Yahoo DFS Baseball: Sunday Picks

Yahoo DFS Baseball: Sunday Picks

This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Baseball series.

Hot enough for you? If you are in many areas of the country, your answer is probably "Oh god, yes!". However, hot temperatures and daytime games can lead to the ball really carrying, and that would mean more runs. From a fantasy perspective, that certainly matters. As always, there are 15 MLB games Sunday, starting at 1:05 PM ET. Here are your recommendations.

STARTING PITCHER

James Paxton, SEA vs. KAN ($47): Paxton has had a few middling starts recently, but there is no reason to fear. He still sports a 3.14 FIP and has struck out 11.63 batters per nine innings. Plus, the Royals are last in runs scored, so it feels a little strange that several pitchers are pricier than the big Canadian.

Jameson Taillon, PIT at SDP ($41): If you are worried about the weather affecting pitcher performance around baseball, why not go with a guy pitching in the 70-degree temperatures of San Diego. The Padres' ballpark has tended to be beneficial to pitchers as well, while Taillon comes in with a 3.74 FIP and has pitched better on the road the last two seasons.

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CATCHER

Kurt Suzuki, ATL at STL ($11): Suzuki had an impressive 19 homers in only 81 games last season with the Braves, and this year he's slashing .287/.352/.484. The Cardinals' John Gant has spent most of his career as a relief pitcher, yet still has a 4.37 ERA.

FIRST BASE

Anthony Rizzo, CHC vs. MIN ($16): Rizzo has struggled against lefties this season, but owns an .804 OPS against righties. He's also been hitting considerably better at home. Lance Lynn is a righty, so there are no worries there, and he's really struggled on the road by posting a 6.64 ERA.

SECOND BASE

Ketel Marte, ARI vs. SFG ($17): Unlike Rizzo, Marte has mashed against lefties. He's put up a .867 OPS against southpaws, including a .519 slugging percentage. The Giants are starting lefty Derek Holland, who has a 4.38 FIP. That's not terrible, but it is also his best FIP since 2014.

THIRD BASE

Travis Shaw, MIL at CIN ($16): You want to keep Shaw away from left-handed pitchers, but righties provide no problem. Over the last two seasons, he's posted a .535 slugging percentage against right-handed hurlers. All 14 of his homers this year have been against righties. Not only is Matt Harvey a righty, he allowed 2.04 homers per nine innings last season and that number is a concerning 1.56 this year.

SHORTSTOP

Manny Machado, BAL vs. LAA ($18): Machado has averaged a robust 7.8 fantasy points per game this season, which would be great at any position, let alone shortstop. He's posting personal bests in all the slash categories, and he's primed to hit the 30-homer mark for the fourth straight season. We don't know much about Deck McGuire of the Angels, but we do know he's pitched six games in relief this season and sports a 8.27 FIP.

OUTFIELD

Mike Trout, LAA at BAL ($24): Trout is back playing in the field, instead of just DHing, which means he's in better health. When Trout is healthy, you probably know he's the best player in baseball, and that's also applies to fantasy baseball. He's matchup proof, but Kevin Gausman happens to be a favorable matchup on top of everything else. Gausman enters with a 4.46 FIP and has given up 1.29 home runs per nine innings over his career.

Teoscar Hernandez, TOR vs. DET ($17): The one thing Hernandez does well is hit for power. He has a career slugging percentage of .513. Jordan Zimmermann is having his best season as a Tiger, but his strikeouts are way up and his home run rate is down. It's only been nine games, though, so he could easily regress. Besides, he has slumped with a 6.00 ERA on the road.

Nick Markakis, ATL at STL ($16): Markakis is primed to be an All-Star for the first time, and it's easy to see why when you see he's slashing .326/.391/.492 with nine homers. As previously noted, John Gant has a career 4.37 ERA. This year, he's only allowed 0.27 home runs per nine innings, and that's a number that is almost unsustainably low, especially for a starter.

The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire. Chris Morgan plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: FanDuel: cmorgan3, DraftKings: cmorgan3.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Chris Morgan
Chris Morgan is a writer of sports, pop culture, and humor articles, a book author, a podcaster, and a fan of all Detroit sports teams.
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