This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
When the schedule was released at the start of the 2024 season, Sunday was the final day on it. Rain postponements may have led to Monday action, but this still has that "final day" feel. That includes a real uncertainty about who's starting games, how long they'll pitch, and who may get the day off from their lineups. On the other hand, all 30 teams are available for DFS purposes! First pitch is at 3:05 p.m. EDT. Here are my lineup recommendations.
Pitching
Logan Gilbert, SEA vs. OAK ($10,000): Once the Royals decided that Cole Ragans actually won't start their season finale, I had to pivot. Enter Gilbert. He carries an elite 5.76 K/BB rate with a 2.63 ERA in Seattle. Once again, the Athletics will finish bottom-10 in runs scored and will provide Gilbert a chance to end the campaign on a high note at home.
Clarke Schmidt, NYY vs. PIT ($8,300): In four starts since returning from a lengthy injury absence, Schmidt has posted a 2.61 ERA. That's in line with his 2.55 on the year. Schmidt has been much worse at home this season, but I'm willing to overlook that as his splits in the past went the other way. His issue at home has been giving up homers, and the Pirates will finish bottom-six in that category.
Michael McGreevy, STL at SF ($7,000): McGreevy posted a 3.39 FIP across 27 Triple-A starts, earning the 24-year-old a couple outings at the end of the MLB campaign (along with a spot start in July). The young righty has impressed with a 2.40 ERA through three appearances with one of those at Coors Field. San Fran's ballpark is much kinder to pitchers, and it seems like its lineup will end up 17th in runs scored.
Top Targets
Here's one last chance for Jarren Duran ($3,900) to add to his impressive counting stats facing a righty on the mound. He's managed a .914 OPS versus right-handed pitchers in 2024. Ryan Pepiot finally got the chance to pitch regularly in a rotation. And while his 4.00 FIP isn't terrible, it doesn't concern me against someone like Duran with his 14 triples and 48 doubles.
I'm not sentimental about anything Rockies-related, though maybe Charlie Blackmon ($3,500) is. He's been on fire since announcing he'll retire at the end of the season with the lefty recording a .972 OPS the last three weeks. Here's one last chance to take advantage of Coors Field, Charlie! Landon Knack will likely start for the Dodgers and he's struggled to a 1.80 HR/9 rate this year.
Bargain Bats
I don't know if Colton Cowser ($3,100) will keep following the Gunnar Henderson trajectory – though I'd bet against it – but he's compiled a rookie campaign quite reminiscent of his teammate with 24 homers, 24 doubles, nine steals, and issues hitting lefties. However, the southpaw has an .815 OPS versus righties. You can't solely blame Bailey Ober for the Twins reeling late and missing the playoffs, though he's posted a 5.45 ERA and 1.8 HR/9 rate over his last seven starts.
Nathaniel Lowe ($2,900) has registered a .358 OBP on the year, in line with his career .355. A first baseman who gets on base but lacks for power isn't the most-exciting selection for DFS purposes, yet he's slugged .436 against righties since 2022. Jack Kochanowicz will give Lowe a chance to hit as the righty enters with a 4.01 ERA alongside a 4.72 FIP. A part of that is that the Angels rookie has only managed 3.70 strikeouts per nine innings through 10 starts.
Stacks to Consider
Yankees vs. Pirates (Bailey Falter): Juan Soto ($4,400), Jazz Chisholm ($3,500), Gleyber Torres ($2,900)
Over Falter's last eight outings, he's produced a 5.18 ERA. In his first full season as a Pirate, he's at a 4.59 on the road. I do actually have two lefties below versus a left-handed pitcher. Righties have hit .264 against Falter the last couple years while his fellow lefties have gone .283.
Soto didn't bat .288 with 41 homers and 31 doubles just by mashing against righties. While his OPS is over 1.000 against right-handed pitchers, he's notched a .958 against lefties. Chisholm had been cold for a bit, but he just hit his 24th home run (and 21st double) of the season on Saturday. He also has 40 stolen bases on the campaign with a .705 OPS versus lefties. Torres has a .780 OPS the last three weeks with a .782 OPS against southpaws this season. He's actually slugged .500 versus lefties the last three years, so there's a track record of being superior in those matchups.
Phillies at Nationals (Jake Irvin): Kyle Schwarber ($3,900), Nick Castellanos ($3,100), Bryson Stott ($2,900)
Irvin pitched slightly better over many more innings in his sophomore season, and the Nationals will probably take that from a progress standpoint. That being said, he still has a 4.41 FIP and 1.42 HR/9 rate. Irvin's line-drive percentage ticked up a couple points, so it does kind of feel like the only real difference is a few screamers fell short of clearing the wall. He was definitely better against lefties this season, yet they still went .248 against and produced 17 of the 29 home runs he allowed, so there's two southpaws in this stack.
Even though Schwarber missed time, he still registered 38 homers and over 100 RBI. And I can see him going for his third straight season of at least 40. Schwarber has also slugged .514 on the road. Castellanos' production was down this year, though he was still swinging well as his line-drive percentage went up to 23.8 and his groundball percentage dropped to 37.7. Chalk it up to his .293 BABIP, well below his career .337. Maybe the luck was just late arriving as Castellanos has a .943 OPS the last three weeks. Stott's average dropped along with his power, but he's swiped a career-high 32 bases. He's also posted 11 home runs and scored 65 runs as a middle infielder.
