Pull back those recliners — it’s time for Sunday afternoon baseball. The 11-game slate locks at 1:35 p.m. ET and features plenty of firepower, with the Phillies, Blue Jays, Red Sox, and Mets all in action.
Let’s dive into three must-start players for Sunday’s MLB DFS lineups.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $250K Bat Flip [$50K to 1st]
SP Nolan McLean, New York Mets vs. Pittsburgh Pirates ($9,700)
Nolan McLean has some of the nastiest stuff in baseball — so wicked that, with just eight major league starts under his belt, he was tapped to start for the Team USA juggernaut in the WBC championship game.
The Mets’ top prospect turned last year’s late-season cameo into an Oscar-worthy performance. The 24-year-old right-hander held a 2.06 ERA, 2.97 FIP, and 1.04 WHIP with 57 strikeouts across eight starts (48 innings). Albeit a brief sample size, McLean’s 10.69 strikeouts per nine innings was greater than that of National League Cy Young winner Paul Skenes (10.36) and World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto (10.42).
Armed with a dastardly sinker-sweeper combo, McLean aims to resume his meteoric rise in his first start of 2026 against the lowly Pirates. Last season, Pittsburgh ranked 29th in wRC+ and dead last in home runs and runs scored. The club was also liable for the fifth-highest strikeout rate in the majors. Although the Bucs bolstered their lineup with the likes of Brandon Lowe and Ryan O’Hearn, they mustered just two runs in Saturday’s 11-inning, walkoff loss at the pitcher-friendly Citi Field.
OF Roman Anthony, Boston Red Sox at Cincinnati Reds ($5,600)
Boston’s Roman Anthony has booked a one-way ticket to superstardom. At 21, the lefty-slugging outfielder hit .292 with an .859 OPS, eight home runs, and a 122 wRC+ across 71 games last season before getting shut down with an oblique strain. His Baseball Savant profile also resembled a Playboi Carti album: Whole Lotta Red.
Anthony returned this spring to deliver a pair of galactic homers in the WBC for Team USA, showcasing that it likely won’t be long until he inserts his name into the American League MVP conversation.
His first full MLB season is off to a blistering start. Teeing off at Cincinnati’s hitter-friendly Great American Ball Park, Anthony is 4-for-9 (.444) with an RBI and a run scored through his first two games against the Reds.
On Sunday, he’ll stand 60 feet and six inches away from top-100 prospect Rhett Lowder, who missed the entire 2025 campaign due to injuries. Although Lowder pitched to an impressive 1.17 ERA across six major league outings in 2024, the right-hander’s 4.37 xERA, 17.2% strikeout rate, and 41.3% hard-hit rate spell trouble against one of the fastest rising stars in baseball.
1B Michael Busch, Chicago Cubs vs. Washington Nationals ($5,100)
Chicago first-baseman Michael Busch is coming off a monster campaign in 2025. The lefty slugger hit .261 with a career-high 34 home runs and a 140 wRC+. His underlying metrics helped paint an even prettier picture: He sat in MLB’s top 90th percentile in batting run value, xwOBA, and barrel rate, among several other metrics.
Busch was especially tough on right-handed pitching. His 151 wRC+ ranked sixth leaguewide — and higher than the 150 mark of reigning home run king Cal Raleigh.
Busch has ridden that momentum into 2026, going 4-for-8 (.500) with an RBI and three runs scored through his first two games against the Nationals. And on Sunday, he’ll get a chance to take some hacks against beleaguered Washington righty Jake Irvin, who in 2025 ranked in MLB’s bottom first percentile in pitching run value. Busch is 4-for-11 (.364) with one home run, a double, and two RBIs in his career against Irvin.
