speaks to a real lack of punch offensively.
Tyler Anderson, LAA vs. SEA ($7,900): Anderson was given an extra day of rest, but he still gets to face the Mariners. That's good for him, as Seattle is in the bottom five in runs scored and team OPS. The southpaw has held lefties to an .168 average, so the Mariners' lefties are likely in trouble, if they are even in the lineup.
Carson Spiers, CIN vs. MIA ($7,000): Spiers' 3.64 ERA this season is built in part on strong relief pitching. As a starter, he's been a bit spottier, but this matchup is worth targeting at this salary level. The Marlins are 29th in runs scored, but they are way off from 28th. They also are neck-and-neck with the White Sox in terms of being last in team OPS.
Top Targets
We've gotten classic Christian Yelich ($5,800) in 2024. He has an 1.050 OPS over the last three weeks, and on the season he has an OPS over .900 at home, on the road, against righties and even against lefties. Yelich will face Jackson Rutledge on Friday, and he has a career 6.86 ERA.
Two out of three ain't bad! Carlos Correa ($5,700) has delivered to the Twins what was hoped for in two of his three seasons with the squad. That includes this year, where he's slashed .310/.379/.526 from the shortstop position. Kyle Harrison has not delivered as hoped for the Giants, especially recently. The lefty has 5.55 ERA over his last seven starts.
Bargain Bats
Last year, Jarred Kelenic ($4,300) showed some potential finally thanks to a .738 OPS against righties. This season, the lefty has a .792 OPS versus right-handed pitchers. Randy Vasquez has a 5.15 FIP this season, and he has been remarkably bad against lefties. Just how bad? Southpaws have hit .431 against him. Yes, .431.
Some players are looking forward to a break, but George Springer ($4,100) is probably not one of them. He had a slow start to the season, but the former Astro has an 1.030 OPS over the last three weeks. Ryne Nelson has pitched in MLB long enough now that a couple of things certainly strike me as notable. One, his fellow righties have hit .292 against him. Two, he has a woeful 7.06 ERA at home.
Stacks to Consider
Yankees at Orioles (Cade Povich): Aaron Judge ($6,600), Anthony Volpe ($4,200), Gleyber Torres ($3,500)
I went to Povich's player page on Rotowire, saw that the most-recent update on him had the headline "Obliterated by Oakland," and I was immediately sold on this stack. When you allow eight runs in one inning to the Athletics, that does not bode well. The rookie also allowed six runs in 5.1 innings to the Blue Jays. Since Povich is a lefty, I am stacking three right-handed Yankees.
Judge already has more than 30 home runs and he is going to finish with an OPS over 1.000 for the third season in a row. The slugger also has an OPS over 1.000 against righties and lefties, so you can't even hope to limit him with the right bullpen arm. Volpe has been cold, but he also has six homers, seven triples and 15 stolen bases. The shortstop is a counting-stats star, even when he's struggled to get on base, so I'm down to include him in this stack. Torres has been good (by his standards), posting a .720 OPS over the last three weeks. While he's been terrible at home this year, he has a .712 OPS on the rod.
Mets vs. Rockies (Tanner Gordon): Pete Alonso ($5,400), J.D. Martinez ($5,000), Francisco Alvarez ($4,300)
I will grant you that Gordon's first MLB start, when he allowed five runs and two homers in 6.1 innings, came at home. However, he had a 5.35 ERA down in Triple-A prior to being called up, and last year he had a 6.23 ERA at the Triple-A level. I don't think a change of venue is going to suffice. While Gordon is a righty, New York's lefty hitters tend to struggle at home. Thus, an all-righty stack.
Alonso has 18 homers and 21 doubles, but his .455 slugging percentage is well below his career .519 number. He's slugged .480 at home, compared to .429 on the road, so perhaps this home stretch prior to the break will help. Martinez is a lefty crusher, so I wish he was going to face a southpaw. Still, his .274/.358/.474 slash line is not fully about teeing off on lefties. Plus, he has a .911 OPS at home in his first season as a Met. Alvarez is a fine choice for your DFS lineup's catcher. He's slugged .497 against righties in his career, and he has an 1.155 OPS over the last three weeks.
