This article is part of our DraftKings MLB series.
It's the final day of the MLB regular season…ish. Monday will be used to tie up loose ends related to weather postponements, but Sunday still gets to be last full schedule. We have all 15 games starting up at pretty much the same time, so all 30 teams are in the mix for DFS purposes. First pitch is at 3:05 p.m. EDT. The projected pitching situations are totally bananas, but I've done my best to land on these DFS recommendations.
Pitching
Aaron Nola, PHI at WAS ($9,600): Nola is one of the best - perhaps the best, full stop - starter who's been indicated to take the mound Sunday. He enters with a 3.52 ERA and has a chance to do something truly rare these days: reach 200 innings on the season. The Nationals are going to finish 24th or 25th in runs scored. They could potentially finish last in homers. (Yes, below the White Sox.)
Ryan Weathers, MIA at TOR ($6,200): The Marlins have been feisty down the stretch. As a Tigers fan, I appreciated that when the Twins were on the schedule. Weathers lists remarkable home/road splits with a 6.15 ERA in Miami and a 2.12 on the road. Thanks to Vladimir Guerrero, the Blue Jays may finish just outside the bottom-10 in offense. And of course, he's only one hitter in a lineup featuring eight others.
Hayden Birdsong, SF vs. STL ($5,200): Birdsong has experienced some issues as a rookie, yet holds a strong 10.24 K/9 rate. He's also posted a 3.67 home ERA, which is at least passable. The Cardinals definitely could be in a "let's just get this season over with" mode as they've secured a winning record along with a place in the bottom-10 in runs scored while playing on the road.
Top Targets
It turned out to be a "too little, too late" situation, but Julio Rodriguez ($4,700) has a .937 OPS the last three weeks. That was enough to secure another 20/20 campaign. The rookie Mitch Spence has struggled to a 4.73 road ERA while allowing a homer in each of his last three starts.
Hunter Goodman ($4,400) has surprisingly popped up and emerged as the Rockies' No. 1 catcher. To no one's surprise, he's managed an .811 home OPS across his career. Landon Knack will likely be the odd man out of the Dodgers rotation in the playoffs. After all, the rookie has a 4.73 FIP while giving up 1.80 home runs per nine innings.
Bargain Bats
As a DH, Kerry Carpenter ($4,300) will likely be in the lineup Sunday to get tuned up for the playoffs and mash against righty as he's produced a .999 OPS versus that type of pitcher this year. Jonathan Cannon hasn't been the worst pitcher for the White Sox (the faintest of praise), but he's still registered a 5.00 road ERA with southpaws hitting .280 against.
From a counting-stats perspective, this is arguably the best campaign Eugenio Suarez ($4,200) has completed. He has a chance at 30 homers, 30 doubles, 100 RBI, and 90 runs scored. Suarez's new home park has helped with an .848 OPS in Arizona. Martin Perez has posted a 2.67 ERA in nine starts with the Padres, but with a 4.67 FIP. His HR/9 rate has actually ticked up from 1.41 with the Pirates to 1.49 with his current club.
Stacks to Consider
Dodgers at Rockies (Ryan Feltner): Teoscar Hernandez ($6,200), Max Muncy ($5,700), Gavin Lux ($4,900)
Feltner has recorded a career 6.00 ERA at Coors Field. While he's not as homer-prone as some of his fellow Colorado pitchers, he's consistently struggled as an MLB hurler. Righties have also batted .260 against Feltner in 2024 while lefties are at .275, so I've included two southpaws in this stack.
Hernandez is a righty, but also has over 30 homers and 30 doubles while hitting .270 on the season. He's also notched a 1.014 OPS the last three weeks. Muncy has missed much of the campaign, though has made up for lost time with a .975 OPS the last 21 days and an .886 versus right-handed pitchers on the year. Lux has a .729 OPS against righties and a .716 on the road. Neither number is remarkable, but he's a second baseman and this game is at Coors.
Rays at Red Sox (Quinn Priester): Brandon Lowe ($4,800), Josh Lowe ($4,100), Jonathan Aranda ($3,100)
There has been some chatter that Priester will make his Red Sox debut Sunday. As a Pirate, he began his MLB career with a 6.46 ERA where lefties hit .331 against. Also, Fenway tends to be good to left-handed hitters. So the very chance of Priester starting has me looking to stack three Tampa players who bat from that side.
Brandon Lowe has once again managed to get to 20 home runs even though he won't get to 111 games. He's slugged .513 away from home this season, and I did mention Fenway is typically kind to lefties. Josh Lowe's power really dropped off, yet he still stole 25 bases (only getting caught once) alongside 19 doubles in 105 outings. All 10 of his homers have come against righties, with nine of those on the road. Aranda is ending the season hot with a .943 OPS the last three weeks. He's also slugged .471 versus right-handed pitchers this season.
