Kansas City heads to Anaheim for a late season clash behind Stephen Kolek, who has stabilized the Royals rotation since joining on Aug 30. In four starts, he has logged six innings or more, allowed no homers, walked just 3.0%, and posted a groundball-heavy profile with a season high eight strikeouts in his last outing.

Los Angeles counters with Yusei Kikuchi, whose post break form has slipped with higher walks and strikeouts and a fastball many hitters have sat on. He has a 5.82 ERA since the All-Star break and hasn’t beaten KC since 2024 with the Astros. Luke Maile starts behind the plate for KC, and Pasquantino is the lone lefty in the Royals lineup against Kikuchi. First pitch is 8:38 pm CDT.

Nine late MLB DFS games set a high-variance slate, with Jacob deGrom and Luis Castillo anchoring the pitching and Yusei Kikuchi in a favorable Anaheim matchup. Power upside comes from Giancarlo Stanton and Matt Chapman, while value bats like Jorge Polanco and Joc Pederson emerge as savings that still carry upside. Stacks focus on Astros at Athletics and Red Sox at Blue Jays, with Max Scherzer serving as a veteran anchor for the Sox lineup.

Key angles: deGrom aiming for 30 starts with strong home numbers, Castillo riding a six-inning, two-run streak, and Kikuchi benefiting from home/road splits. Stanton’s lefty splits and Chapman’s 20-20 potential drive salary relief, while Langford and Pederson provide Ranger exposure and homespun upside. The piece also flags bullpen risk, injuries, and the need for an optimizer to tailor exposure.

Angels recall Sam Bachman from Triple-A and place Robert Stephenson on the 15-day injured list, intensifying a bullpen crisis with eight games left in the season. Bachman has spent time between MLB and Salt Lake this year, returning as the Angels shuffle arms. Stephenson’s latest IL stint ends his 2025 page, leaving the Angels short-handed as they chase critical outs down the stretch.

Victor Mederos, Jose Soriano and Zach Neto are also sidelined, amplifying depth concerns for a pen already without several veterans. With Perry Minasian and Ray Montgomery steering roster decisions, the club weighs 2026 implications while Yusei Kikuchi weighs management decisions that could affect late-season usage and fantasy outlooks.

The series against Colorado and the ongoing injuries force a pivot to younger options and stress the depth chart, testing the longer-term plan as the season winds down.