The final week of August is here, which means we're closing in on the final month of the MLB regular season. It's a busy Monday, with 10 games on the DFS docket. The first pitch is at 7:05 p.m. ET. Here are my lineup recommendations.
Pitching
Max Scherzer, TOR vs. MIN ($9,600): Justin Verlander seems cooked, and Clayton Kershaw is getting by with guile, but Scherzer seems to still have some life left in his arm. Over his last five starts he's pitched 32.0 innings with a 2.25 ERA and 7.9 K/9 rate. The Twins probably won't fall lower than 24th in runs scored, where they currently sit, but the offense is also worse than it was before the trade deadline.
Noah Cameron, KAN at CWS ($9,200): Yeah, don't expect much in the way of offense in this game. Both the Royals and White Sox are in the bottom five in runs scored, but the Royals aren't in the bottom five in team OPS. The White Sox are, though. Even if Cameron has a 3.87 FIP compared to a 2.53 ERA in his rookie campaign, there's a lot to like about him. He has a 2.11 ERA on the road and the southpaw already has proven how to handle lefties, who he has held to a .165 average.
Michael McGreevy, STL vs. PIT ($7,000): McGreevy hasn't been quite as good as he showed in 23.0 innings of MLB cameo in 2024. However, while he has a 4.26 ERA this year, he has a 3.39 FIP. On top of that, he had a 2.91 FIP in Triple-A. McGreevy has an issue with strikeouts, but he looks to be decidedly above-average at avoiding walks and homers. Then, of course, there's the matchup. The Pirates comfortably have the worst offense in MLB.
Top Targets
Over the last three weeks, Bobby Witt ($3,800) has an 1.030 OPS. If he keeps this up he'll end up hitting .300 when all is said and done, and he's got a legitimate chance of getting to 50 doubles on the campaign. Shane Smith has been a viable MLB pitcher as a rookie, which is a bonus for the rebuilding White Sox, but his 4.41 FIP doesn't feel imposing by any means, especially where Witt is involved.
While Cody Bellinger ($3,400) hasn't been quite as good as he was in his resurgent 2023 season with the Cubs, he's definitely panned out for the Yankees. The southpaw has hit .270 with 24 homers, five triples, and 11 stolen bases. On top of that, like many lefties he enjoys Yankee Stadium, as he has a .901 OPS at home. Brad Lord has a 3.45 ERA, but he spent a lot of the season pitching out of the bullpen. Lefties have hit .259 against Lord, and lefties have hit three times as many homers against him as righties in fewer at-bats.
Bargain Bats
Across his time with the White Sox and the Brewers, Andrew Vaughn ($2,900) has an .818 OPS against lefties. Even last year, when Vaughn was heading toward "bust" status, he had a .772 OPS against southpaws. Eduardo Rodriguez is a lefty, and he's also had issues with home runs every since joining the Diamondbacks. This year his 5.40 ERA is built in part on his 1.62 HR/9 rate.
Though he's taken a step down from last, Luis Garcia ($2,800) has 11 home runs and 10 stolen bases. He has a .769 OPS versus righties, and also a .744 OPS on the road. The second baseman will get a shot at Cam Schlittler on Monday. Schlittler is coming off a very good start, but he still has a 4.57 FIP and 1.49 HR/9 rate over his seven MLB starts. Plus, he has a 4.12 ERA and 1.8 HR/9 rate at home in his brief Yankees tenure.
Stacks to Consider
Tigers at Athletics (J.T. Ginn): Riley Greene ($3,600), Kerry Carpenter ($3,000), Zach McKinstry ($3,000)
You absolutely want lefties with power facing Ginn. In the Athletics' new ballpark he has a 6.75 ERA and 2.9 HR/9 rate. In his career he's allowed southpaws to hit .331 against him. It's about as straightforward as a call for a stack can go. The only thing I had to ponder was which Tiger to include alongside Greene and Carpenter.
Greene is a lefty with 31 home runs, so that makes him an easy choice here. Not only that, but he's slugged .580 against righties and .522 on the road. Carpenter has hit 22 home runs, but that's in 102 games. He's slugged .548 against right-handed pitchers. McKinstry only has 11 home runs, but 10 of them have come against righties. On top of that, it's not likely only home runs deliver DFS points. McKinstry has 10 triples and 19 stolen bases as well.
Cardinals vs. Pirates (Mitch Keller): Alec Burleson ($2,900), Lars Nootbaar ($2,900), Nolan Gorman ($2,900)
You're never going to believe this, but Keller made it appear to some people like he had turned a corner, only to eventually start to unravel. Over his last six starts he has an 8.31 ERA, and his ERA on the season is now up to 4.34. If he doesn't turn things around, he's going to end up with his worst campaign since 2021. Believing in Keller is a fool's game. While he has kept the ball in the park, lefties have hit .271 against him in 2025. That's right, two all-southpaw stacks for you Monday.
Burleson has hit 15 homers in 118 games, but he's more a guy who hits for average. That being said, while he's hit .289 against righties, he has also slugged .460 in those matchups, which isn't too shabby. Over the last three weeks, Nootbaar has hit .322 and slugged .458. He also has an .827 OPS at home. Gorman has stepped into a regular role owing to injuries, and he's delivering an .847 OPS over the last three weeks. He's delivered 12 home runs and 10 doubles, but that's in 85 games.
