This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Baseball series.
Hopefully your Fourth of July weekend is going well, and hopefully it gets even better Sunday when your DFS lineups pull through for you. We have another typical Sunday setup, with a 14-game slate which includes everything but the early Peacock start. Here are some suggestions to try and maximize your lineup and your success.
Pitching
Robbie Ray, SEA vs. OAK ($53): Cy Young winner Robbie Ray has decided to make an appearance this season! Over his last four starts, he has a 0.67 ERA. Most of his issues this year have come on the road, where he has a 5.24 ERA, and Sunday he gets to be at home against the team with the lowest OPS in MLB.
Framber Valdez, HOU vs. LAA ($48): In addition to his 2.65 ERA, the fact he's a lefty makes Valdez extra appealing in this matchup. A few key Angels bats, most notably Shohei Ohtani and Jared Walsh, are lefties as well. That makes the opposition less intimidating for the Houston hurler, though it's not like he needed the help.
Frankie Montas, OAK at SEA ($43): Seattle's offense is only a bit better than Oakland's, as it too ranks in the bottom 10, and that was with a hot start to the season and with Ty France (elbow) healthy. Montas has racked up losses due to a lack of offensive support, but he has a 3.19 FIP through 16 starts. This could be the kind of game that sees him pick up a 3-2 win or something along those lines.
Top Targets
Only the most elite right-handed pitchers would scare me off of Rafael Devers ($22) this season. The lefty has a .284/.343/.519 slash line against righties since 2020. With all due respect to Keegan Thompson, he is not an elite righty. He's a guy with a career 4.30 FIP, a number he earned while mostly pitching out of the bullpen.
When C.J. Cron ($19) is enjoying home cooking, he's usually a safe bet for your DFS lineup. Not only does he have an OPS comfortably over 1.000 at home since joining the Rockies, this year he's hit .295 overall for good measure. No knock on Zac Gallen, who owns a 3.32 ERA, but Cron at Coors is a staple of my DFS options.
Bargain Bats
It'll be a battle of old heads when Joey Votto ($16) takes on Charlie Morton on Sunday. I favor the crafty lefty hitter in this matchup. Votto has a .926 OPS against righties since 2020. Meanwhile, Morton has a 4.73 ERA this year.
Presuming Connor Seabold is on the mound for the Red Sox as we're projecting, it looks like a nice day for Rafael Ortega ($15). After not playing at all in 2020, he has an .844 OPS against righties in two seasons with the Cubs. He also has four home runs and five stolen bases this year.
Stacks to Consider
Astros vs. Angels (Jose Suarez): Jose Altuve ($21), Alex Bregman ($17), Jeremy Pena ($11)
The lefty Suarez brings a career 5.49 ERA to the party Sunday. He's also allowed 1.68 home runs per nine innings. Though last year he kept righties in check, this year he's allowed them to hit .280 against him. As such, I have decided to stack three Astros righties.
Altuve has an OPS over 1.000 both against lefties and at home this year, making him an obvious choice in this matchup. He's hit 16 home runs and stolen six bases so far this year. Bregman has shown some of his old stuff recently, with a .924 OPS over the last three weeks. He also has a .904 OPS at home. The rookie Pena has nine home runs and six stolen bases, and he's put up an .866 OPS versus southpaws.
Yankees at Guardians (Triston McKenzie): Anthony Rizzo ($19), Giancarlo Stanton ($18), Josh Donaldson ($10)
I had hopes for McKenzie when this season began, but those hopes have fizzled as he's struggled to a 4.83 FIP. He just can't keep the ball in the park. In his career, McKenzie has allowed 1.66 home runs per nine innings, and few lineups punish homer-happy pitchers as well as the Yankees.
Rizzo has 22 home runs and six stolen bases, and while he's preferred his home ballpark, his .862 OPS against righties is good enough for me, even on the road. Stanton has slugged .526 and hit 20 home runs this season, and that's not purely due to Yankee Stadium, as he has an .882 OPS on the road. Donaldson is the true road warrior of the bunch. He's struggled at home but has an .849 OPS away from the Bronx.
Diamondbacks at Rockies (Chad Kuhl): Ketel Marte ($21), Christian Walker ($21), Alek Thomas ($20)
Yes, in his last start Kuhl had a complete-game shutout of the Dodgers. This is still a pitcher with a career 4.30 ERA, and his 3.95 FIP this season isn't special, either. He's struck out only 6.63 batters per nine innings. Kuhl has a 2.48 ERA at home and, frankly, that's unsustainable at Coors. That's certainly true for a 29-year-old who was cut loose by the Pittsburgh Pirates of all teams. Things are going to turn around for Kuhl soon, and not in a good way.
Marte has only managed five home runs and four stolen bases, but once upon a time he hit 32 home runs in a season. He also has a .351 OBP this year. Walker is hitting just .206, but he has 21 home runs, which is the kind of profile that plays against a strikeout-light pitcher at Coors. The rookie Thomas has an .847 OPS against lefties and a .928 OPS on the road, so this matchup should be right up his alley.
