This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Baseball series.
The early Peacock game between the Cubs and the Marlins has been cut from the docket for DFS purposes, but that still leaves you with 14 games worth of players to choose from. You have options this Sunday to be sure, but rain does loom in a few spots. The first two games start at 1:35 p.m. ET. Here are a few lineup recommendations.
Pitching
Sonny Gray, MIN vs. KC ($53): Gray has a 0.62 ERA through five starts, and playing in a division with what could shake out to be four of the first worst offense in MLB should keep him in the Cy Young race. On that front, the Royals are particularly bad offense, battling the Tigers for last place in runs scored and team OPS.
Chris Bassitt, TOR vs. SEA ($39): It's still early enough in the season that Bassitt's terrible first start weighs down his overall numbers. Over his last four outings he has a 2.19 ERA. The Mariners have been a disappointment so far, particularly offensively. They're below-average in runs scored, and the team is fighting just to get their OBP over .300 on the year.
Alex Cobb, SF at SD ($32): Cobb left Baltimore and immediately became a top pitcher. He stopped allowing home runs and is in line to have his third season in a row with a FIP below 3.00. The Padres should improve offensively, but they're in the bottom 10 in runs scored to start the season and have a pitcher-friendly ballpark, which should help Cobb.
Top Targets
Last year Willy Adames ($20) picked up 31 home runs in 139 games, which is still a significant mark for a shortstop. He has five homers this season, and his .353 on-base percentage is unusually good for him. Jose Suarez, a lefty, is having a brutal start to the campaign. He has an 8.98 FIP through four starts and has allowed 3.78 home runs per nine innings. Adames could definitely go yard in this matchup.
He started the season hurt, but Jorge Polanco ($19) has looked good since getting healthy and returning to the lineup. While he's a switch hitter, Polanco has an .836 OPS versus right-handed pitchers since 2021. Brady Singer is a righty, and one with a 6.67 ERA. Additionally, righties have hit .280 against him since 2021.
Bargain Bats
The Blue Jays have a stacked lineup, but Bo Bichette ($18) still manages to stand out. He has a career .299/.342/.492 slash line, and while he doesn't seem enthused about stealing bases anymore, he has five home runs this year and has had over 20 in each of the last two campaigns. Marco Gonzales has a career 4.35 FIP, in part because he's only managed 6.74 strikeouts per nine innings. He's also a lefty, and since 2021 Bichette has an .877 OPS in those matchups.
Jonathan India ($17) is looking more like his rookie self than the version we saw during last year's sophomore slump. He's hitting for a .283 average, and while he only has one homer, he has five stolen bases. Ken Waldichuk has a career 6.15 ERA, and it's mostly been righties doing the damage against the southpaw. In his career, right handers have hit .302 against the Oakland pitcher.
Stacks to Consider
Angels at Brewers (Colin Rea): Shohei Ohtani ($19), Hunter Renfroe ($19), Brandon Drury ($17)
It's hard for an MLB team to weather too many injuries to the pitching staff. The Brewers have had to turn to Rea, who hasn't pitched regularly in MLB since 2016. Through three starts, he has a 5.39 ERA and has only struck out 5.17 batters per nine innings. The Angels get a chance to catch Rea while he's still pitching in the majors, so I'm stacking three of them.
Ohtani is the one lefty I'm stacking, and since 2021 he has a .930 OPS against right-handed pitchers. His walks are a little down to start 2023, but he has a .292 average with six homers and five stolen bases, so it's all good. Renfroe has changed teams once again, but he's brought his power with him. He has a career .493 slugging percentage, and this year he has seven home runs. Drury is another journeyman, but he has power as well. He hit 28 home runs last season, and this year he has five to go with a .489 slugging percentage.
Dodgers vs. Cardinals (Jake Woodford): Max Muncy ($24), James Outman ($20), Freddie Freeman ($19)
It's a stack-happy day for teams from the Los Angeles area. Largely a relief pitcher in his career, Woodford is starting for the Cardinals this season and it isn't going well. Through five starts he has a 6.83 FIP and has allowed 2.55 homers per nine innings. I decided to go with three left-handed hitters, as lefties have batted .319 versus Woodford since 2021.
Muncy's power is back! He has 11 home runs, a reminder of the fact that he's hit at least 35 homers in three of his four full seasons, last year being the outlier. Also, he has an .874 OPS at home since the start of the 2021 season. The rookie Outman has already proven to be quite the exciting player. He's batted .290 with seven homers, adding three triples and three stolen bases. Freeman's power is just a smidge down, but he has a .294 average and a .376 OBP, and he just stole two bases Saturday. Plus, the lefty has slugged .525 against righties since 2021, so there's potential for him to deliver on that front in this matchup.
Pirates at Nationals (Josiah Gray): Jack Suwinski ($22), Bryan Reynolds ($21), Andrew McCutchen ($18)
Gray has a 2.93 ERA through five starts, but that comes with a 4.72 FIP. That tracks, given that he had a FIP over 5.00 in each of his prior two seasons. In his career, Gray has allowed 2.22 home runs per nine innings. He's given up an even worse 2.8 homers per nine innings at home, where he has a 6.10 ERA. The Pirates are a good story, and this is a great matchup.
Suwinski struggled as a rookie but still hit 19 homers in 106 games, showing his power potential. This year he has a .413 on-base percentage with six homers and five stolen bases. He also has an .850 OPS versus right-handed pitchers for his career. Reynolds was already a star, or at least a DFS darling, for the Pirates. He has a career .282/.360/.484 slash line, and this year he's hit .313 with five homers and five stolen bases. McCutchen's return to Pittsburgh has been part of the good times for the team in 2023. He has been no mere legacy act, slashing .258/.355/.483 while hitting five homers and stealing four bags. Unfortunately for Pirates fans in the stands, the veteran has been much better on the road so far, but that benefits him here.
