Sunday’s MLB slate rolls out a full 15-game docket, and with several first-place teams like the Dodgers and Brewers already in cruise control, there’s a lot of value hiding in games that don’t feel marquee on paper. Struggling offenses in St. Louis and Chicago create some of the best pitching value of the week, while a couple of red-hot bats in Baltimore give cash-game players a reliable floor to build around.

Today’s approach leans on two things DFS regulars should always chase: pitchers facing offenses that are actively cold, and hitters who are producing real, recent results against shaky starters. Below are five plays across DraftKings and FanDuel pricing that fit both cash games and GPP builds for today’s MLB DFS slate.

Pete Alonso, 1B — Baltimore Orioles ($5,500 FD)

Alonso has been one of the more underrated power bats in DFS circles all season, and the underlying trend is trending the right way heading into today’s matchup with Colorado. Over his last 30 games, Alonso has hit .283 with 8 home runs and a .557 slugging percentage, numbers that dwarf his overall 2026 line of .251/.346/.820 OPS. He’s also up to 19 home runs and 60 RBI on the year, a floor-and-ceiling combination that makes him a reliable lineup anchor in cash games.

Today’s matchup against the Rockies is exactly the kind of spot DFS players should be targeting. Colorado’s pitching staff has been one of the league’s most homer-prone all year, and Alonso gets to face that vulnerability at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, a park that plays favorably to right-handed power. Even with a quieter final week of June, Alonso’s power output over the last month suggests positive regression is already underway, and a soft Rockies pitching matchup is the kind of spot where that shows up on the scoreboard.

Christian Encarnacion-Strand, 1B/3B — Baltimore Orioles ($3,200)

Encarnacion-Strand is one of the more interesting value adds on the board today. The Orioles recalled him from Triple-A Norfolk on July 16 after he hit .273 with 17 home runs and an .863 OPS in 257 plate appearances there, and he’s wasted no time carrying that over to the majors. He’s already gone deep three times and driven in eight runs since the call-up, including a two-run homer against Atlanta in his most recent appearance.

At just over $3,000, Encarnacion-Strand represents exactly the kind of price-to-power ratio DFS players look for in a stacked Orioles lineup. Pairing him with Alonso in the same order gives cash-game and GPP builders exposure to Baltimore’s power bats against a Colorado pitching staff that has struggled all season, without eating into salary that could go toward a premium arm. He won’t be needed for a full RBI role behind established bats, but the recent power surge alone justifies the salary.

Ronel Blanco, SP — Houston Astros ($7,800 DK)

Blanco is back in the Astros rotation for the first time since May 2025 after recovering from Tommy John surgery, and today’s matchup against the White Sox lines up about as well as a return start can. Chicago’s offense carries one of the worst wRC+ marks in baseball this month, giving Blanco a soft opponent to work his way back into big-league form. He posted a 1.06 ERA over five rehab outings across the minors before getting the call, and while big-league workload will be managed carefully, the matchup itself offers strong value at his current price point.

Blanco doesn’t need to go six-plus innings to return value here — a White Sox lineup that’s been in a prolonged offensive funk keeps his floor solid even in a shorter outing. For DFS players building around cheaper stacks elsewhere, Blanco offers a contrarian pitcher play that likely won’t carry heavy ownership given the uncertainty around his workload, making him an intriguing GPP differentiator as well as a cash-game floor play.

Andrew Abbott, SP — Cincinnati Reds ($7,500 DK)

Abbott gets one of the softest landing spots on the entire slate today, taking on a Cardinals lineup that has been in the mud for weeks. His overall 2026 numbers sit at 4.11 ERA and 1.42 WHIP across 105 innings, but the more recent trend is the one that matters here — over his last 15 games, Abbott has posted a 3.59 ERA with 69 strikeouts across 80.1 innings, a clear step forward from his season-long averages.

The lefty doesn’t overpower hitters, but he limits hard contact and gets deep into games, which plays perfectly against a St. Louis offense that hasn’t been able to generate consistent runs. At $7,500, Abbott sits in the strong value tier among today’s starting pitchers, offering a lower-variance floor than some of the pricier arms on the board while still carrying real strikeout upside against a lineup in a genuine slump.

Francisco Alvarez, C — New York Mets ($3,300 DK)

Catcher is one of the thinnest value positions on most DFS slates, which makes Alvarez’s matchup today stand out. He draws Dodgers starter Emmet Sheehan, who enters with a 5.32 ERA and 1.30 WHIP across 14 starts this season, having allowed 15 home runs and struggled particularly at home, giving up 21 earned runs and six homers in 37 innings on his own mound. That’s exactly the profile DFS players should be attacking at a catcher price point this low.

Alvarez has shown signs of turning a corner recently, rediscovering more of his power stroke while drawing more walks than his season-long rate suggests. At $3,300, he offers a cheap way to save salary at catcher while still rostering a hitter in a legitimately favorable spot, freeing up cap room to pay up for one of the pricier bats or arms elsewhere in the player pool.

Building Your Lineup

Today’s slate rewards a barbell construction: pay up for one of the two pitching values above, then use the savings at catcher and the middle of the Orioles order to fill out a stack. Alonso and Encarnacion-Strand pairing together gives cash-game rosters a reliable power combo against Colorado without requiring a full team stack, while GPP builders can layer in more of the Orioles order underneath them given how exploitable that Rockies pitching staff has been all year.

On the pitching side, Blanco carries more risk given the layoff, but that same uncertainty should suppress his ownership in tournaments, making him a savvy pivot off the field’s presumed chalk. Abbott is the safer of the two arms and fits well in double-up and cash formats where consistency matters more than ceiling. If you’re deciding between DraftKings lineup construction and building on FanDuel instead, keep in mind that FanDuel’s flatter pricing structure makes rostering both Orioles bats slightly easier without blowing the budget, while DraftKings’ salary gap rewards prioritizing the pitcher position first.

Before locking anything in, always double check the final confirmed lineups and check the live MLB odds to make sure the game totals and pitching matchups haven’t shifted since morning projections were set. Weather and late scratches can swing DFS value fast, especially on a full Sunday slate like this one, so building in that final gut-check before submitting lineups is always worth the extra few minutes.