This is the final normal Sunday of the season. Next Sunday is the final day of the regular season, and there’s not a worse DFS slate out there. Not only do we have Triple-A lineups, but many of the pitchers are held to limited pitch counts. It makes it impossible to predict, but we don’t have to worry about that until next week! With that said, we have a huge Sunday slate to talk about, so let’s get into it!
Starting Pitcher Rankings
This is the final normal Sunday of the season. Next Sunday is the final day of the regular season, and there’s not a worse DFS slate out there. Not only do we have Triple-A lineups, but many of the pitchers are held to limited pitch counts. It makes it impossible to predict, but we don’t have to worry about that until next week! With that said, we have a huge Sunday slate to talk about, so let’s get into it!
Starting Pitcher Rankings
Starting Pitcher Strategy
This will be a fun slate to break down the pitchers! We have two aces in brilliant spots, and it’s going to be tough to avoid those guys. We also have one riskier option for GPPs, but he’s been excellent at times this year as well! All of them are in superb spots, and it should be fun to pick two of the three!
Cash Game Recommendations:
Spencer Strider (ATL) at WAS
Strider looks like he’s fallen out of the Cy Young running, but this guy is absurd. He’s setting records with his strikeout stuff, recording 472 Ks across 307 innings over the last two years. That’s why he’s been the highest-scoring pitcher in fantasy in that span, scoring at least 49 FanDuel points 16 times this year! That should be easy to reach against Washington, with the Nats 23rd in OBP and 27th in xwOBA.
Freddy Peralta (MIL) at MIA
Peralta has been one of the best pitchers in baseball since the All-Star break. The right-hander has scored at least 37 FD points in 11 of his last 13 starts, tallying a 2.61 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, and 12.9 K/9 rate in that span. That makes him impossible to fade against Miami, with the Marlins ranked 25th in runs scored. In a matchup two weeks ago, Peralta provided 53 FD points!
GPP Recommendations:
Joe Ryan (MIN) vs. LAA
Ryan had a rough patch before landing on the IL, but he’s recaptured the form that made him a breakout early in the season. The Twins righty 2.21 ERA and 0.95 WHIP through his first 10 starts, which pairs with his 3.65 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, and 10.6 K/9 rate across his last five starts. Those totals should be easy to reach against LA, ranked dead-last in K rate while missing Shohei Ohtani, Anthony Rendon, and Mike Trout. Not to mention, Ryan is a -230 favorite in this game!
Top Lineup Stacks
Chicago Cubs (vs. Ty Blach)
The Cubs are in a bit of a slump right now, but we can’t fade them this weekend against Colorado. Chicago is in a must-win spot in the heart of the wild card hunt, and this is the perfect opportunity for their offense to get back on track. The Rockies rank 29th in ERA and WHIP, with Blach posting a 5.32 ERA and 1.64 WHIP.
San Diego Padres (vs. Drew Rom)
The Padres have been frustrating, but they’ve been killing left-handers all year. They rank Top 10 in almost every statistic against southpaws, and this is one they can exploit. Rom has been shoved into the Cardinals rotation, collecting a 6.92 ERA and 1.85 WHIP. He actually hasn’t even picked up a quality start, and guys like Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis should add to that dubious run with the way they’re playing.
Houston Astros (vs. NA)
It’s unclear who will pitch for Kansas City, but who cares? This Royals rotation is one of the worst in baseball, and it’s scary to think how bad they’ll be in what could be a bullpen game. That’s rough against a team like the Astros, sitting Top 5 in almost every offensive metric since the All-Star break. That’s on full display since the Stros have scored at least seven runs in six matchups with KC this year.
Core Studs
| POS |
PLAYER |
DK SALARY |
FD SALARY |
| DH |
Yordan Alvarez (HOU) |
$6,000 |
$4,000 |
| OF |
Fernando Tatis (SD) |
$6,300 |
$3,800 |
| 3B |
Jose Ramirez (CLE) |
$5,700 |
$4,000 |
| OF |
Ronald Acuna (ATL) |
$6,900 |
$5,000 |
| OF |
Aaron Judge (NYY) |
$6,700 |
$3,900 |
- Alvarez is a regular in this section because he’s been raking ever since his call-up. The Astros DH has a .295 AVG, .390 OBP, .587 SLG, and .977 OPS since his call-up five years ago. That doesn’t even make sense, and he should keep that going against a horrible Royals pitching staff.
- If we’re going to stack the Padres against Rom, Tatis needs to be our first pick. The perennial All-Star stuffs the stat sheet every season, combining for 67 homers and 53 steals in his last two full seasons. He’s also had his way against left-handers, posting a .379 OBP and .952 OPS against them in that same span!
- J-Ram has been an MVP candidate nearly every year for the last five seasons because he’s always a threat for 30 homers and 40 steals. He’s not quite there this season, but averaging over 10 DraftKings points is nothing to complain about. He also gets the majority of his steals against righties, which is amazing since he has a .893 OPS against them over the last three years. Not to mention, Ramirez has a .432 OBP, .538 SLG, and .970 OPS against Kyle Gibson in 44 at-bats against him.
- Not much needs to be said about Acuna. This guy is about to win NL MVP, finishing with nearly 40 homers and 70 steals. That has him as one of the highest-scoring players ever in DFS, and we don’t want to avoid him against Trevor Williams. He’s faced T-Will 16 times, totaling a .500 OBP, .867 SLG, and 1.367 OPS against him.
- We had Judge in here yesterday, and we’re going back to him for all the same reasons. The slugger had a 1.111 OPS last season and has his OPS north of 1.000 this year. He’s simply one of the safest options in DFS, and we’re not scared of Ryne Nelson‘s 5.53 ERA and 1.46 WHIP in Yankee Stadium.
Value Plays/Punts
- We never recommend catchers, but Campusano is an incredible value. This guy has been hitting cleanup for San Diego recently, collecting a .394 OBP, .532 SLG, and .926 OPS across his last 18 games. We didn’t even mention that he has a 1.050 OPS against lefties this year, which is rough for a pitcher like Rom.
- Suzuki was benched midway through the year, but he’s responded since then. The slugger has a .364 OBP, .563 SLG, and .926 OPS since July 4. Seiya has also been better against lefties this year, and that’s bad news for Blach and the Rockies.
- Hayes has always had the potential to be a stud, and we’re finally seeing glimpses of it recently. The Pirates third baseman has a .344 AVG, .385 OBP, .624 SLG and 1.009 OPS across his last 38 games. That’s quite the two-month run, especially since he faces a lefty with a 4.56 ERA in Great American Ballpark. In addition, Hayes has an OPS above .900 in that same span against southpaws!
- Baez has been a disastrous signing for Detroit, but this guy can still do one thing right. That’s hitting left-handers, providing a .812 OPS against them over the last three years. That’s all you can ask for from such an affordable player, and that should sit well against JP Sears. The A’s lefty has a 5.83 ERA and 1.75 WHIP across his last eight starts.
Hitter Strategy
This should be a simple slate from a lineup construction standpoint. We want to use one of our cash game pitchers with one of the GPP options. That should allow us to build the hitters however we want, and we have some great teams to stack. The lineups we want to stack include the Braves, Cubs, Padres, Guardians, Pirates, Yankees, and Orioles.
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Joel Bartilotta is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Joel, check out his archive and follow him @Bartilottajoel.
