All 30 MLB clubs are in action on Sunday, highlighted by a nine-game afternoon slate loaded with firepower to fuel your DFS lineups.
From bona fide stars to stealthy value plays, let’s take a look at three must-starts for Sunday afternoon.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here before 1:35 p.m. ET: MLB $150K Bat Flip [$50K to 1st].
SP Chase Burns, Cincinnati Reds vs. Pittsburgh Pirates ($10,500)
Chase Burns’ first full MLB campaign has been a resounding success. The right-handed fireballer, 23, has quickly established himself as a budding phenom, ranking fourth in the majors with a 2.40 ERA across 20 starts (112.2 IP) for the Reds in 2026. He also ranks around the sport’s top ten with a 3.18 xERA (9th) and a 28.1 percent strikeout rate (11th).
Burns will be eager to bounce back after allowing five earned runs in his first meeting with the Pirates on June 27. Even so, he delivered six innings and piled up a season-high 10 punchouts en route to a 9–7 win — good for 18.1 fantasy points.
While Pittsburgh has featured one of this season’s most potent offenses, it has benefited greatly from favorable batted-ball luck — leading the majors in BABIP. Since the beginning of July, the Pirates rank sixth in wOBA compared to 19th in xwOBA, while also sporting a top-five strikeout rate. They’ll also be short-handed for Sunday’s series finale after placing slugger Ryan O’Hearn on the injured list with a quad strain.
OF Yordan Alvarez, Houston Astros vs. Texas Rangers ($6,600)
Rangers right-hander Kumar Rocker has gotten hammered this season, liable for a 4.03 ERA and an even worse 4.58 xERA across 20 appearances (18 starts). Naturally, matchups with Yordan Alvarez haven’t gone too well.
The MLB home run leader (35) and American League MVP frontrunner is 3-for-4 with three extra-base hits — including a pair of home runs — and four RBIs against Rocker this season. That includes a 425-foot, interstellar moonshot on July 11.
Houston’s star slugger, 29, heads into the trilogy bout leading the AL in all three triple crown categories, while pacing the majors in OPS (1.079). Trite as it may seem, it’s typically a wise decision to splurge on Alvarez in your DFS lineups. Especially in this matchup.
OF Griffin Conine, Miami Marlins at New York Mets ($3,000)
The Mets announced that right-hander Robert Stock will make his first start of the year in Sunday’s series finale against the Marlins. He pitched just 2.2 innings in 2025 — allowing three earned runs across two appearances — which was his only big-league action since 2021. That said, you might want to take a $3,000 flyer on the scorching-hot Griffin Conine.
The lefty slugger, 29, crushed his 10th home run of the season on Saturday, parking a hanging sweeper in the second deck at Citi Field. It was his third bomb in his last six games — a sizzling stretch in which he’s gone 7-for-18 (.389) with five RBIs.
Conine enters with a .928 OPS across 45 games this year, boasting a .378 xwOBA and a 56.4 percent hard-hit rate. Rarely is that type of value sitting this deep in the bargain bin.
