August is winding down, college football is here, and the weather is starting to look more like fall. But don't forget it's still MLB season. There are eight games on Sunday's DFS docket, with the first pitch at 1:35 p.m. EDT. Here are my lineup recommendations.
Pitching
Kevin Gausman, TOR at MIA ($8,900): Give Gausman credit for consistency. He posted a 3.77 FIP last season and he's currently at a 3.77. Not only that, but his ERA is 3.78 with a 3.49 on the road in large part because he's only allowed a 0.6 HR/9 rate. The Marlins are better offensively this year, yet they're still on the fringes of the bottom-10 in runs scored, they're definitely still below-average offensively, and Kyle Stowers is injured.
Merrill Kelly, TEX vs. CLE ($8,300): Kelly recorded a 3.22 ERA in 22 starts with the Diamondbacks. While that number has risen to 4.09 on the Rangers, that's only over four outings. One of them didn't go well against Philly's high-powered lineup. Kelly has otherwise performed well for his new club while the Guardians aren't as imposing as the Phillies sitting bottom-five in runs alongside a sub-.300 OBP.
Check out which projected starters are going and when with RotoWire's Probable Pitchers page!
Top Targets
Stacking Phillies could be a little tricky from a salary perspective, so I'm going with Bryce Harper ($6,000) here to get a piece of this matchup. Even in a "down" year, he's still slashing .263/.360/.503 with 21 homers and 11 stolen bases. And Harper still loves his home park with a .996 OPS this season and a 1.028 the last couple campaigns. Jake Irvin has given up a 1.79 HR/9 rate while lefties have hit .286 against.
Francisco Lindor ($5,700) is streaky and reliable for at least one prolonged cold spell per season, though he's absolutely locked in by producing a 1.128 OPS with five home runs and six steals the last three weeks. Bryce Elder has somehow been even worse than last year. His ERA has dropped from 6.52 to 6.29, but his FIP has jumped from 4.55 to 5.00, his strikeouts are down, and both walks and homers are up.
Bargain Bats
All in all, Wyatt Langford ($3,900) has put together a sophomore campaign that has been a…mixed bag as he's managed 19 home runs and 16 stolen bases through 109 games while also striking out 126 times after 115 Ks as a rookie. However, he's made solid improvement against his fellow righties as he's slugged .438 against them this year. Gavin Williams comes in with a 3.24 ERA, but with a 4.88 FIP. Not only that, but his fellow righties have gone .284 against.
Though Trevor Larnach ($3,600) can't hit lefties, he's able to handle righties reasonably well with an OPS over .780 the last two seasons while going deep 15 times against them this year. Yoendrys Gomez did well in Triple-A, yet has pitched for three MLB teams in 2025 while posting a 5.53 ERA.
Stacks to Consider
Tigers vs. Royals (Seth Lugo): Riley Greene ($5,100), Zach McKinstry ($3,900), Colt Keith ($3,300)
The Tigers have put that rough stretch behind them - much to my relief as a fan - and they have a decent chance to win big on Sunday. Lugo has been struggling with a 6.12 ERA and 2.5 HR/9 rate from his last eight starts. He's experienced issues with lefties all season as they're batting .264 against along with 19 of the 25 homers he's surrendered.
Greene swings for the fences essentially every time he steps up to the plate. He may lead MLB in strikeouts, yet he's also racked up 30 home runs and 26 doubles while slugging .582 against right-handers. McKinstry has stuffed the stat sheet with 11 homers, 10 triples, 18 doubles, and 19 steals. He's also managed a 1.014 OPS. Keith seemed to start off slowly, but the Tigers moved him back to third base - where he played in the minors - and things have picked up for the lefty as he's registered a .977 OPS the last three weeks with an .829 versus righties.
Orioles vs. Astros (Spencer Arrighetti): Gunnar Henderson ($5,400), Ryan Mountcastle ($3,500), Samuel Basallo ($3,300)
Arrighetti enters with a 6.94 ERA, though that's only over five outings with two of them coming early on and the last three this month. But that's still bad, and so was the 4.53 mark as a rookie. I've included two lefties in this stack as Arrighetti is right-handed. I'm offering one righty since righties hit .260 against him last season while producing more homers than lefties did in fewer at-bats.
Even with the initial injury, Henderson has been himself this year against righties and at home with a .920 and .903 OPS. Mountcastle is the aforementioned righty who's notched a .793 OPS in 13 games since returning from a lengthy absence. He's struggled on the road this season, yet has hit .270 at home. Basallo is Baltimore's catcher of the future and is a fine choice to fill that DFS position on Sunday. He hasn't done much in the big leagues yet, but this is his age-20 season and he managed a .966 OPS in Triple-A while many consider him one of the best overall prospects.
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