Thursday was a light day for MLB, but Friday kicks off a weekend of action that should be fun. That's not solely because my Tigers return home after opening the season out West. We have 10 games on the DFS docket, with the first pitch at 1:05 p.m. ET. Here are my MLB lineup recommendations.
Pitching
MacKenzie Gore, TEX vs. CIN ($8,800): Gore allowed two runs and struck out seven in 5.1 innings in his first start for the Rangers. The strikeouts aren't surprising, as he averaged double-digit strikeouts per nine innings in 2025 while pitching for the Nationals. Gore will make his first home start with Texas against the Reds. It's early, quite early in fact, but through six games Cincinnati has scored 17 runs and posted a .614 OPS.
Kyle Bradish, BAL at PIT ($8,300): Bradish's first start of the season was subpar, but over the prior three seasons he posted a 2.77 ERA. Sure, that included a lot of missed time, but if he's healthy, he's shown he can be a high-level, high-strikeout hurler. The Pirates finished last in runs scored in 2025, and Konnor Griffin can only do so much. Especially since, you know, he's a 19-year-old about to make his MLB debut.
Cade Horton, CHC at CLE ($8,000): Horton impressed as a rookie, even if he had a 3.58 FIP to go with a 2.67 ERA. However, after his first start of this season he has a 2.84 ERA. So far, so good. Cleveland finished 28th in runs scored last season, while employing Josh Naylor for much of the year. Chase DeLauter has been impressive but this isn't likely to be a good offense.
Top Targets
The hot start being authored by Corey Seager ($4,500) is a reminder of how good he's been for the Rangers when he's been able to stay on the field. Through six games he has an 1.156 OPS with three home runs. Additionally, since 2024 he has a .949 OPS versus righties. Brady Singer had a 4.88 ERA on the road in his first season with the Reds, and he was rocked by the Red Sox in his first game this year.
Usually, you can get a catcher for a relatively low salary level, but sometimes I want a catcher who puts more of a crimp in your cap. Will Smith ($4,300) is a top-level hitting catcher. He had a .901 OPS last year, and he's had at least 17 home runs in each of the last five seasons. The Nationals are no strangers to being desperate for pitching. They signed Miles Mikolas after he had a 4.98 ERA over his final three seasons with the Cardinals. Well, he has a 7.20 ERA after his first game with the Nationals, and that's with two of the runs he allowed being unearned.
Bargain Bats
Yes, Kerry Carpenter ($4,100) is off to a glacially cold start, but he's about to be in his wheelhouse. Last year he struggled against lefties and on the road, but he slugged .512 against righties and .577 at home. Detroit's home opener is Friday, and Michael McGreevy had a 4.42 ERA last season. He also had a 5.46 K/9 rate, which is good for a guy who likes to swing freely like Carpenter.
Last season, Colton Cowser ($3,100) was kind of a mess and had a sub-.300 OBP, but he also had 16 homers and 14 stolen bases in 92 games. This year he's hitting .333, which is highly encouraging, even if the sample size isn't exactly robust. At this point, we know what we're going to get from Mitch Keller. Across the last three seasons he's finished with an ERA between 4.19 and 4.25. Additionally, over the prior two seasons lefties have hit .269 against the Pirates veteran.
Stacks to Consider
Phillies at Rockies (Michael Lorenzen): Trea Turner ($5,200), Bryson Stott ($3,700), Brandon Marsh ($3,200)
Here we go! It's the first game at Coors Field this season, a joyous occasion for DFS players. Lorenzen had a 4.64 ERA with the Royals last year, and he allowed three runs in 4.1 innings in his Rockies debut…in a road game against the Marlins. While a couple of these Phillies have started slow, a trip to Coors Field can definitely cure what ails you.
I have no worry about Turner's slow start. Only once in the last seven seasons has he finished with a batting average below .295. Speed also plays well at Coors Field, and Turner had seven triples and 31 doubles last year, not to mention 36 stolen bases. Stott stole 24 bases in 2025 but he stole more than 30 bases in each of the two prior campaigns. The second baseman also had 22 doubles and three triples in 2025, and his 13 home runs for his position are also encouraging heading to Coors. Marsh has hit .350 with two doubles to start this year. He really can't hit lefties, but since 2024 he has an .818 OPS against righties.
Rays at Twins (Bailey Ober): Junior Caminero ($5,800), Jonathan Aranda ($4,400), Chandler Simpson ($4,100)
Ober has a 6.75 ERA after one start this season, which is a concerning continuation of 2025. Last year his K/9 rate fell to 7.38, his HR/9 rate rose to 1.85 and thus he finished with a 5.10 ERA. Homers have long been a problem for Ober, who has a career 1.51 HR/9 rate. I have two mashers from the Rays in this stack, plus a lefty with a specific skill set to face the right-handed Ober.
It's been walks and singles for Caminero thus far, but that's not a bad thing, and the power will likely come. He had 45 home runs last season, and he slugged .549 against his fellow righties. Aranda popped last year with an .882 OPS and 14 homers in 106 games. The lefty is locked in to start 2026, as he's slashed .304/.414/.609. With Simpson, we're all mostly curious about how many bases he steals. He stole 44 in 109 games last year, and he has two stolen bases this season. However, Simpson can also hit for average. As a rookie he hit .295, and this year he's hit .476.
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