How was your Fourth of July weekend? Good? Does it make any sense to refer to it as a weekend when the holiday is literally named after the day of the week? Maybe not! What I do know is that there are eight games on Sunday's MLB DFS slate with the first starting at 1:35 p.m. EDT. And now, onto the lineup recommendations!
Pitching
Max Fried, NYY at NYM ($9,900): Fried has a 3.01 FIP compared to a 2.13 ERA, and that's still quite good. I mean, this is a lefty who's collectively held right-handed hitters just below the Mendoza line. The Mets have scuffled quite a bit the last month and are average when it comes to offense, so a top-level pitcher like Fried can handle that.
Kevin Gausman, TOR vs. LAA ($9,000): Gausman has been merely decent for a couple seasons now, though he's occasionally flashed the old stuff. Like two starts ago when he threw eight shutout innings against the Guardians and back in May when he blanked the Padres through seven innings with nine strikeouts. The Angels' offense has been all-or-nothing at fifth in homers while 18th in runs scored and a sub-.300 OBP. And if they're more nothing than all on Sunday, Gausman will be in for another strong outing.
See which projected starters will be appearing and when with RotoWire's Probable Pitchers page!
Top Targets
It doesn't bode well for the Yankees for winning a title that when a bullpen game is in the offing from the opposition, Aaron Judge ($5,000) is the only player I feel comfortable rostering. You know, the best hitter in baseball. The team has Judge, some good lefties, and some righties that have gone cold. However, the Mets are planning to start Chris Devenski on Sunday with Brandon Waddell - a 31-year-old who's only ever pitched in relief - throwing bulk innings as their rotation and bullpen is severely banged up. Judge has produced an OPS over 1.100 against both lefties and righties, so sometimes it makes sense to shell out this much salary on one batter.
Who has the potential to swing for the fences - or at least a couple extra-base hits - for the White Sox? I'd say Miguel Vargas ($3,500) as he comes in with 10 homers and 21 doubles. This is a matchup at Coors Field, which is why I wanted power from a Chicago hitter. Chase Dollander has only pitched 29 innings at home for the Rockies, where he's recorded a 9.62 ERA and 2.8 HR/9 rate.
Bargain Bats
While we're on the subject of Coors Field, Ryan McMahon ($3,300) is having a bit of a down year - yet he still has an .811 home OPS. The southpaw has also notched over 20 homers and 20 doubles from each of the last five full MLB seasons. Shane Smith is a righty who began his rookie campaign well, but has posted a 13.09 ERA over his last three starts.
The fact Nick Castellanos ($3,100) has batted .275 with 11 home runs is all well and good, though he's also registered 22 doubles. And while he's right-handed and has performed better against lefties, he's managed an .843 home OPS since 2023. Chase Burns is a vaunted prospect, but he also started the season at high-A. He's made two MLB appearances where he's only gone a combined 5.1 innings to go with a 13.50 ERA.
Stacks to Consider
Blue Jays vs. Angels (Tyler Anderson): George Springer ($3,600), Vladimir Guerrero ($3,400), Addison Barger ($3,000)
Even if you set aside Anderson's years with the Rockies, he's only finished with a FIP below 4.36 once during the past six campaigns. The lefty has pitched well at home in 2025, but lists a 5.48 road ERA. Anderson's groundball rate is remarkably only 31.1 percent, and that many balls in the air away from home doesn't bode well.
Springer is enjoying a bounce-back year after a couple so-so ones, but even in those not-as-good efforts he still managed at least 15 homers, stolen bases, and doubles. He also enters with a .943 OPS at home. Anderson's lack of success generating grounders is particularly good when it comes to Guerrero. And his OPS against lefties the last two seasons is over .950. Barger is a lefty, so why include him against a left-handed pitcher? First off, he's produced a .919 OPS the last three weeks. Secondly, Anderson has allowed his fellow lefties to go .312 against - including seven home runs.
Tigers at Guardians (Gavin Williams): Riley Greene ($3,600), Gleyber Torres ($3,100), Javier Baez ($2,800)
Ever since Williams posted a 4.04 FIP and 4.06 BB/9 rate alongside a 3.29 ERA as a rookie during 2023, I've been skeptical. And that's proven warranted as he's currently at a 3.86 ERA with a 4.76 FIP and 5.11 BB/9 rate joined by a career-worst K/9 and HR/9 marks. And it's not a couple bad starts skewing numbers as Williams hasn't given up more than five runs while surrendering three or more six times across 17 outings. I've included two righties below even though Williams is a righty as they hit .275 against him in 2024 with a .301 so far this season.
Greene is a lefty and Williams has actually held lefties to a .208 career average. However, lefties have also racked up 16 homers compared to 11 from righties in fewer at-bats. Greene has also recorded a .991 OPS against righties and a .974 on the road. Torres and his .387 OBP with more walks than strikeouts has a different approach than Greene. He's also managed an .874 OPS the last three weeks. Torres also suffered a "neck contusion" on Saturday. If he can't go, Spencer Torkelson ($3,400) is Detroit's best righty bat. If you want to save some salary, go with Matt Vierling ($2,600). Baez is the opposite of Torres in terms of approach, yet he's averaged .276 with nine homers and 13 doubles. He may be erratic, though he's facing a righty who struggles against righties while he's slugged .478 the last three weeks.
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