The final weekend of July (slash the first weekend of August) kicks off with a busy Friday. There are 13 games on the DFS docket. The first pitch is at 7:05 p.m. ET. Here are my MLB DFS lineup recommendations. Thanks for reading.
Pitching
Hunter Brown, HOU vs. TEX ($9,000): Brown has been erratic over his nine starts he's made this year, but his last start was an absolute gem against the White Sox, getting his ERA down to 3.45. Maybe he's not the pitcher who had a 2.43 ERA last year in the long term, but he had a 3.49 ERA in 2024, and Brown's probably somewhere between those two points when all is said and done. In this all-Texas battle, the Rangers are the ones in the bottom 10 in runs scored, so that's a point in Brown's favor.
Kyle Leahy, STL at TOR ($7,500): Leahy is locked in! He has an 1.15 ERA over his last six outings, giving him a 3.55 ERA in his first season as a starter. Toronto and Cleveland are battling it out to avoid being last in runs scored, but with Arizona's Mitch Bratt set to face Cleveland, Leahy against Toronto is the pitcher I want of those two.
Carson Whisenhunt, SFG at SDP ($6,800): Whisenhunt has pitched well in Triple-A this year (4.15 ERA, 3.08 FIP), but even at that level he has issues with walks, so even though he's only made eight MLB starts, the walks do seem to be part of the deal. The southpaw has also managed to keep lefties in check at the MLB level, so there is a positive to go with the negative. San Diego's ballpark is kind to pitchers and tends to suppress home run totals. The Padres are below-average in terms of hitting homers, and they are only of a handful of teams below a .700 OPS. In terms of trying to save some salary on a pitcher, Whisenhunt could work on that front.
Top Targets
Though Brice Turang ($5,200) has seen his average drop from .288 to .271, his OBP and his slugging percentage are up this year. He also has 15 homers and 15 stolen bases, putting him on the verge of his first 20/20 season. Ryan Johnson posted a 7.36 ERA last season but that was in only 14.2 innings. This season he's pitched 41.2 innings…and his ERA is 7.34.
Thursday, Jac Caglianone ($4,900) picked up a couple hits, including his 17th home run. Hopefully he's getting out of his funk, because the Royals are banged up and I want some power from the team. Why? The Royals are headed to Coors Field this weekend! Tomoyuki Sugano has allowed 1.89 home runs per nine innings in his career, and don't forget he played for Baltimore last season. He's allowed two home runs in each of his last three starts. Let's see if Caglianone can pick one up Friday.
Bargain Bats
The Mets have a couple promising young lefties in the outfield, including Carson Benge ($3,900). Though Benge's OPS will not wow, he has 11 homers and 17 stolen bases in 105 games as a rookie. Janson Junk is in line to start for the Marlins, and the righty is remarkably bad at getting lefties out. Since 2024, southpaws have hit .321 against him.
I mentioned Coors earlier, and so I will recommend Willi Castro ($3,700) as well. The switch-hitting Castro has averaged .307 at home, and while he isn't a power hitter per se, over the last three weeks he's slugged .571. Michael Wacha has been solid this year and he doesn't allow many homers, but he has a 4.07 ERA on the road. That makes this a matchup in which I'd rather go with a bargain bat.
Stacks to Consider
Tigers at Athletics (Jeffrey Springs): Dillon Dingler ($5,800), Gleyber Torres ($4,500), Spencer Torkelson ($3,800)
It's too late for the Tigers to salvage this season, but they can enjoy a weekend at the Athletics' hitter-friendly ballpark. Springs must hate said ballpark as much as anybody. Last year, he had a 4.81 ERA and 1.9 HR/9 rate at home. This season, he's up to a 6.79 ERA and 2.7 HR/9 rate. Since Springs is a southpaw, I have three righties from the Tigers.
Dingler has a high salary for a catcher, but he's worth it in this scenario. He's slugged .515 on the year, and on the road he's slugged .572. Torres has only played in 52 games, hence the five homers and eight doubles. He has a .383 OBP, though, and if he's on base, somebody can drive him in. Torkelson hits homers and doubles, and that's it. He doesn't hit for average or walk much or steal bases, but he has 20 homers and 18 doubles in 108 games. Given this matchup, that's sufficient for me.
Rays vs. White Sox (Erick Fedde): Yandy Diaz ($4,800), Jonathan Aranda ($4,100), Cedric Mullins ($3,300)
Fedde has a 4.25 ERA but a 5.44 FIP. He has a career 4.86 ERA, in part because his career K/BB ratio is 1.90 and his HR/9 rate is 1.41. If that wasn't enough, the righty has a 5.40 ERA on the road, so I'm stacking Rays at home.
Diaz has been cold but he had a couple hits Thursday. Being at home should help, as he has an 1.019 OPS there. Righties have hit 14 of the 19 home runs that Fedde has allowed this year. In the past, lefties have shown more power against him, so that might be fluky, but it doesn't hurt when it comes to recommending Diaz. Aranda can't hit lefties at all, but since 2024 he has an .881 OPS against righties. Additionally, he has a .909 OPS at home. Mullins delivers counting stats for his salary. He has 13 home runs and 16 stolen bases in 93 games, with every one of those homers coming against a righty.
