We're halfway through August and well past halfway through the MLB season. Friday kicks off the weekend with 12 games on the DFS slate. The first pitch arrives at 7:07 p.m. ET. It's time to get your MLB DFS lineups sorted, and here are some suggestions to help on that front.
Pitching
Noah Cameron, KAN vs. CWS ($9,300): Two of MLB's worst offenses square off in this one. While the White Sox have scored a few more runs than the Royals, the White Sox also have a .667 OPS as a team. Only the Pirates have been worse. Cameron's rookie campaign has been a real boon to Kansas City, as he has a 2.52 ERA over 16 starts. While he has a 3.66 FIP, even that suffices for me against a team like the White Sox.
Chris Bassitt, TOR vs. TEX ($8,400): Bassitt is viable for your DFS lineup because he is at home. He has a 6.39 ERA on the road, but a 2.56 ERA in Toronto. Now, that 6.39 ERA is bad enough to give me pause even when Bassitt is at home, but the matchup counterbalances that trepidation. The Rangers sit 24th in runs scored with a .299 OBP as a team.
Clayton Kershaw, LAD vs. SDP ($7,700): Time comes for us all, and Kershaw is now a pitcher you turn to in order to try and save some salary if the matchup is right. The future Hall of Famer has a 3.14 ERA through 14 starts, but he simply no longer strikes out players. I'm talking a 5.78 K/9 rate. However, he keeps the ball in the park, and the Padres are in the bottom 10 in runs scored. Near the top of the bottom 10, sure, but in the bottom 10. Now that Kershaw is the kind of pitcher who has a lower salary than Joey Cantillo, you can take a shot on him on a day like this.
Top Targets
Injuries have cramped the style of Alex Bregman ($5,200) in his first season with Boston, but since the All-Star break he has a .906 OPS. As was the case when he was an Astro, the third baseman has shown more power against his fellow righties. Bregman has actually slugged .563 against righties. Sandy Alcantara didn't get dealt, which makes all the sense in the world to me because he's been terrible this season. To that end, he has an 8.87 ERA on the road.
While Jose Altuve ($5,200) only has eight stolen bases, he's been caught six times, which is unusually high for him. Plus, even if he has lost a step, he's hit 21 home runs in 117 games. Altuve also has an .864 OPS at home in 2025. Brandon Young pitched well in Triple-A, but in 10 MLB starts he has a 6.70 ERA and righties have hit .313 against him.
Bargain Bats
While Alec Burleson ($4,100) was cold until the last week, on the year he's hit .282 with 15 home runs and 19 doubles. On top of that, he's slugged .466 against righties and also slugged .466 at home. Righty Luis Gil may have won Rookie of the Year last season but, owing to a lat injury, he's only made two starts this season, and I wonder if he won't get a chance to find his footing. He had a disastrous start against the Marlins in his season debut and then a mediocre start last time out against the Astros.
When facing a righty at home, Mickey Moniak ($4,000) has fully looked like a guy who was picked first overall once upon a time. He has an .857 OPS versus right-handed pitchers and also a .975 OPS at Coors Field. Since 2023, Brandon Pfaadt has a 5.15 ERA and 1.9 HR/9 rate on the road. You could easily stack Rockies on Friday, but I didn't want two stacks from the same game. Spoiler alert for one of my stacks.
Stacks to Consider
Diamondbacks at Rockies (Tanner Gordon): Geraldo Perdomo ($5,600), Adrian Del Castillo ($4,200), Blaze Alexander ($4,000)
I told you I'd be back for a stack. Given the circumstances, I decided to try and save some salary or go under the radar to give you that kind of stack option. After all, Coors Field shoulders a lot of the load. Also, Gordon has a career 8.51 ERA through 15 starts. Why not save some salary to spend elsewhere when you might still get some DraftKings points delivered.
Perdomo is not under the radar, but his salary is lower than either Corbin Carroll or Ketel Marte. He has 13 home runs and 19 stolen bases on the year, not to mention 26 doubles. Coors Field is often conducive to doubles as well. Perdomo is a switch-hitter, but he's slugged .455 against righties. Del Castillo is worth a shot at catcher, especially given the offensive nature of the position. While he hasn't played a ton in MLB, the lefty has a .995 OPS at Triple-A over the last two seasons. His bat is thought of highly enough the Diamondbacks will deploy him as a DH. Alexander wasn't with the Diamondbacks for the bulk of the season, but since the All-Star break he has an .878 OPS, and with Eugenio Suarez in Seattle, he's now the starting third baseman. While Alexander is a righty, like Gordon, in Gordon's career he's allowed righties to hit .408 against him. That's right, .408.
Yankees at Cardinals (Andre Pallante): Aaron Judge ($6,300), Jazz Chisholm ($4,800), Giancarlo Stanton ($4,500)
Over his last six starts, Pallante has a 7.67 ERA. While he is able to avoid allowing too many home runs, that's about all he does well. This season the righty has a 5.82 K/9 rate, and he's going to finish with a sub-2.00 K/BB rate for the fourth season in a row. Also, Pallante has pitched four MLB campaigns. Since the Cardinals hurler has allowed a .290 average to righties since 2023, I have two righties in this stack.
Judge has been so-so since returning from injury but that won't continue forever. After all, he's going to finish with an OPS over 1.000 for the fourth season in a row and he has 38 home runs this season. For Judge, this is almost a value on the salary front. Chisholm has an .855 OPS against righties. He has 20 home runs and, thanks to five stolen bases in his last 12 games, is up to 17 swiped bags. Stanton has found some of his old power swing to shoulder the load for Judge for now. Over the last three weeks he has an 1.102 OPS with seven home runs.
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