This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
Sunday is always a day full of baseball, at least during the MLB season. It's nice to get a chance to play the full slate for DFS purposes. First pitch is at 1:05 p.m. EDT. There are 15 games on the docket, so there will be plenty of options for your lineups. Here are a few names to help you make decisions.
Pitching
Drew Rasmussen, TAM vs. OAK ($10,500): In his first full season as a starter - and as a Ray - Rasmussen posted a 2.84 ERA over 28 starts. He opened this campaign with six innings of shutout ball. It was against the Nationals, who may finish last in runs scored. However, the Athletics are definitely in the running to do that as well as they ranked 29th.
Nestor Cortes, NYY at BAL ($10,000): Cortes had his start pushed from Saturday to Sunday, giving him an extra day to prepare to face an Orioles team that sat 20th in runs scored last year with a .305 team OPS. They should be better in 2023, but only so much. Cortes managed a 2.44 ERA in 2022 and opened this season only allowing one run in five innings to the Phillies.
Jon Gray, TEX at CHC ($9,600): Gray got away from Coors Field to join the Rangers last year and put up a respectable 3.80 FIP across 24 starts. In his first start this year, he limited the Orioles to four hits and two runs over 6.1 innings. The Cubs somewhat surprisingly finished 22nd in runs last year. And while they added a couple bats this offseason, I still like this matchup.
Top Targets
For Luis Robert ($3,800), the problem has been staying healthy. He's batted .292 and slugged .485 during his career, but hasn't played more than 98 games in a campaign. When he logged 98 in 2022, he tallied 12 homers and 11 stolen bases. Robert's healthy right now, and will be facing a pitcher in Johan Oviedo who has never registered an ERA below 4.91 in a season where he was a full-time starter.
While his debut as a Met was a little iffy by his standards, last year was more of what we expected from Francisco Lindor ($3,700) as he hit .270 with 26 homers, five triples, and 16 steals. The switch hitter also didn't really favor matchups with lefties or righties, which is encouraging in the era of parading relievers. Braxton Garrett is in line to get a spot start for the Marlins, and he enters with a 5.08 road ERA since 2021. And if Miami's plans change, Lindor should be prepared.
Bargain Bats
Charlie Blackmon ($3,700) is past his peak, but he still hit .264 with 16 home runs and six triples last year. His home OPS since 2021 is .801, and Coors Field remains a hitter-friendly environment. Chad Kuhl escaped Colorado after spending one season with the Rockies where he posted a 5.72 ERA. He has to return to Coors, and does so as someone who actually recorded a FIP over 5.00 in each of his last three seasons.
The change of scenery hasn't worked out for Kolten Wong ($2,500) just yet, but he should turn things around with the Mariners. He's produced double-digit homers and steals in each of his last two campaigns, after all. Wong also notched an .845 OPS versus righties in 2022, with his issues being against his fellow southpaws. Zach Plesac is a righty, one with a 4.67 ERA the last three seasons who only lasted one inning against the Athletics to start the current campaign.
Stacks to Consider
Rays vs. Athletics (James Kaprielian): Wander Franco ($4,000), Randy Arozarena ($3,800), Brandon Lowe ($2,800)
Kaprielian began this year allowing five runs on seven hits across five innings against the Guardians. His FIP rose from 4.33 to 4.63 last year, and what was more concerning was that suddenly his K rate significantly dropped to 6.58. The changes to baseball's rules makes balls in play more perilous to pitchers, further reason to like this stack from a hot Tampa squad.
Franco has now effectively played a full season's worth of baseball, even if it's taken him parts of three years to do so. He's slashed .287/.342/.455 with 16 homers and 12 stolen bases during that time, which would be encouraging numbers over a season for a 22-year-old. Even better, Franco's off to a hot start that could indicate a leap is coming. Arozarena has belted 20 home runs in each of his last two seasons and is a career .271 hitter. While he's shown more power against lefties, it's easier to swipe bags against a righty, and Arozarena accumulated 32 last year. I'm still betting on a bounce back for Lowe, who hit 39 homers in 2021. He also managed a .956 OPS against righties that year, and the southpaw gets to face one Sunday. Saturday was also encouraging for Lowe since he hit his first homer of the season.
Angels vs. Blue Jays (Yusei Kikuchi): Mike Trout ($4,300), Taylor Ward ($3,700), Hunter Renfroe ($2,800)
I don't think Kikuchi has turned things around simply because he held the Royals to one run over five innings in his 2023 debut. He still has a 5.63 FIP, in line with his career 5.01 mark. Kikuchi has allowed 1.72 home runs per nine innings in MLB. And while the lefty keeps his fellow southpaws in check, these are three righties.
Trout boasts a career 1.003 OPS and crushed 40 homers last year. He's never slowed down or lost a step, but has faced more injury issues as he's gotten older. Right now, Trout is healthy and off to a torrid start. Ward broke through in 2022 with an .833 OPS and 23 home runs. While he was better against righties, he was also better at home with a .901 OPS. Renfoe is on his fifth team in five seasons, but not due to a lack of production. He's recorded at least 29 homers in each of his last three full campaigns, and since 2021 has an .860 OPS versus lefties.
Rangers at Cubs (Jameson Taillon): Adolis Garcia ($3,500), Marcus Semien ($3,400), Nathaniel Lowe ($3,200)
In his two seasons as a Yankee, Taillon posted a 4.89 road ERA where he gave up 1.5 home runs per nine innings. Perhaps leaving the Bronx was not ideal for him given that fact, and in his first home start as a Cub he allowed seven hits and three runs in four innings to the Brewers. Will his second start go better? I doubt it given the matchup, including this trio I've stacked.
I don't expect Garcia to keep hitting around .300, though that would be huge if he did. After all, he notched 27 homers and 25 stolen bases in 2022 while batting .250. Semien had 26 homers and 25 swiped bags in his first season with the Rangers while maintaining an .836 road OPS. Lowe actually hit his fellow lefties better last year, though he still produced an .817 OPS at home and a .919 on the road.
