This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
June ends Monday, and how will it end? Perhaps a bang, perhaps a whimper, but either way with eight MLB games on the DFS docket. The first pitch is at 6:35 p.m. ET. Let's end the month with gusto! Here are my MLB DFS lineup recommendations.
Pitching
Drew Rasmussen, TAM vs. ATH ($8,700): I don't know if the general public will get wise to Rasmussen, what with him pitching for Tampa, but he has a 2.45 ERA this season, and his career ERA is 2.85. Not only that, but Rasmussen has a 2.16 ERA at home, and an 1.62 ERA over his last eight outings. The Athletics aren't bad offensively, but they are below average in runs scored, so I'm not worried.
George Kirby, SEA vs. KAN ($8,200): Kirby hasn't exactly been hurling like an ace after a couple bad starts post-injury, but he's been a better pitcher at the very least. In his last five starts he has a 3.54 ERA and 9.0 K/9 rate. Kirby came into this season with a career 3.43 ERA, so he's rounding into business as usual on the mound. Business as usual for the Royals has been offensive futility. They are last in runs scored.
Top Targets
For a catcher he's an elite hitter, but for any MLB player Cal Raleigh ($4,400) is a high-level slugger. He already has more than 30 home runs for the third season in a row and it isn't even July yet. Raleigh has an 1.033 OPS over the last three weeks for good measure. While he's a switch hitter, Raleigh has a higher OPS against righties (.826 compared to .790 against lefties) since 2023. Michael Wacha has a 3.98 ERA on the road, and lefties have hit .271 against him. As a switch hitter, Raleigh can step up to the plate as a lefty.
Though he's been cold as of late, Oneil Cruz ($3,500) has 15 home runs and 27 stolen bases. He has an .824 OPS versus righties, and a .793 OPS at home as well. Erick Fedde just allowed seven runs and three homers in 3.2 innings against the Cubs. He has a career 4.73 ERA and 2.00 K/BB rate, and this season lefties have hit .267 against him.
Bargain Bats
With a lefty on the mound, you can count on Ramon Laureano ($2,900) in the lineup for the Orioles, a team lacking for right-handed options. He's hit 10 homers in 56 games this season, and he has an .812 OPS over the last three weeks. Patrick Corbin's 4.24 ERA is good by his standards, but he's still averaged 6.96 strikeouts and 1.41 homers per nine innings, so even that mediocre level of run prevention may be too difficult for him to maintain. Plus, since 2023 righties have hit .302 against the southpaw pitcher.
I'm taking a shot on Alec Burleson ($2,900), and it's based on the matchup. He's batted .298 and he has 10 home runs, and he has an .895 OPS on the road as well. However, like many lefties, Burleson isn't all that good against southpaw pitchers. The thing is, Andrew Heaney is not merely a veteran lefty with a career 4.46 ERA. He's a lefty who has been worse against his fellow lefties. Since 2023, left-handed hitters have batted .277 against Heaney. At this salary, I'll take a shot on Burleson.
Stacks to Consider
Yankees at Blue Jays (Max Scherzer): Jazz Chisholm ($3,500), Ben Rice ($3,300), Trent Grisham ($3,100)
Yes, Scherzer's 6.21 ERA comes from only two starts, but the 40-year-old has been scuffling for a few years at this point. He had a 4.18 FIP last season and a 4.22 FIP this season before that. I doubt, given his age and injury history, Scherzer is primed to turn things around. These three Yankees southpaws could make for another tough outing for Mad Max.
Chisholm has 13 homers and 10 stolen bases in only 53 games, and don't forget he had 24 of the former and 40 of the latter in 2024. The third baseman has slugged .527 against righties this season as well. I'm going with Grisham over Cody Bellinger from the Yankees' outfield. Increasingly the Yankees have platooned Rice and Paul Goldschmidt based on the pitching arm of the opposition's starter. That would make this a game for Rice, who has an .871 OPS versus righties and an .833 OPS on the road. Bellinger has crushed it at home but lagged behind on the road, but Grisham has an .848 OPS in away games. Additionally, Grisham has a .913 OPS against righties.
Giant at Diamondbacks (Ryne Nelson): Rafael Devers ($3,800), Heliot Ramos ($3,300), Willy Adames ($3,000)
Sure, Nelson has gotten his ERA down to 3.71, but he's made 10 relief appearances compared to seven starts. Over the prior two seasons, working almost exclusively as a starter, Nelson posted a 4.76 ERA. Also, the righty has been quite good at home this year, which has not been the norm. In fact, he has a career 5.40 ERA in Arizona. I have two righties in this stack, even though Nelson is right handed, because righties have hit .275 against him since 2023, and have hit better than lefties against him in each of the last two campaigns.
Devers is a lefty, and we're still waiting to see how things shake out for him as a Giant. Of course, he has a track record of hitting, and also this game is on the road, so his new home ballpark is not relevant. Since 2023, Devers has a .913 OPS versus righties, and he's slugged .487 on the road in that time for good measure. Ramos has 13 home runs and five stolen bases, and he's gotten his average up to .278 as well. He's highly preferred being on the road, where he's slugged .489 in his career. As a shortstop with more than 30 home runs twice in his career, Adames arrived to the Giants with a lot of expectations. Largely, he's fallen short. However, he does have nine home runs and four stolen bases on the year. Furthermore, he has an .852 OPS over the last three weeks. Plus, Adames has a track record of doing better against his fellow righties, having slugged .445 in those matchups since 2023.
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