This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Baseball series.
Sunday is for the start of the NFL season, and also MLB action. It's called multitasking. With 15 MLB games on the slate, you have a ton of options for your DFS lineups. First pitch is at 1:05 p.m. ET. Here are my lineup recommendations.
Pitching
Corbin Burnes, MIL at NYY ($43): Burnes has been off-and-on recently, which has characterized his season, his worst as a starter. Even in a down year, though, Burnes has a 3.13 ERA on the road, and he's struck out 9.16 batters per nine innings. The Yankees are having an even more down year as a whole. In fact, contact has been so scarce for the erstwhile Bronx Bombers they rank 29th in team batting average.
Jose Berrios, TOR vs. KC ($36): Like Burnes, Berrios has a matchup that can hopefully help him get on track. While he lacks the pedigree of a Cy Young winner, the Blue Jays hurler has a 3.47 ERA at home. He also has an excellent matchup, as the Royals are in the bottom five in runs scored.
Bryce Miller, SEA at TB ($36): After a couple bad starts, the rookie Miller got back on track. Over his last six starts he has a 2.53 ERA, with a single home run allowed. While the Mariners have surged, the Rays have struggled to retain the pace of their early-season performance thanks to pitching injuries and the loss of some key offensive players.
Top Targets
What hasn't Freddie Freeman ($19) done this year? He's hit over .300, he's tallied over 50 doubles, he's got 25 home runs, and he's added 18 stolen bases for good measure. This kind of season at the plate happens once in a rare while, and it's not like Freeman needs a great matchup to excel. And yet, he's getting one Sunday. Trevor Williams has a 6.00 FIP, largely because he's allowed 2.21 homers per nine innings.
Even with his BABIP cratering and struggles at home, Pete Alonso ($18) has gone out and hit 43 home runs. That's elite power. This game is on the road, and the slugger has a .932 OPS in away games. Pablo Lopez has had the inverse experience of Alonso, which is to say he has a 2.78 ERA on the road but a 4.61 ERA at home.
Bargain Bats
Lefty Max Kepler ($18) has hit 21 home runs, his first 20-homer season since 2019. His .482 slugging percentage against righties may be expected, but he also has a .514 slugging percentage at home. Tylor Megill has a history of disaster on the road and against lefties. In his career, southpaws have hit .306 against him, and ERA in away games is a staggering 6.06.
Ramon Laureano ($10) has just sort of randomly popped up in Cleveland and taken over in center field. Since 2021, the righty has a .787 OPS against lefties, and the Guardians are so lefty-heavy they effectively need him in the lineup whenever a southpaw is starting for the opposition. Kenny Rosenberg is such a lefty, and in his career righties have hit .299 against him.
Stacks to Consider
Astros vs. Padres (Rich Hill): Jose Altuve ($27), Chas McCormick ($21), Jeremy Pena ($18)
Hill has spent a few years bouncing around MLB, walking guys, giving up hits to righties, and generally racking up starts in spite of his profound mediocrity on the mound. He was poor with Pittsburgh this year (4.76 ERA), but since joining the Padres he's put up a woeful 10.71 ERA. When Hill is starting, find the three best righties you can from the opponent. That's what I've done.
Altuve has 15 homers and 13 stolen bases, even though he's only played in 71 games. You can put up numbers like that in limited action when you slash .313/.398/.544. McCormick has hit .285 with 20 homers and 14 stolen bases, and he feasts on lefties. Since 2021 he has a .978 OPS in those matchups. Pena, who has 10 homers and 11 steals, lacks the power of some his teammates, but you wouldn't know it when he gets to face a southpaw. He's slugged .493 against lefties in his career.
Diamondbacks at Cubs (Kyle Hendricks): Corbin Carroll ($22), Lourdes Gurriel ($16), Geraldo Perdomo ($7)
Hendricks has been stingy with the walks and homers, but hasn't struck anybody out either, and his overall pitching profile is far from dominant. Not only does he have a 3.73 ERA, but a 3.97 FIP. In fact, he has a 4.53 ERA at Wrigley Field, decidedly unfriendly as far as confines go. Hendricks has a 4.50 ERA since the All-Star break, so it seems perfectly sensible to stack these Diamondbacks against him.
I assume they've already engraved Carroll's name on the NL Rookie of the Year award, though his 1.133 OPS over the last three weeks is not indicative of a player resting on his laurels. The lefty has a .937 OPS against righties on the campaign for good measure. Gurriel's first season with Arizona has seen him hit 23 homers and 31 doubles, so he will finish with new personal bests on both fronts. While he's hit for better average against lefties, he's slugged .492 against righties, and the power upside is enticing from a DFS perspective. Perdomo has been cold, but this scenario could warm him up. He has a .767 OPS against righties, plus a .779 OPS on the road.
Cardinals at Reds (Hunter Greene): Paul Goldschmidt ($19), Jordan Walker ($19), Nolan Arenado ($13)
Greene has been on the COVID-19 list for a bit, but he's listed as the probable starter for the Reds on Sunday, and this sort of absence is a bit more straightforward than an injury tends to be. Greene has flashed the same promise he did as a rookie, but also with the same issues. Also, some new ones, such as the .299 average he's allowed to righties. His home numbers have been woeful as well, as he has a 7.24 ERA in Cincinnati's ballpark. That's why I am stacking three right-handed Cardinals here.
Even though he's having his worst season since 2019, his first campaign with the Cards, Goldschmidt has hit .273 with 23 homers and 10 stolen bases. His issue is that his OPS against lefties has cratered. Against righties, his .827 OPS is more in line with expectations. The rookie Walker has not solved lefties, but his fellow righties have not been a problem. He has an .833 OPS in those matchups. Walker is also hot, having managed an 1.061 OPS over the last three weeks. Arenado would have to get hot for his third 30-homer 100-RBI season in a row (he has 26 and 88 at the moment), but more games against righties would help. This year he's hit .284 and slugged .496 versus right-handed pitchers.
