This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Baseball series.
Get yourself a heaping helping of MLB baseball Sunday afternoon. There are 13 games on the DFS slate. The only games not included are the 11:35 a.m. EDT start between the Pirates and Cardinals and the Yankees-White Sox doubleheader. Here are my DFS lineup recommendations.
Pitching
Patrick Sandoval, LAA vs. OAK ($46): Sandoval is off to a flying start this season. He has a 1.91 ERA through six starts, and his 2.75 FIP is quite encouraging as well. Meanwhile, the Athletics have the league's lowest team OPS.
Tony Gonsolin, LAD at PHI ($42): Gonsolin is actually off to an even better start than Sandoval. He has a 1.64 ERA through seven starts, and he is 4-0 as well. The Phillies are better offensively than the Athletics, but Gonsolin is a good bet to pick up a win, and with Bryce Harper dealing with an injury the Phillies look a little less imposing.
Bailey Ober, MIN at KC ($40): Ober was a middling but reliable starter in 2021 as a rookie, putting up a 4.19 ERA in 20 starts. This year he has only made four starts due to a stint on the IL, but he has a 2.75 ERA. The Royals, meanwhile, are bottom five in runs scored.
Top Targets
In his last two full seasons, Hunter Renfroe ($23) has hit more than 30 home runs. This year is his first with Milwaukee, but he has nine home runs and has slugged .514, so things are going just fine. Aaron Sanchez has a 7.94 ERA, and he's somehow allowed righties to hit .420.
Looking for an early leader in the Rookie of the Year race in the American League? Give a glance to Julio Rodriguez ($17). After a slow start, he's hit .275, and he's already stolen 12 bases. Nathan Eovaldi has a 4.32 ERA, and also a 6.01 FIP. He's also allowed righties, like Rodriguez, to hit .280 since 2020.
Bargain Bats
Although Adolis Garcia ($14) had a sub-.300 OBP in 2021, it didn't matter all that much when you consider that he had 31 home runs and 16 stolen bases. This year is more of the same, as he has six home runs and four swiped bags. Jose Urquidy has a 4.81 ERA, and in his career he has allowed 1.41 home runs per nine innings.
Santiago Espinal ($13) has put together a 14-game hitting streak getting his average up to .295. Last year, the 27-year-old quietly had a .311 average and .376 OBP. The Reds will start Graham Ashcraft in his MLB debut.
Stacks to Consider
Mets vs. Austin Gomber: Pete Alonso ($23), Francisco Lindor ($19), Starling Marte ($17)
Well, it's a game at Coors Field for starters. Last season Gomber moved from St. Louis to Colorado, posted a 4.60 FIP, and allowed 1.56 home runs per nine innings. Through seven games this year he has a 4.44 FIP.
Power has been key to Alonso's game since he hit 53 home runs as a rookie. This year, in addition to his .516 slugging percentage, he's also batted .286, an intriguing addition to his game. While Lindor's power has been sapped the last few years, he had 20 home runs and 10 stolen bases in 2021 and has six of the former and five of the latter this year. Marte has a steady bat (career .289 average) and a ton of speed (47 stolen bases in 2021). Coors is known for home runs, but its big outfield is also conducive to doubles, and even the occasional triple.
Rockies vs. Taijuan Walker: C.J. Cron ($21), Randal Grichuk ($17), Connor Joe ($16)
That's right, I'm flipping this matchup around. Both teams can benefit from Coors Field, at least offensively. Walker had a 4.57 FIP in 2021 and has a 4.09 FIP in 2022. He also has a 5.12 ERA on the road since 2020.
Cron has truly loved his time in Denver. He has an OPS higher than 1.000 at home since joining the Rockies, and this year he's batted .331/.378/.629 with 11 home runs. Grichuk is enjoying his move to Denver as well. He's hit .283 with five home runs and 22 RBI. Joe is the quintessential leadoff hitter, as he has a .287 average and .370 OBP. Leading off for this lineup has helped him accrue 23 runs in 36 games.
Astros vs. Taylor Hearn: Jose Altuve ($24), Alex Bregman ($18), Jeremy Pena ($18)
The lefty Hearn has moved from the bullpen to the starting rotation and, well, he has a 5.46 ERA. He's also allowed right-handers to hit .297 against him this year, and so I have three righties for this stack.
Altuve has righted the ship since his 2020 blip. He's batted .277/.350/.498 with 31 homers last year and eight this season. Bregman has an .816 OPS against lefties since 2020, and his .341 OBP shows he is at least still getting on base. Pena has looked good replacing Carlos Correa. The shortstop has a .279 average and .508 slugging percentage.
