This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Baseball series.
It's the final Sunday of August. There are 16 games on the slate thanks to a scheduled doubleheader between the Yankees and Mets. However, both of those games have been removed from the Yahoo fantasy slate. Most of the games are in the afternoon, with the first one starting at 1:05 p.m. EDT. Here are some recommendations for your daily fantasy lineup. Let's end this weekend on a high note.
PITCHING
Blake Snell ($51) isn't pitching at his Cy Young-winning level, but he has posted a 3.08 ERA and has struck out 12.17 batters per nine innings. And in his last four starts, that ERA drops to 2.41. Sunday is a Florida battle against the Marlins, who have made up for a lot of their missed games but still rank in the bottom-five in runs scored.
A lot of starters have been eased into action this season, but Kenta Maeda ($46) has started at least five innings in all six of his outings. During that time, he's produced a 2.60 FIP that is even more encouraging than his 2.21 ERA. The Tigers aren't a bottom-of-the-barrel offense this season, but they sit in the bottom-10 in runs scored.
It gets a little repetitive to keep recommending starters facing the Pirates, but Brandon Woodruff ($48) is too good to pass up. He boasts a career 3.17 FIP and that mark drops to 2.87 this year. Woodruff has also shown the ability to prevent homers, which is really impressive these days. Although it's not like Pittsburgh hits many homers, as they enter with the league's lowest slugging percentage.
TOP PICKS
Brandon Lowe ($22) emerged last season in 82 games of action by hitting .270 and posting a .514 slugging percentage. This year, with a full-time gig, the Rays have been rewarded with a .378 OBP, a .632 slugging percentage and 10 homers to start the year. The current scuttlebutt is that Sandy Alcantara is ready to return from COVID-19, but how will he look? Given his career 4.53 FIP, my guess is not very good.
Mitch Moreland ($27) has been absolutely raking for the Red Sox. If only his teammates were getting on base a little more so he could drive in more runs. He's always offered some pop, but the lefty slugger currently sits with a .746 slugging percentage. Washington's Austin Voth has a 6.29 FIP, and has also allowed over two home runs per nine innings.
VALUE PLAYS
Hanser Alberto ($16) didn't walk much or show mich power for the lowly Orioles last season, but still produced a .305 batting average. That always has value. This year, he's looked better with a .328 average and he's been typically leading off for a team that has significantly improved offensively. Tanner Roark has struggled with a FIP over 4.00 in each of his last three seasons, and this year that number is up to 6.33.
David Fletcher ($16) comes in with a career .289 batting average and he's registered a .444 slugging percentage this year, even though he hasn't shown power in the past. But Fletcher is only 26 and is only in his second season, so maybe his power has finally arrived. On Sunday he's facing Justin Dunn, who has a 6.75 FIP through five starts.
STACKS
Dodgers vs. Kyle Gibson: Corey Seager ($20), Cody Bellinger ($19), Joc Pederson ($15)
It's not surprising that Gibson's numbers are worse having left Minnesota for Texas. Through six starts, the righty has a 5.30 FIP. And since 2018, he's allowed a .277 batting average to lefties. That's why I have three southpaws to recommend. Let's keep it simple. Here is how this trio has fared against righties since 2018: Seager has a .904 OPS. Bellinger has a .954 OPS. Pederson has a .900 OPS. While Bellinger is off to a slow start for a reigning MVP, he's recovered with a .353 batting average over his last 10 games.
Padres vs. Ryan Castellani: Fernando Tatis Jr. ($28), Manny Machado ($27), Eric Hosmer ($17)
Castellani has a 3.54 ERA, but also a 6.29 FIP and his ERA at the not-so-friendly confines of Coors Field is 5.23. I'll happily pile Padres into my lineup Sunday. Tatis hasn't played a full season's worth of games yet, but has managed a career slash line of .313/.379/.606 and already has 13 homers and six stolen bases this year. Machado seems somehow overlooked this year but he's posted a .306 batting average and managed an .882 OPS on the road last year, meaning Petco Park may have played a role in tamping down his offense. I also wanted to get a lefty in there against the righty Castellani. Hosmer has struggled against southpaws the last two years, but has a .812 OPS versus righties and is enjoying a bounce-back campaign.
White Sox vs. Kris Bubic: Jose Abreu ($25), Luis Robert ($18), Tim Anderson ($24)
Bubic's rookie campaign could be going better. He's made five starts with a 5.96 ERA and 1.63 WHIP. Bubic has also allowed 1.59 homers per nine innings. The ChiSox can roll out some impressive bats. Let's start with Abreu, who has a career .519 slugging percentage and a .649 slugging percentage in 2020. Robert came into the season as an elite prospect and has lived up to that in part to his eight homers and four stolen bases across 31 games. Anderson took his game to a new level last year when he batted .335 with double-digit homers and stolen bases, and this year he's hitting .361 and could pull the double-digit feat again in this shortened campaign.
