We're hitting mid-August. Temperatures are high, and excitement for MLB action may have dipped a bit. It's the proverbial dog days of the season. What keeps one interested is DFS. And more specifically, the thought of DFS success. There are nine games on Sunday's docket with the first pitch at 1:05 p.m. EDT. Here are my recommendations.
Pitching
Quinn Priester, MIL vs. NYM ($9,700): Priester has been quite the pleasant surprise for the Brewers. They surely didn't expect to add him this season and watch him become an above-average starter. I know that in part because Priester has pitched out of the bullpen five times. But he's posted a 2.28 ERA over his last seven outings and went at least six innings in five of those. The Mets are middle-of-the-pack offensively, but Priester has earned enough trust for such a matchup.
Patrick Corbin, TEX vs. PHI ($7,800): Once the Athletics placed Luis Severino on IL Saturday, I needed to pivot. To try and save some salary, I opted for Corbin even though, as you'll see, I'm also recommending a hitter against him. He's enjoyed Texas better than Washington with a 3.44 home ERA. Corbin is also a southpaw, and even has largely held lefties in check during his poor campaigns. And given Philly's lineup, that's to his benefit.
Ryan Bergert, KAN at MIN ($6,800): Could Bergert be another under-the-radar deadline addition who really pans out similar to Cole Ragans? Okay, that's a lot of pressure after one start. However, he registered a 2.78 ERA with the Padres through 11 appearances - seven which were starts. In Bergert's first appearance with the Royals, he went 5.2 innings and only allowed two hits and two runs on the road against the Red Sox. The Twins have been better than expected after their fire sale, yet they're still a likely candidate to finish bottom-10 in runs scored.
Find out which projected starters are going and when with RotoWire's Probable Pitchers page!
Top Targets
Though Trea Turner ($5,700) has only delivered 12 home runs, that's still fine for a shortstop. On top of that, he's produced 25 doubles, four triples, and 26 steals. In terms of power, he's slugged .500 on the road. Patrick Corbin is enjoying his best season in years, but still lists a 4.11 FIP while righties have gone .272 against.
Since returning from injury on Jul. 27, Kerry Carpenter ($4,100) has already notched four homers. He's also slugged .542 at home the last three seasons and .554 against righties. Jack Kochanowicz has only struck out 6.02 batters per nine innings while surrendering 1.46 home runs per nine.
Bargain Bats
Going back to just before the All-Star break, Kyle Manzardo ($3,700) has five homers and an 1.100 OPS from his last 19 games. As a lefty, it's not surprising he's done most of his damage against right-handed pitchers. Righties have actually hit Davis Martin a bit better, though he's also a pitcher with a 4.61 FIP and 1.31 HR/9 rate. I'll take the southpaw Manzardo and his power upside in that matchup.
With a lefty starting for the Astros, there's a decent chance Jose Caballero ($3,600) will be in the lineup for the Yankees. If he is, we know what he does best: stealing bases with 44 last season and currently at 35. Righties have batted .315 against Colton Gordon, so Caballero should get the chance to swipe a bag or maybe even two.
Stacks to Consider
Athletics at Orioles (Cade Povich): Brent Rooker ($5,600), Shea Langeliers ($5,500), Darell Hernaiz ($3,100)
Pitching injuries really hurt the Orioles this year. Otherwise, Povich wouldn't be making his 14th start. As a rookie in 2024, he had a 5.20 ERA. That number has inched up to 5.25, with a 6.81 and 2.3 HR/9 rate at home. Righties have also hit .273 against the southpaw across his career, so we're unsurprisingly going with an all-righty stack.
Rooker may not get to 30 homers again, but he's already provided three triples and is likely to get to 30 doubles for the first time. And in terms of his power, he's registered an 1.008 OPS against lefties. Langeliers has been one of baseball's best-hitting catchers and this matchup is right up his alley. In addition to his 1.054 OPS against southpaws, he's posted an 1.004 on the road. Until Jacob Wilson is healthy, Hernaiz likely gets into the Athletics' lineup at shortstop. He notched an .807 OPS in Triple-A and has slashed .286/.341/.514 in MLB through 10 games.
Reds at Pirates (Mike Burrows): Elly De La Cruz ($6,100), Noelvi Marte ($5,000), TJ Friedl ($3,400)
Burrows has been passable as a big-league pitcher during his rookie campaign with his 4.45 ERA. That's not exactly exciting, and at home he's managed a 2.3 HR/9 rate. Righties have gone .261 against Burrows, so I did include one righty. The other two hit left-handed.
De La Cruz is a switch-hitter, yet his preference is already strikingly clear as he can't square up lefties but has a .909 OPS against righties. He's also tallied 30 stolen bases. Marte has seven home runs and seven swipes from only 48 games to go with a .843 road OPS and an .853 against right-handers. Friedl has 10 homers and 11 steals while increasing his OBP to .373. He doesn't offer much power, but has slugged .426 against righties since 2023.
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