This article is part of our DraftKings MLB series.
Welcome to September! You've been at it for months, and you're sticking with MLB DFS. There are nine games on the slate on Sunday with the first pitch at 1:35 p.m. EDT. It's a new month, and it's time for a new batch of lineup recommendations.
Pitching
Dylan Cease, SD at TAM ($10,000): Walks are a bit of an issue for Cease, but it seems like he'll finish with a double-digit K/9 rate and an HR/9 rate below 1.00 for the third straight season. There's also a good chance he leads MLB in strikeouts. Speaking of which, the Rays sit bottom-eight in Ks and bottom-eight in offense.
Nestor Cortes, NYY vs. STL ($8,500): Cortes' last two road starts have gone quite well, though he's always happy to see Yankee Stadium when it's his turn on the mound with a 4.32 ERA away and a 2.76 at home the last three seasons. The bottom-five in runs scored have separated themselves from the pack, but the Cardinals are in the mix to finish 25th.
Alex Cobb, CLE vs. PIT ($6,600): Cobb underwent hip surgery during the offseason, worked his way back through the minors, and made his Guardians debut in August. His first start wasn't great, yet the second one went well. Then Cobb got hurt again, but this time it was a cracked fingernail. There's no reason to believe that'll keep him from going at least 5.0 innings on Sunday. The Pirates are on the fringes of the bottom-10 in runs scored, but firmly there for team OPS and strikeouts.
Top Targets
Vladimir Guerrero ($5,700) won't hit over 40 homers like he did in his remarkable 2021 season, but he's going to exceed 30 alongside 40-plus doubles and likely his best average. There's no slowing down with a .960 OPS the last three weeks. Bailey Ober has allowed 1.39 homers per nine innings over his career and just gave up nine runs in 2.0 innings against Atlanta.
There will be no repeat for the Rangers, and Corey Seager ($5,600) won't finish in the top-three in MVP voting again, though he's still been one of the best-hitting shortstops. He's mostly struggled with southpaws as his .951 OPS versus righties is certainly top-notch. Rookie Mitch Spence has been serviceable at home, but has struggled to a 5.23 ERA and 1.7 HR/9 rate on the road.
Bargain Bats
James Wood ($5,000) isn't cheating himself out there. He's racked up five homers, three triples, and 11 stolen bases in his first 52 big-league games, yet he's also been caught stealing seven times. Unsurprisingly for a young lefty hitter, southpaw pitchers have kept him in check while righties have conceded an .868 OPS. Jameson Taillon has recently slumped with a 6.55 ERA through his last six starts while allowing two homers in three of those outings.
Though Nico Hoerner ($4,300) will fall short of the 43 bases he stole last season, he's still at 27 to go with 28 doubles. The righty has registered a .356 OBP versus lefties and a .352 on the road. Rookie lefty Mitchell Parker has a 4.26 ERA with his fellow lefties going .281 against while righties have managed 16 of the 17 homers he's given up.
Stacks to Consider
Yankees vs. Cardinals (Miles Mikolas): Juan Soto ($6,600), Jazz Chisholm ($5,500), Gleyber Torres ($4,300)
The oh-so-hittable Mikolas should be in trouble Sunday as he lists a 5.23 ERA with lefties batting .279 against and righties at .278. And he's conceded at least four runs seven times across his last 12 appearances. The Yankees have plenty of bats to challenge Mikolas, especially at home.
Soto has been so good he's managed to not be overshadowed by Aaron Judge's MVP numbers. He's posted an OPS over 1.000 against righties and at Yankee Stadium. Chisholm has missed time since donning pinstripes, but he still has nine homers and six steals in 22 games. And since 2022, he's recorded an .849 OPS versus right-handed pitchers. Torres has recently been leading off, which means batting ahead of Judge and Soto. And over the last three weeks, he's gotten on base at a .379 clip to give his teammates plenty of opportunities to drive him in.
Astros vs. Royals (Alec Marsh): Yordan Alvarez ($6,100), Jose Altuve ($5,400), Yainer Diaz ($4,400)
The Royals had reinforced the rotation well enough to push Marsh back down to Triple-A. But with Michael Lorenzen on the IL, Marsh is back again for the time being. He's certainly at the bottom of KC's pitcher power rankings given his career 5.09 ERA and 1.55 HR/9 rate. Righties have hit .258 against and lefties are at .254, so this stack was just about finding the best hitters.
Alvarez has taken a slight step back this season, though that means he's slashed .312/.400/.559 with 28 homers in 127 games. He's been even better of late with a 1.188 OPS the last three weeks. With two more home runs, Altuve will achieve hit first 20/20 campaign since 2017. He's produced much more power against lefties this year, but has also notched an .845 home OPS at home. Diaz has tallied a career .840 OPS versus his fellow righties. On top of that, the catcher has a .911 at home.
