This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
Hopefully you're enjoying your Memorial Day weekend so far. The holiday itself is on Monday, but Sunday is part of the fun and festivities that includes some MLB baseball. There are eight games on the DFS slate, with the first pitch at 1:35 p.m. EDT. If you still have a few things to buy for your Monday barbeques, here are some DFS recommendations to try and help you earn some extra funds.
Pitching
Kyle Bradish, BAL at CWS ($8,800): Avoiding the siren song of a matchup against the White Sox is hard to do. Chicago has scored 156 runs with Seattle managing 37 more in 29th place. Bradish emerged with a 2.83 ERA last year. And while he's only made four starts this season due to injury, he's currently holding a 2.41.
Sean Manaea, NYM vs. SF ($7,600): If you want to save a bit of salary on your pitcher, I'd go with Manaea against his former team. The lefty has been unexpectedly good with a 3.11 ERA through nine appearances. A lot of that was built upon one terrible start against the Royals, and he's since gone on to record a 2.56. The Giants are surprisingly knocking on the door of the top-10 in offense and also have a lot of lefties in their ideal lineup. Those southpaws could be in trouble against Manaea, if they even play.
Top Targets
Unfortunately for Ronald Acuna ($4,000), his drop in power this year has basically taken him out of the MVP race. However, he does have a .358 OBP as a leadoff hitter and has 16 stolen bases. Acuna has also recorded a .595 home OPS with an .818 on the road. The lefty Martin Perez has a career 4.41 FIP while righties have gone .297 against this season.
Corey Seager ($3,800) has put his slow start fully behind him with a 1.066 OPS the last three weeks while producing seven homers during May. Since 2022, the southpaw has a .906 OPS versus righties while Pablo Lopez has allowed lefties to bat .258 against. And in a fascinating statistical quirk, Lopez has only given up 1.46 walks per nine innings yet has also conceded 1.46 homers.
Bargain Bats
After leaving Seattle for LA, Teoscar Hernandez made noise about having problems with the sightlines at Safeco Field. I wonder if Dylan Moore ($3,300) can relate. Over the last three seasons, he's registered a .604 home OPS with a .946 on the road. Moore also lists an .814 versus lefties during that time and is catching a favorable break on Sunday as Mitchell Parker was moved to Monday on the schedule to leave southpaw Patrick Corbin as the starter. He's slumped to a 5.80 ERA the last four years while righties have hit over .300 against.
He's a catcher for the most part, though Salvador Perez ($3,300) is still worth a roster spot as he doesn't necessarily hit like one slashing .326/.391/.529 with nine homers while slugging .498 the last five seasons. Taj Bradley boasts a dynamic fastball which generates a lot of swings and misses. But like many young pitchers with a big fastball, solid contact tends to do a lot of damage as he's given up a career 1.91 home runs per nine innings.
Stacks to Consider
Phillies at Rockies (Cal Quantrill): Kyle Schwarber ($4,100), Brandon Marsh ($3,500), Edmundo Sosa ($3,400)
The Phillies are at Coors, so a stack is a must. Quantrill is in his first season with the Rockies with a 3.59 ERA through 10 starts, though he managed a 5.24 last year with Cleveland. His FIP is currently at 4.60 and he's only struck out 6.87 batters per nine innings. In the long run, I envision Quantrill's numbers getting worse. And also right away.
A player who's crushed over 45 homers in each of the last two seasons will be playing at Coors Field, and he's a lefty who'll get to face a righty. That's my pitch on Schwarber. Some of Marsh's numbers are down, though he's delivered the counting stats with six home runs and eight steals. His issue is that he's struggled against lefties since he's produced an .865 OPS versus righties with, an .864 in those matchups last year. Sosa offers positional versatility for your lineup with surprising numbers as he's slashed .333/.418/.623 and just hit his third triple. While Quantrill is right-handed and so is Sosa, righties have gone .275 against the Colorado pitcher since 2022.
Rays vs. Royals (Michael Wacha): Isaac Paredes ($3,400), Jose Caballero ($3,100), Richie Palacios ($2,700)
Bobby Witt might win MVP. Perez hits as well as any catcher. Cole Ragans and Seth Lugo have given the Royals a surprisingly potent one-two punch in the rotation. A lot of good things have been happening in Kansas City, but new addition Wacha hasn't been part of that. He's on his sixth team in six seasons for a reason. The righty has posted a 4.45 ERA with a career 4.04 FIP. Tampa's lineup has endured many issues, yet I still found a worthwhile stack.
Paredes hasn't been part of the issue for the Rays as he's slashed .300/.388/.494 with nine homers and an .887 OPS at home the last couple years. Caballero brings the speed with 19 stolen bases so far after 26 in 2023. He's also been caught eight times, but it does speak to being aggressive on the basepaths. Palacios is leading off with a .364 OBP with four home runs and seven swiped bags. The lefty also lists a 34.8 line-drive percentage, which is encouraging as line drives turn into hits more than grounders and flies.
