Here in Michigan, the summer temperatures have arrived, so I imagine that is the same in much of the country. Will that mean more baseballs getting over the fence? More runs for teams and for your DFS lineups? There are 12 games on the slate for DFS purposes on Friday, with the first game starting at 7:05 p.m. ET. Here are some MLB DFS lineup recommendations that bring the heat.
Pitching
Peter Lambert, HOU vs. ATH ($8,000): Lambert is now eight starts into his life post-Rockies, and while he has seen his numbers dip a bit, he still has a 3.43 FIP and has kept the ball in the park, indicating that Coors Field maybe, just maybe, contributed to his homer concerns in the past. Speaking of the Rockies, with the way the Athletics' temporary home in Sacramento has played offensively, maybe like the Rockies we should consider the fact they are still below average in terms of runs scored a sign the offense is, all in all, not very good.
Christian Scott, NYM at SDP ($7,600): Match up alone makes Scott an enticing option, as the Padres are last in runs score and team OPS. They may not finish with MLB's worst offense, but we're deep enough into the season that the bottom five is a practical guarantee. However, Scott has actually been fairly good in his own right. Through seven starts he has a 2.97 ERA.
Kumar Rocker, TEX vs. CLE ($6,500): Consistently, Rocker has pitched better at home than on the road. His home/road splits are as stark as anybody's. I'm talking a 7.02 ERA on the road and a 2.71 ERA at home. Well, this game is at home. Cleveland is below average at scoring runs. Why not take a chance on Rocker and his extreme splits?
Top Targets
For years, CJ Abrams ($5,700) has delivered the goods for DFS players. This season he's been the best he's been in his career, so it's a good time to mention he's still only 25. The southpaw shortstop has hit .288 with 12 home runs and nine stolen bases. Now, Abrams has still been worse at home, but this is a road game, and since 2024 he has an .887 OPS on the road. Merrill Kelly is really struggling this season, and that includes a 6.23 ERA at home.
The uptick for Andy Pages ($5,500) this year has come from improvements against righties and on the road. However, he's held down the fort in terms of excelling against lefties and at home. In his career he has an .846 OPS versus southpaws and an .891 OPS at Dodger Stadium. Reid Detmers, a lefty has made the move back to starting after a season in the bullpen, and, in turn, his ERA has risen to 4.63.
Bargain Bats
With JJ Wetherholt a bit banged up, I'm going to eschew him for Alec Burleson ($4,100). Over the last three season he has an .831 OPS against righties. Brady Singer has a 6.88 FIP, and he's been atrocious against lefties. Southpaws have hit .363 against Singer this year, and that's why I was honing in on lefties for the Cardinals.
It's the age of Wade Meckler ($3,500), and we're just living in it. He played 20 games for the Giants in 2023, went back down to the minors and did not return to MLB until this season with the Angels. Through 12 games, the southpaw has an 1.060 OPS with two homers, three doubles and two stolen bases. Yes, this is wildly unsustainable, but it's interesting for now, especially with the Angels lacking for lefty bats. Meckler will face Roki Sasaki on Friday. Sasaki's strikeouts are up and his walks are down from his rough rookie campaign…but his ERA has risen from 4.46 to 4.59.
Stacks to Consider
Brewers at Rockies (Ryan Feltner): Brice Turang ($6,200), William Contreras ($5,700), Jake Bauers ($5,300)
Time for some Coors Field action, and now it's June as well! Feltner is a career Rockie, and has a career 5.17 ERA. Those two things are related. This year, though, his K/9 rate and his HR/9 rate are both career worsts, making things look even better for the Brewers.
Turang has a .406 OBP, and he already has seven home runs and 11 stolen bases. The second baseman also has two triples, and the outfield in Denver is spacious enough to allow for a speedy guy to leg out a triple. Contreras is a catcher who is hitting .285, and since you need a catcher, I figure a guy hitting at Coors is a solid option. Over the last three seasons he's slugged for a higher percentage against his fellow righties than against lefties, and notably this year righties have hit .321 against Feltner. Over the last three weeks Bauers has an .881 OPS. Since joining the Brewers, he's been better on the road, and of course few road parks are on par with Coors when you're a hitter.
Rockies vs. Brewers (Brandon Sproat): Hunter Goodman ($4,900), TJ Rumfield ($4,300), Willi Castro ($4,000)
I'm flipping the Coors Field game around! Sproat has, thus far, been a disastrous addition to the Brewers' rotation. He has a 6.24 ERA, an 1.93 K/BB rate and an 1.84 HR/9 rate. So yeah, I definitely want to stack Rockies against Sproat. I might have even done it if this game was in Milwaukee.
Goodman has slugged more than .500 against his fellow righties over the last two seasons. Weirdly, he has a .919 OPS on the road but a 6.79 OPS at home this season, but over the prior two campaign he slugged over .530 at home. Goodman still plays at Coors Field. He'll be fine at home. Rumfield has been playing a bit less as of late, which is a bit of a concern, but he's a rookie who has hit .286 with 19 extra-base hits. He has an .893 OPS against righties. I'm still down to roster him against right-handed pitchers as long as he's one of the primary options at first base. The switch-hitting Castro has a .370 OBP over the last three weeks. Also, in his first season with Colorado, he's already fitting right in. He has a .581 OPS on the road but an .805 OPS at home.
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