This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Baseball series.
Before your Memorial Day barbeques, enjoy a Sunday packed with baseball action. There are 14 MLB games included for DFS purposes Sunday. The first pitch is at 1:35 p.m. ET. Here are my lineup recommendations.
Pitching
Cristian Javier, HOU at OAK ($56): Working mostly as a starter in 2022, Javier had a 2.54 ERA. This year he's been in the rotation from the start and has a 3.07 ERA through 10 outings. The Athletics are in the bottom three in runs scored, and their ballpark is quite good for pitchers as well.
Eduardo Rodriguez, DET vs. CWS ($49): Over his last eight starts, Rodriguez has an 1.39 ERA. His strikeouts are up and his walks are down, and this matchup should keep him hot. The White Sox may be mediocre in terms of runs scored, but they have a sub-.700 OPS as a team.
MacKenzie Gore, WAS at KC ($33): Gore hasn't quite lived up to his prospect status yet, but in his career he does have a 3.53 ERA on the road. He's also struck out 11.1 batters in nine innings this season. Kansas City and Washington are both in the bottom 10 in runs scored, but Kansas City also has a sub-.300 OBP as a squad.
Top Targets
The fun times have dissipated in Pittsburgh, but Andrew McCutchen ($17) is at least keeping some of those good vibes going. He has slashed .268/.362/.459 with eight homers and five stolen bases. Marco Gonzales has a 5.68 ERA and has struck out a mere 6.1 batters per nine innings, which is actually an improvement on the 5.1 K/9 he had in 2022. The southpaw has also allowed righties, like McCutchen, to hit .309 against him this season.
Coming off a 30/25 campaign, Kyle Tucker ($16) has seven homers and seven stolen bases this season. The southpaw has a ton of power whether he faces righties or lefties, but against right-handers he has a .282 average over the last three seasons. Luis Medina's rookie campaign is off to a brutal start, as he has a 6.59 FIP and has allowed 2.8 homers per nine innings in four outings.
Bargain Bats
While Ian Happ ($16) is a switch hitter, since 2021 he has an .807 OPS versus righties, not to mention a .936 OPS in those matchups this season. He also has an .817 OPS at home over the last three campaigns. It seemed like Graham Ashcraft had turned a corner in his sophomore season, but now he's posted a 12.98 ERA over his last four starts.
Tommy Edman ($15) has racked up 30 stolen bases in each of his last two seasons, and he has seven this year. On top of that, he's shown some unexpected power, as he's gone yard six times. Most of his power has come against lefties, but all seven of his stolen bases have come against righties this year, and 26 of his 32 swiped bags last year came in those matchups as well. Hunter Gaddis is a righty, and he has a career 8.18 ERA as well.
Stacks to Consider
Mets at Rockies (Austin Gomber): Pete Alonso ($24), Francisco Lindor ($18), Mark Canha ($10)
Gomber started allowing home runs with gusto as soon as he joined the Rockies rotation, which is perhaps not a surprise. This year has been his worst campaign yet. In particular, he has a 7.98 ERA at Coors Field, and that is where this game is going to take place. The Mets have one more chance this weekend to take advantage of playing in Denver.
Alonso's average is down, but his power is still there, and that including 20 home runs. Since 2021, he's slugged .534 versus lefties and a robust .572 on the road. Lindor has tallied eight homers and four stolen bases, and while he's a switch hitter, he's been better against lefties recently. In particular, this year he's struggled versus righties, but he has an .872 OPS versus southpaws. He no longer plays in Oakland, but Canha has still been better on the road then at home. Since 2021 he has an .809 OPS on the road, and no park is as conducive to hitters as Coors.
Yankees vs. Padres (Yu Darvish): Anthony Rizzo ($17), Gleyber Torres ($17), DJ LeMahieu ($9)
Darvish started the season reasonably well, but over his last five starts he has a 4.20 ERA. On top of that, since 2021 he has a 4.25 ERA away from Petco Park. This game is at Yankee Stadium, which helps the Bronx Bombers, and so I am stacking three guys in pinstripes.
Last year Rizzo hit 32 homers, and this year his has 11. However, this year the former Cub also has a .303 average. Meanwhile, lefties like Rizzo have hit .259 against Darvish. Torres has nine homers and five stolen bases. Since 2021, he has a .770 OPS at home as well, including a .443 slugging percentage. LeMahieu doesn't have much power, but he does have a .358 OBP at home over the last three seasons. Plus, he does have a .479 slugging percentage at Yankee Stadium in 2023 and hit a home run Saturday.
Rangers at Orioles (Kyle Bradish): Corey Seager ($22), Adolis Garcia ($19), Nathaniel Lowe ($18)
In his career, Bradish has a 4.96 ERA at home, in part because he has allowed 1.6 home runs per nine innings in Baltimore. Last year righties hit .280 against Bradish, while this year lefties have hit .292 against him. As such, I have no problem working righties and lefties into my stack.
Even in a down year in 2022, Seager had 33 home runs. This year he's missed time with injury, but when he's played he's slashed .333/.404/.587. Garcia may only have three stolen bases after recording 25 last year, but maybe it's because he's hitting for too much power to worry about swiping bags. He has 14 home runs and has slugged .513. In the past, Lowe has actually done better against his fellow southpaws, but this year his .878 OPS against righties stands out. Notably, he also has an .855 OPS on the road since joining the Rangers.
