This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
Happy Father's Day! We can all enjoy the holiday with some DFS success. There are 10 games on the slate, with the first pitch at 1:05 p.m. EDT. Here are my recommendations.
Pitching
Ben Lively, CLE at TOR ($8,700): Lively has gotten the green light to start Sunday after being pulled early in his last start with "unspecified tightness". That's good for the Guardians as he's been needed in the rotation, and also a pleasant surprise with a 2.59 ERA through 10 starts. Meanwhile, the Blue Jays have been a revelation for the wrong reasons as they sit bottom-six in runs scored.
Mitchell Parker, WAS vs. MIA ($8,300): With a 3.21 ERA through 11 outings, rookie hurler Parker looks like he'll be part of the rotation the next time the Nationals are actually good. I'm impressed the lefty has only walked 2.19 batters per nine innings and 0.88 home runs per nine innings. The Marlins seem primed to battle the Athletics for 28th in runs scored, which isn't exactly a riveting battle. But with a sub-.300 OBP and no power, they're actually threatening to finish last in OPS.
Jameson Taillon, CHC vs. STL ($8,000): Taillon bounced back nicely from his worst start of the season by tossing six shutout innings against the Rays to lower his ERA to 3.09. St. Louis has picked it up offensively, yet are still only ahead of the White Sox, Marlins, and Athletics.
Top Targets
When healthy, Christian Yelich ($3,900) has looked the best since he was MVP by slashing .333/.410/.509 with six home runs and 14 stolen bases. Frankie Montas has struggled to a 4.65 FIP while letting lefties go .289 against. Conversely, Yelich has produced an .896 OPS versus righties.
Let's see, batting .295 with 10 homers and nine steals? That sounds like the start to a Jose Altuve ($3,700) season. He's also registered an .875 home OPS. From the department of "win some, lose some", the Tigers got themselves a shrewd signing in Jack Flaherty. On the other hand, Kenta Maeda has been an absolute disaster with a 5.89 ERA while fellow righties have hit .301 against.
Bargain Bats
The seven home runs and nine stolen bases for rookie Jackson Merrill ($2,800) have been nice for the Padres, though it'd be nice if he earned more walks. The lefty has unsurprisingly struggled with southpaws, but has an .800 OPS versus righties. Also not shocking is that he's notched a .670 OPS at Petco compared to a .761 on the road. Tylor Megill has consistently been better at home, though carries a career 4.61 ERA while lefties have gone .277 against since 2022. I wouldn't stack against him at Citi Field, but a bargain bat is at least worth a shot.
It's been a mixed bag for Richie Palacios ($2,500) in his first season as a Ray as he's produced four homers and nine stolen bases with a remarkable 32.0 line-drive percentage. That's only yielded a .353 slugging percentage, but he carries a .532 home OPS and a .903 on the road. Hurston Waldrep will be making his second MLB start, and his first wasn't great as he only lasted 3.2 innings against the Nationals after conceding four hits, four walks, and seven runs.
Stacks to Consider
Cubs vs. Cardinals (Miles Mikolas): Cody Bellinger ($3,300), Seiya Suzuki ($3,300), Mike Tauchman ($2,800)
Bats will hit the ball against Mikolas. Since returning from overseas, the only season where Mikolas allowed more than two walks per nine innings was 2021 when he only logged nine appearances. And 2019 is the only season during his career where he's had more than seven strikeouts per nine. The righty has also posted a 4.80 ERA the last two seasons. That means opposing hitters get the opportunity to pick up hits against Mikolas, and they often do. Maybe these three Cubs will.
Bellinger hasn't replicated his 2023 campaign when he batted .307 with 26 homers and 20 stolen bases in his first year with the Cubs. However, he's still gone .268 with nine home runs and has been over .300 the last three weeks. I'll note the lefty has struggled at home, yet still recorded a .902 OPS at Wrigley Field last season. Over the last three seasons, righties have hit .262 against Mikolas while lefties are at .250, which is why I wanted to get a righty in the mix. Suzuki has produced an .860 OPS the last three weeks with a .797 versus righties and an .801 at home during his career. Unlike Bellinger, Tauchman has been consistently better at home since joining the Cubs with an .833 OPS at Wrigley Field the last couple campaigns. The southpaw is also currently at five homers and five steals.
Atlanta vs. Tampa Bay (Zach Eflin): Marcell Ozuna ($4,100), Austin Riley ($3,000), Adam Duvall ($2,700)
Eflin is a double Jekyll-and-Hyde pitcher. At home, he's impressed with a 2.90 ERA. But on the road, that number skyrockets to 5.02. This is a road start for Eflin. And even though he's right-handed, lefties have only hit .228 against and righties have gone .301. Atlanta's lineup has surprisingly experienced issues, yet finding three hitters for a stack was still worth it to me.
Ozuna is the one hitter who's remained constant for Atlanta with a 1.010 OPS versus righties, a 1.120 at home, and a 1.084 the last two weeks. Riley has been the biggest disappointment, but has slugged over .500 while exceeding 30 homers in each of the previous three seasons. He isn't chasing more or making less contact, though his BABIP is .296 and it was .335 during those three seasons. And Riley's .709 OPS versus righties is at least passable. Duvall won't hit the ball much or take walks, but he'll absolutely smash the occasional pitch having posted a .291 OBP with a .494 slugging percentage the last four campaigns. Even though he wasn't playing regularly when this season began, he's still produced six homers.
