This article is part of our DraftKings MLB series.
The weather is nice, May is heading into the home stretch, and we have a robust Sunday of MLB action. There are 11 games on the slate for DFS purposes, with the first starting at 1:05 p.m. EDT. Looking for some advice? You've come to the right place!
Pitching
Aaron Nola, PHI vs. WAS ($9,800): After a complete-game shutout against the Mets, Nola's ERA is down to 3.10. His first start of the season is still hampering his numbers a bit, though he's posted a 2.35 over his last eight starts. The Nationals rank bottom-five in runs scored and are still a team early in a rebuild, so Nola's ERA could be dipping even further on Sunday.
Sean Manaea, NYM at MIA ($7,700): It would be odd for Manaea to produce a career year at 32, but so far, so good. In his first season with the Mets, the lefty has recorded a 3.05 ERA with a 3.24 FIP. Miami's offense was already looking iffy before the Luis Arraez trade, and the team lists a sub-.300 OBP on the campaign.
Aaron Civale, TAM at TOR ($7,500): Civale's off to a slow start, but his 5.83 ERA is paired with a 4.30 FIP. And the righty has managed a 3.96 FIP across his career, so there's room for improvement. Speaking of slow starts, the Blue Jays sit 29th in runs scored. And with Alek Manoah in line to start, there's a decent chance Civale picks up a win.
Top Targets
Following up his Rookie of the Year campaign, Gunnar Henderson ($5,900) has accumulated 14 homers, four triples, and six stolen bases. Once again, he is excelling against right-handed pitchers with an .872 OPS. George Kirby's 3.58 ERA comes from a mix of six solid starts and three subpar ones, though he's a righty and that's to Henderson's advantage.
There's been a real surge of power from Josh Naylor ($5,300), who's crushed 12 home runs while slugging .531. The southpaw has an .856 OPS against righties since 2022 with a mark over .800 the last two years versus lefties. Chris Paddack is primed to finish with an ERA over 4.00 for the fifth straight season and he really struggles with southpaws as they've hit .352 against this year.
Bargain Bats
A lefty with power is what you want from the Rays on Sunday, and Josh Lowe ($4,500) is the one to go with. He's slugged .502 the last two seasons, though this year has been hampered due to injury. Manoah, who I mentioned earlier, has also been involved in limited appearances. His first start was a disaster. And while he didn't allow an earned run during his second outing, he gave up three overall. And while righties have gone .063 against Manoah this season, lefties are at .321 with three homers on top of hitting .274 against him in 2023.
It's not unusual for lefties to enjoy Yankee Stadium, yet Anthony Rizzo ($4,400) has really leaned into that with a .685 road OPS since 2022 with an .830 OPS at home, including a .476 slugging percentage. Chris Flexen is now starting with the White Sox and he's posted a 4.46 ERA, which isn't surprising given his career 4.91.
Stacks to Consider
Brewers at Astros (Spencer Arrighetti): Christian Yelich ($5,600), Willy Adames ($5,000), Jake Bauers ($4,400)
Arrighetti does not seem quite ready for an MLB rotation. He's now made six starts with the Astros and has struggled to a 7.52 ERA. Arrighetti does strike out a decent amount of batters, though he's also walked five batters per nine innings and allowed 1.37 homers per nine. With the righty still in the rotation, I'm stacking three Brewers.
Last year, Yelich hit 19 home runs and added 28 steals while batting .278, a real uptick. The southpaw has benefited from regaining his footing against righties with an .826 OPS versus them the last two years. Adames has managed at least 24 homers in each of his last three seasons and is already at seven alongside eight stolen bases. While he's a righty, Arrighetti has actually allowed righties to bat .383 against. Bauers is on his fifth team in five years, but he's enjoying his time with the Brewers with a .473 slugging percentage while recording five homers and five steals. He's struggled against lefties in the past, though has slugged .441 versus righties the last two years.
Mets at Marlins (Sixto Sanchez): Pete Alonso ($4,900), Francisco Lindor ($4,700), Brandon Nimmo ($4,400)
After significant time lost due to injury, Sanchez is pitching in MLB for the first time since 2020. He started in the bullpen, but worked his way into the rotation and has made four starts. Through it all, the righty has really struggled with a 5.96 ERA with only 5.16 strikeouts per nine innings. As such, Sanchez makes for a strong stack candidate.
Alonso is struggling, though also has 10 homers due to his power. He's slugged .524 across his career while slugging .520 on the road since 2022. Even with a sub-.300 OBP, Lindor has picked up seven home runs and six stolen bases. The shortstop is a counting-stats superstar, having tallied 31 in each of those categories last year. He's also one of several Mets who are decidedly better away from Citi Field with an .827 road OPS the last couple seasons. The lefty Nimmo carries an .829 OPS versus righties and an .885 on the road the last three campaigns. A pure lefty against Sanchez is a great idea to have on your roster as he's allowed southpaws to hit .359 this season.
