It's the last weekend of summer, at least as per the calendar. Friday features 12 MLB games starting at 7:05 p.m. ET or later. Ready to tackle another weekend of DFS action? Great! Here are my MLB DFS lineup recommendations.
Pitching
Dylan Cease, SDP at CWS ($9,800): It's been an, "Everything but the ERA" season for Cease, who has a 3.56 FIP and 11.52 K/9 rate, but a 4.59 ERA. However, he has a 2.40 ERA over his last three starts, and the White Sox offer him a good matchup. The Sox are in the bottom five in runs scored and team OPS.
Max Scherzer, TOR at KAN ($7,700): Scherzer has a 4.31 ERA, but mostly he's had an issue with home runs. That may not be a concern when it comes to this matchup with the Royals. In addition to being 28th in runs scored, Kansas City is 25th in home runs. If the ball stays in the park, Scherzer should be good to go Friday.
Andrew Alvarez, WAS at NYM ($6,000): At this salary, I'm willing to see if Alvarez's hot start to his MLB career continues. It's only been three starts, but the southpaw has an 1.15 ERA. Granted, he has a 3.72 FIP, but at this salary, a lefty with a 3.72 ERA would also be of interest to me. The Mets are just outside the top 10 in runs scored, but their performance in the last couple months has been erratic. This is a role of the dice, but one that can save you a fair amount of salary with some real upside.
Top Targets
Having the power to hit 25 homers while having the skills to hit .300 is rare in modern MLB, but Vladimir Guerrero ($5,300) is such a hitter. He's hit .352 over the last three weeks, and on the road this year he has a .920 OPS. Michael Lorenzen has a 4.91 ERA, and since 2023 his fellow righties have hit .272 against him. Most of those righties aren't Vladito, either.
Though Gunnar Henderson ($4,500) is going to end up with a career-low in home runs by a considerable margin, he's already bested his personal high in doubles and stolen bases, so it's still been a fine campaign. The lefty has an .882 OPS against righties, but he also has an .839 OPS at home. Will Warren has a 5.81 ERA on the road, and lefties have hit .270 against him. Whether it's a homer or a couple doubles, Henderson can produce for you Friday.
Bargain Bats
Injuries have played a factor with Jackson Merrill ($4,200) this season, but over the last three weeks he has an 1.001 OPS. That's helped him get things back on track as the playoffs loom. While his performance has dipped even against righties in his sophomore campaign, Merrill's .838 OPS in those matchups isn't concerning by any means. Davis Martin has a career 4.29 ERA, and over the last two seasons he's allowed 1.6 homers per nine innings at home.
Some Rockies seem to get so attuned to Coors Field that it ruins their approach in any other park, and it feels like Brenton Doyle ($3,800) is one of those guys. He's truly atrocious on the road, but at home this season he has an .868 OPS and that's what is relevant Friday! Doyle's .844 OPS against lefties is also relevant with Mitch Farris in line to start for the Angels. It's only been three MLB starts, but Farris has a 5.48 FIP and 1.80 HR/9 rate.
Stacks to Consider
Angels at Rockies (Bradley Blalock): Jo Adell ($4,900), Taylor Ward ($4,800), Luis Rengifo ($3,800)
The Angels are banged up and bereft of lefties, but I still am happy to stack them Friday. Blalock has a career 10.85 ERA and 2.1 HR/9 rate at home. Lefties have hit .333 against them, which is why I wish a southpaw was available. Fortunately, Rengifo is a switch-hitter, at least.
Adell and Ward are two swing-for-the-fences, all-or-nothing hitters, but that approach is enticing at Coors Field. The former has 36 home runs this season, and over the last three weeks he's slugged .586. Ward has 33 homers, and thanks to his placement in the lineup he has 100 RBI. He's struggled at home, but he has a .916 OPS on the road, which is even more enticing given the park he is playing at Friday. Rengifo doesn't really have power, but he has 15 doubles, three triples and 10 stolen bases. He's the closest thing to a healthy left-handed hitter the Angels have, and since you can slot him in at second base, I think his profile works.
Diamondbacks vs. Phillies (Walker Buehler): Corbin Carroll ($5,900), Geraldo Perdomo ($4,900), Gabriel Moreno ($3,900)
I have seen Taijuan Walker elsewhere as the probable starter for the Phillies, but I trust the Rotowire probable pitcher grid, and it says Buehler. Plus, either way, it's going to be a righty having a poor season on the mound for Philly. Since Buehler's injury that cost him all of 2023, his strikeouts have been way down while his walks and homers have been way up. Unfortunately he's not the same guy, and he has a 5.63 FIP this season. Lefties have hit .306 against Buehler since his return, so I have two southpaws in this stack. However, I included the righty Moreno, a catcher, because righties have hit six more homers than lefties against Buehler, and that is in a fewer number of at-bats. Now, righties have also only hit .221 against him, but that power upside with a catcher was intriguing to me.
Carroll is already had 30 homers and 30 doubles, and he will get to 30 stolen bases as well. I really wish he could get to 20 triples, but since he's "only" at 17 that seems unlikely. However, let me reiterate that Carroll has 17 triples in 136 games, because that's incredible. Of course, he's also a southpaw facing a righty who struggles with said southpaws. Perdomo has given the Diamondbacks another start hitter for the future if we extrapolate upon his 2025 campaign. Technically the shortstop is a switch hitter, but his .839 OPS versus righties is good, and his .929 OPS at home is great. A catcher who sees time at DH is always interesting. When said catcher also has slugged .460 at home and .465 against righties, then I'm sold.
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