The playoffs are right around the corner, but there are some regular-season games for MLB teams to get through, be they teams heading to the postseason or heading to the golf course. This is assuming that, like hockey players, baseball players spend all summer golfing. There are six games on the DFS slate, with the first pitch at 6:40 p.m. ET. Here are my MLB DFS lineup recommendations.
Pitching
Parker Messick, CLE vs. DET ($8,800): Call it the cynicism of a Tigers fan, but I have watched the Tigers absolutely careen off a cliff, and there is zero reason to believe that spiral is going to end. Even if the Tigers weren't putting the finishing touches on an all-time collapse, Messick has been crushing it in MLB. The lefty has a 2.16 ERA through six MLB starts, and even his 3.27 FIP in Triple-A is encouraging.
Emerson Hancock, SEA vs. COL ($6,000): It already has been announced Bryan Woo is getting more time to return from his pectoral injury, so odds are Hancock will emerge from the bullpen to return to his prior role as a starter. He's pitched reasonably well out of the bullpen, and in Seattle's pitcher-friendly park he could manage to give the Mariners five innings. The Rockies are 29th in runs scored and last in team OBP, after all. At this salary, it's worth seeing if Hancock can step up in this opportunity, presuming as projected he gets it.
Top Target
For the second season in a row, Jose Ramirez ($5,800) has gotten to 30 homers, 30 doubles and 40 stolen bases. He also has an .878 OPS at home since 2023. Keider Montero has a career 5.17 FIP, and even once the Tigers get into the bullpen, the switch-hitting Ramirez has an OPS over .840 against both righties and lefties.
Bargain Bat
Round out the left side of your DFS infield Thursday with J.P. Crawford ($3,300). I am not merely recommending him because I saw him hit a grand slam on Sunday evening. That is just one brick in the .886 OPS he's managed over the last three weeks. The shortstop has also hit .284 against righties and .273 at home. Though this game is not at Coors, Bradley Blalock has a career 5.59 ERA on the road, and lefties have hit .335 against him.
Stacks to Consider
Royals at Angels (Mitch Farris): Bobby Witt ($5,900), Maikel Garcia ($4,400), Salvador Perez ($4,000)
The 6.52 ERA that Farris has picked up in four MLB starts includes three road outings, so we don't have a strong sense of how the Angels' own ballpark will impact him. In his one home start he did allow only two run in six innings, but both came on solo home runs. Arguably, he got lucky, and clearly the Angels' ballpark hasn't prevented him from allowing homers. Farris is a southpaw, so I have three righties from the Royals.
Though he's very unlikely to hit .300, given that he's at .291, there's an outside chance Witt gets to both 100 runs scored and 40 stolen bases. Also, in 2025, hitting .291 with 44 doubles and 23 homers is absolutely remarkable. Garcia has a chance to join Witt in the 40-double club, and he'll be happy to see a lefty on the mound. The third baseman has a .913 OPS in those matchups. Maybe it's Cal Raleigh's fault, but Perez is a catcher who is going to finish with 30 homers and 100 RBI, and that's rare at his position. He may no longer be the best power-hitting catcher in baseball, but I'm happy to have him in that spot in a DFS roster. The fact that he has a .907 OPS over the last three weeks only juices that.
Yankees vs. White Sox (Davis Martin): Jazz Chisholm ($5,700), Cody Bellinger ($5,200), Ben Rice ($4,400)
Martin has had one of those seasons where, if you just look at his ERA, you would think he's made strides. Everything else, though, tells you that he has not. His 4.03 ERA is paired with a 4.71 FIP, his K/9 rate is down to 6.44, and his HR/9 rate is up to 1.30. Since Martin is right-handed, and since Yankee Stadium is often kind to southpaw hitters, I have a three-lefty stack.
Chisholm has been a star for the Yankees in 2025, posting a 30/30 season even though he's only played in 125 games due to injury. He's particularly shown out in the Bronx, as he has a .926 OPS at home. Bellinger is going to have 30 homers and 100 RBI for the first time since 2019, when he was NL MVP with the Dodgers. His home OPS is .909. Rice, getting significant playing time for the first season in his career, has responded with 24 home runs in 135 games. His home OPS is not as impressive as his teammates, but you can chalk that up to his OBP. Rice has slugged .500 at Yankee Stadium.
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