MLB DFS: DraftKings Plays and Strategy for Sunday, August 17

An all-lefty Red Sox stack is being recommended for your Sunday DraftKings MLB DFS lineups.
MLB DFS: DraftKings Plays and Strategy for Sunday, August 17

Let's close the weekend on a high note! It'll soon be NFL season, and Sundays will look different to sports fans. But right now, it's still about MLB with nine games on the DFS slate and the first pitch at 1:35 p.m. EDT. And now, onto the lineup recommendations.

Pitching

Logan Allen, CLE vs. ATL ($7,500): Over Allen's last seven starts, he's produced a 3.32 ERA. That's not going to win him a Cy Young, though it's still good and encouraging against Atlanta as they're on the fringes of the bottom-10 in runs scored. And while Ronald Acuna is back, he just returned. Austin Riley is injured while Allen is a lefty, which doesn't bode well for hitters such as Matt Olson.

Ryan Bergert, KAN vs. CWS ($7,200): Bergert has made two starts for Royals since moving over from the Padres where he's gone 5.2 innings and allowed two earned runs. That's led to him getting another start, and he'll get to face the White Sox on Sunday. Chicago and KC are battling to be 27th in runs instead of 28th, yet the former are decidedly worse in team OPS at .666.

Javier Assad, CHC vs. PIT ($6,800): Assad's first start after missing all season with an oblique strain was rough, but I'm willing to bet on his second trip going decidedly better at this salary. After all, the Pirates are going to finish last in runs, homers, and OPS. They've also collectively slugged .346, so Assad doesn't need to worry about their power.

Find out which projected starters are going and when with RotoWire's Probable Pitchers page!

Top Targets

Bobby Witt ($6,100) is kind of flying under the radar. The Royals haven't been great and he hasn't been MVP level, though just remarkably good hitting .290 with 17 homers, 31 stolen bases, and 38 doubles. Davis Martin has recorded a 5.14 road ERA while righties have gone .271 against.

A second baseman with 22 home runs is solid in DFS, and that's what Jose Altuve ($5,100) provides. For the second straight season, he's been notably better at home with an .849 OPS. Dean Kremer has also enjoyed being at home, yet has struggled to a 5.42 road ERA. And he's not in Baltimore on Sunday.

Bargain Bats

Though Ben Rice ($4,500) doesn't hit for average, he's posted an .824 OPS against righties. And as you can choose to roster him at catcher (or first base, if that's the route you want to go), that's sufficient. Miles Mikolas gives up a lot of contact. While he's likely going to once again finish with a BB/9 rate under 2.00, his K/9 rate is down to 6.04 with a HR/9 rate up to 1.61.

Evan Carter ($4,200) recently returned from the injured list, and he's already picked up a few hits. On the year, the southpaw has a .753 OPS versus righties and an .805 on the road. Jose Berrios takes the mound and eats up innings as reliably as anybody, yet he also delivers mediocrity just as much with a 4.42 FIP and primed to end up over 4.40 for the third time in four seasons.

Stacks to Consider

Red Sox vs. Marlins (Janson Junk): Jarren Duran ($5,000), Roman Anthony ($4,600), Wilyer Abreu ($4,000)

You need three outfielders in your DFS lineup. And if you're so inclined, Boston's outfield could be yours. It's a three-lefty combo that looks solid for this matchup. Junk enters with a career 4.99 ERA. While his 4.09 is passable, some of that was as a reliever. And over his last five starts, he's slumped to a 6.84. Lefties have also batted .322 against Junk the last couple campaigns.

The numbers are a bit down for Duran, but he'll likely end up with over 15 homers and 20 steals while at 12 triples. He's also slugged over .500 against righties and at home. Anthony debuted as a top hitting prospect and has delivered a .401 OBP with four home runs, four stolen bases, and 17 doubles across 55 games. On top of that, he has an 1.007 OPS the last three weeks. Abreu has done the inverse of Duran by exchanging some of his doubles from 2024 for more homers as he's already gone up in that category by six to 21. 20 of those long balls along with six of his swipes have also come against righties.

Tigers at Twins (Travis Adams): Kerry Carpenter ($5,100), Zach McKinstry ($5,200), Colt Keith ($3,800)

Another all-lefty stack! It's clearly a big day for southpaw hitters. While Adams has gone between starting and relieving, he's generally pitched bulk innings out of the bullpen. He's also pitched poorly as his 7.77 ERA indicates. Lefties have also hit .408 against Adams. That may only be against 59 batters, but that's still an eye-popping number.

Carpenter lives to obliterate righties who struggle versus southpaws as he's produced 22 homers through 96 games while slugging .553. While he's struggled on the road, he still has a .494 slugging percentage there since 2023. McKinstry has gone cold, though is batting .260 with 10 home runs, eight triples, and 18 stolen bases. And you can roster him at shortstop or third base. Keith is in form with a .774 OPS the last three weeks. Lefties have hurt him, but he does list an .809 OPS against righties.

Use our DraftKings MLB Lineup Optimizer to discover more expert recommendations, customize the player pool, set exposure percentage and mass-enter DFS lineups.

The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire. Chris Morgan plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: FanDuel: cmorgan3, DraftKings: cmorgan3.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Chris Morgan is a writer of sports, pop culture, and humor articles, a book author, a podcaster, and a fan of all Detroit sports teams.
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