As a Tigers' fan, my overarching feeling about baseball recently has been, in essence, "UGH". And yet, I remain steadfast in my dedication to offering you MLB DFS lineup recommendations to help you find the kind of success my beloved team has sorely lacked of late. There are 10 games on Sunday's DFS docket with the first pitch at 1:35 p.m. EDT. Here are those recommendations.
Pitching
Cam Schlittler, NYY at BAL ($8,200): Walks aside, Schlittler has proven a viable MLB pitcher as a rookie. And given his 1.04 HR/9 rate, he's managed to avoid having to pay too much for those free passes. The righty has also posted a 2.96 road ERA while the Orioles are fighting to avoid finishing bottom-10 in runs scored.
Simeon Woods Richardson, MIN vs. CLE ($7,200): Woods Richardson just notched his best career start with six shutout innings and 11 strikeouts against the Yankees. That was a home start, where his ERA there is now down to 3.05. Cleveland is probably going to make the playoffs (have I mentioned the Tigers collapsing?), but it's not due to their offense sitting 28th in runs and primed to finish with a sub-.300 OBP.
Jeffrey Springs, ATH at PIT ($6,300): Springs joined the Athletics when the team left Oakland's spacious stadium for a minor-league park in Sacramento. The lefty has struggled to a 5.00 ERA and 2.0 HR/9 rate at home, but a 3.45 ERA and 1.1 HR/9 rate on the road. Springs will be facing a Pirates side on Sunday that's locked into finishing last in runs scored and team OPS.
See which projected starters are going and when with RotoWire's Probable Pitchers page!
Top Targets
Thanks in part to an 1.020 OPS the last three weeks, George Springer ($5,400) is up to 30 home runs and likely to hit .300 overall. He's also produced a .975 OPS against his fellow righties. Michael Wacha was shelled in his first start back after a brief IL stay while righties have managed twice as many homers against him than lefties in fewer at-bats.
The switch-hitting Francisco Lindor ($5,400) has been surprisingly subpar against lefties, yet lists an .855 OPS versus righties. He's also not done well on the road, though claims a .928 home OPS. Good news! Lindor is all set to face a righty at home on Sunday. Jake Irvin also enters with a 5.76 ERA and 1.87 HR/9 rate.
Bargain Bats
While Nick Kurtz has stolen the show and Brent Rooker is the proven commodity, Tyler Soderstrom ($3,900) hasn't been a slouch for the Athletics batting .276 with 24 homers, 31 doubles, and 90 RBI. And it hasn't all been about the home park based on his .845 road OPS. Rookie righty Mike Burrows has posted a 4.10 ERA while his fellow righties have gone .261 against.
The Rangers' lineup wasn't yielding what I was looking for, but Jonah Heim ($2,600) makes a fine choice as your catcher. He's a switch-hitter and the Marlins will be starting a righty while he recently took over the No. 1 role back from the right-handed Kyle Higashioka. Eury Perez is coming off a solid start, though I'm not going to overreact to that based on his 5.77 road ERA.
Stacks to Consider
Padres at White Sox (Sean Burke): Fernando Tatis ($5,500), Manny Machado ($5,300), Jake Cronenworth ($3,800)
Whenever I see Sean Burke's name, I'm reminded of the former NHL goalie. Unfortunately, he's struggled for the White Sox with a 5.04 FIP, a sub-2.00 K/BB rate, and a 1.50 HR/9 rate. Righties have also hit .273 against him, so I've included two right-handed bats in this stack.
Though Tatis's power was down this year, he still has 22 home runs and stole 30 bases for the first time in his career. Over the past two seasons, he's been better against his fellow righties and currently sits at a .841 OPS. Machado recently popped a grand slam and now has five homers the last three weeks. The third baseman has been better on the road in 2025 by notching an .813 OPS. Given Cronenworth's salary and the fact he can be rostered at shortstop or second base, I figured he made a decent choice for a lefty bat. His power is limited, yet he's recorded a .372 OBP that's helped him score 60 runs in 129 games.
Reds vs. Cubs (Jameson Taillon): Elly De La Cruz ($5,600), Matt McLain ($3,700), Spencer Steer ($3,300)
Taillon just handled the Pirates, though he's also produced a 3.93 ERA that's paired with a 4.88 FIP. And his road ERA is 4.52 with a 2.1 HR/9 rate. Righties have oddly gone .262 against Taillon while lefties have struggled. I say that because that isn't the norm for the veteran. However, since I was able to find a couple Reds' righties who've looked solid versus righty pitchers, I was good to roll with this season's splits.
The switch-hitting De La Cruz finally hit his 20th homer, which had been a long time coming. Of course, he's also compiled seven triples, 36 stolen bases and an .834 home OPS. McLain is quite all-or-nothing, though 15 homers and 18 steals from a second baseman works for me. He's been better at home like De La Cruz with a .757 OPS. Steer has been more in and out of the lineup as of late, but has managed a 1.054 OPS the last three weeks. He also enjoys hitting in Cincinnati with a .797 OPS.
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