As we move toward the end of the MLB regular season, there's still plenty left to be decided. One thing that will be decided Thursday is whether you have DFS success. There are six games on the DFS slate Thursday, with the first pitch at 6:40 p.m. ET. Here are my lineup recommendations.
Pitching
Gavin Williams, CLE vs. KAN ($9,300): It's a bleak day for pitching. So much so that Williams is probably the best option. At least in each of his last two starts he has gone seven innings and allowed a single run. The Royals are 28th in runs scored, so Williams may be able to put another good start together. It helps that he's very good against lefties, even if Kansas City's best hitter, Bobby Witt, is right-handed.
Randy Vasquez, SDP vs. COL ($6,400): There are two instances in which I would ever consider Vasquez for DFS purposes. First, a start against the Pirates. Second, a home start against the Rockies. This is the latter. Vasquez has a 3.77 ERA at home, which isn't good but also isn't all that bad, and the Rockies are 29th in runs scored even with their home ballpark. Take that offense and drop it in Petco and things looks decidedly different.
Top Target
Few hitters are as all-or-nothing as Riley Greene ($5,100), but on the "all" side of things he has 33 homers and 30 doubles on the season. The lefty has slugged .572 against right-handed pitchers, and Yankee Stadium tends to be kind to lefties. Rookie Cam Schlittler has been strong on the road, but he has a 4.28 ERA at home. Not coincidentally, he has a 1.3 HR/9 rate at home as well.
Bargain Bat
As the Mariners vie for their postseason standing, Jorge Polanco ($4,100) has exploded for an 1.216 OPS over the last three weeks. He's also slugged .527 at home this season. The move from Yusei Kikuchi to Jose Soriano as the starter makes things less palatable, but Soriano has allowed righties to hit .262 against him this season and in his last start he allowed eight runs in 2.1 innings. As a DFS second baseman, Polanco is worth a shot given that.
Stack to Consider
Padres vs. Rockies (McCade Brown): Manny Machado ($5,200), Jackson Merrill ($4,200), Jake Cronenworth ($3,500)
The Rockies jumped Brown from Double-A, where he was pitching well, to MLB. It's been a rough transition for the 25-year-old righty. Brown has a 12.54 ERA after three starts, with both righties and lefties hitting well over .300 against him. His last start was against these same Padres. Brown allowed six runs…in 1.2 innings. So yeah, load up!
Machado has been cold, but to get a righty in the stack (righties have hit .391 against Brown) and to offer some positional variety, I'm taking a shot on him. After all, on the season he's hit .274 with 23 homers, 33 doubles and 13 stolen bases. It won't be hard for him to show his usual form in this matchup. Injuries have hindered Merrill's sophomore campaign, but after his most-recent IL stint he's getting back in gear. Over his last four outings he has one homer, two doubles and two triples. He's also slugged .514 against righties in his career. Cronenworth has an .811 OPS over the last three weeks. The second baseman also has a .374 OBP versus righties in 2025.
Angels at Mariners (Bryce Miller): Zach Neto ($4,500), Mike Trout ($4,000), Yoan Moncada ($3,500)
The wheels came off for Miller this season. Even with the fact he had a 3.58 FIP last season, compared to a 2.94 ERA, this was not to be expected. His ERA has soared to 5.53 as his K/9 rate has dropped to 6.81 and his HR/9 rate has risen to 1.54. Even after a long injury break, Miller has a 5.06 ERA since returning. That time off to heal didn't help. Though Miller is right-handed, righties have hit .284 against him, so I have two righties in this stack.
Neto and Trout are two guys who have been cold, but also had good games Wednesday. As to Neto, he hit his 26th home run, which goes with 25 stolen bases and 29 doubles on the season. Yes, if you were not aware, Neto is a shortstop who has put together a 25/25/25 campaign, which is within shouting distance of Francisco Lindor at his best. Trout is far from his best these days, but he has a .368 OBP this season and has hit 20 homers in 114 games. He also has an .823 OPS versus his fellow righties. Yoncada has an 1.010 OPS over the last three weeks. Though he is a switch hitter, he has an .851 OPS versus righties while he's struggled against lefties.
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