This article is part of our DraftKings MLB series.
Shout out to all the mothers. Shout out to Dallas Braden. There are eight MLB games on Sunday's slate with the first pitch at 1:35 p.m. EDT. Here are my MLB DFS lineup recommendations. Good luck!
Pitching
Chris Sale, ATL at PIT ($9,600): Sale started slowly after winning the Cy Young last year, but he's gotten back on track with a 1.96 ERA and 12.5 K/9 rate from his last four starts. Meanwhile, we blinked and the Pirates fell to last in runs scored.
Drew Rasmussen, TAM vs. MIL ($7,600): Back in the rotation full-time, Rasmussen has a 3.09 ERA through seven outings. That's not surprising given his career 2.97. He also doesn't mind Tampa's new home park so far with a 2.52. Milwaukee is a bit above-average in terms of offense, though they aren't too imposing powered by lefty bats while lefties have hit .208 against Rasmussen since 2023.
See which projected starters are going and when with RotoWire's Probable Pitchers page!
Top Targets
James Wood ($5,500) has proven to be worth the hype. He debuted last year and managed nine homers and 14 stolen bases in 79 games and is currently at 10 and five of each while batting .281. He's interestingly been better against his fellow righties with a career .886 OPS. Miles Mikolas has posted a 4.76 ERA, his strikeout rate has dropped to 4.76 per nine innings, and righties have gone .276 against him the last couple campaigns.
There's been a drop in power from Jarren Duran ($5,100) so far, though I'm not terribly worried as the speedster still has four triples and 11 stolen bases. The main issue has been that he's gone from "pretty bad" to "quite bad" against his fellow lefties. Seth Lugo is a righty with a 2.84 ERA through eights starts, but also with a 4.39 FIP.
Bargain Bats
You need a catcher, and Edgar Quero ($3,700) is certainly under the radar on the White Sox. He's shown little power – not unusual for the position – yet he's recorded a .375 OBP. Across the last two seasons down in Triple-A, Quero produced an .850 OPS. Sandy Alcantara is having a lot of issues after returning from missing all of 2024 with a 5.88 FIP, a 1.74 HR/9 rate, and a 1.28 K/BB rate.
It's alarming how infrequently Kyle Isbel ($2,600) walks, though that's baked in at this point. He's also hit .263 with three homers and two triples. The lefty has been terrible against southpaws and on the road, but this matchup is at home and he's facing a righty. After missing all of last year, Lucas Giolito's start to 2025 has been a disaster with an 8.38 ERA across two outings.
Stacks to Consider
Reds at Astros (Ronel Blanco): Elly De La Cruz ($5,600), TJ Friedl ($4,000), Gavin Lux ($3,500)
Blanco has been a slightly-worse pitcher this year than in 2024, but mostly his luck has run out. He opened last season with a no-hitter and finished with a 2.80 ERA alongside a 4.14 FIP and unremarkable 2.44 K/BB rate. Blanco's strikeout and walk rate are fairly similar, though his homers have ticked up a bit and he now has a 4.98 ERA paired with a 4.91 FIP. Since lefties have gone .275 against, I have three left-handed hitters.
There's been a bit less power from De La Cruz than expected, yet he's still at six home runs to go with 14 stolen bases. He's also well-established at this point as being a switch-hitter who really can't hit lefties, but he carries a career .833 OPS versus righties. Friedl has three homers, a triple, and eight steals. He doesn't offer much power, but has slugged .430 against right-handed pitchers the last three seasons. Lux may only claim one homer and one stolen base so far, yet he lists a .385 OBP with nine doubles. And in his first Reds' debut, he's registered an OPS over .800 against righties and on the road.
Atlanta at Pittsburgh (Carmen Mlodzinski): Austin Riley ($5,300), Matt Olson ($5,000), Michael Harris ($4,000)
I've learned how to spell Mlodzinski's name from memory, which speaks to how often I've been recommending hitters facing him already - and with good cause. He's posted a 6.16 ERA from seven starts, which isn't encouraging given he had previously largely worked out of the bullpen. Mlodzinski hasn't allowed a lot of homers, yet holds a 25.7-percent line-drive rate. That's not surprising as lefties have hit .292 against while righties have actually gone .344. I still went with two southpaws here given the usual splits that come from lefty/righty matchups.
Riley is the righty, and he's bouncing back after a down 2024 where injuries held him to 110 games with a .284 average and eight home runs. And prior to last year, he had three straight seasons where he notched at least 33 homers. Olson started slow, but thanks to plenty of walks he's at a .353 OBP. He's also up to six home runs, and since 2023 has slugged .525 against righties. It's been a "poor performance, good counting stats" campaign for Harris, which works for DFS purposes as he's picked up three homers, a triple, and seven steals.
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