This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
With the way the MLB schedule is laid out for Wednesday, we're getting a slightly earlier start for DFS purposes. The first pitch for the late slate is at 6:40 p.m. EDT, which gives us eight games on the docket. Hey, if you can handle a 7:05 p.m. first pitch, you can probably handle this, right? Here are my DFS lineup recommendations.
Pitching
Nathan Eovaldi, TEX vs. CWS ($9,900): Eovaldi is coming off a bad start against the Orioles, but fret not! He still has a 3.36 ERA on the year, and a 2.69 ERA at home. Also, the White Sox aren't exactly the Orioles. Baltimore has a lineup laden with all-stars. Chicago might set a record for the fewest runs scored in an 162-game season.
Yariel Rodriguez, TOR vs. TAM ($7,800): Rodriguez picks up a lot of strikeouts (good!) and a lot of walks (bad!) and so going deep into games has been difficult. Only twice has the rookie crossed six-inning threshold in his eight MLB starts. The Rays are a team that draws walks, but they are in the bottom 10 in terms of strikeouts, and bottom five in terms of runs scored. I'd be willing to take a shot on Rodriguez going at least five innings and maybe picking up a win as a result.
Top Targets
Getting far away from Seattle has been good for Teoscar Hernandez ($3,400) he already has 21 homers and 20 doubles through 99 games. After slugging .380 at home in his one season as a Mariner, Hernandez has slugged .500 at home this year, which is more reflective of the guy with a career .486 slugging percentage. Robbie Ray is back! Good for him! The lefty made one start last season before having to get Tommy John surgery. I'm not sure he'll be ready, especially since he had a 3.71 ERA in 2022.
You don't need a catcher on FanDuel, but how would you like a guy who has slashed .279/.340/.472 with 18 homers? That's Salvador Perez ($3,400), who has slugged .484 against his fellow righties. Ryne Nelson is much better on the road. He has a 3.34 road ERA in his career, compared to a 6.85 ERA in Arizona. However, righties have hit .287 against him in his career as well, including a whopping .328 this season.
Bargain Bats
If Toronto had a better lineup it would be a fine choice for a stack, but instead I will just go with George Springer ($3,300). He started ice cold, and stayed frigid for a while, but he has an 1.055 OPS over the last three weeks. Zach Eflin has a 5.52 ERA on the road this season, and his fellow righties have hit .280 against him.
He's nobody's idea of a power hitter, but Ha-Seong Kim ($2,800) has a .747 OPS on the road since 2022, compared to a .693 OPS at Petco Park. Even with his general lack of oomph as a hitter, the shortstop still has 10 homers to go with his 19 stolen bases. With Mitchell Parker, what you see is what you get, by which I mean both his ERA and FIP are 3.90. Recently, though, we've been seeing the rookie struggle, as he has a 6.20 ERA over his last five starts.
Stacks to Consider
Orioles at Marlins (Edward Cabrera): Gunnar Henderson ($4,300), Anthony Santander ($3,700), Jordan Westburg ($3,100)
From the department of "We have nothing to lose (except more baseball games)," the Marlins are trotting Cabrera out there in the rotation. This is even though he has a career 4.79 FIP, and a 6.08 FIP this season. He's an impressive strikeout pitcher, but that doesn't matter as much when you also allowed 2.45 homers per nine innings. While lefties have hit .271 against Cabrera this season, in the past the righty has actually done reasonably well against them. Thus, I only have one southpaw in this stack (righties have hit .266 over the last two years).
Henderson is my lefty, and I trust him since, you know, he might win AL MVP. He has a .992 OPS against righties and an 1.014 OPS on the road as well, both of which help give me confidence in him at any salary. Last season, Santander slugged .472 and hit 28 homers. Nobody would complain about that. However, he's sold out a bit more for power this year, and in turn he's slugged .521 with 27 homers in only 95 games. Westburg has hit .273 with 16 homers and five triples. The second baseman is right handed, but he has an .846 OPS versus right-handed pitchers.
Rangers vs. White Sox (Chris Flexen): Corey Seager ($3,600), Josh Smith ($3,000), Wyatt Langford ($3,000)
I mentioned the integrity in Parker's numbers on the mound, and Flexen has him beat. His career ERA and FIP are both 4.99. Also, a 4.99 career FIP is bad. This year, his FIP is up to 5.11, and he is going to finish with a K/BB rate below 2.00 for the third season in a row. Now, since 2022 righties have hit .290 against the right-handed Flexen, but a .345 average last season bolstered that quite a bit. This year righties have hit .251 compared to .269 for lefties, so I went with two southpaws in my stack.
Seager has a .353 OBP and 18 home runs in 88 games. The reason he isn't in the MVP mix this year is because he's tanked against his fellow lefties. Versus righties he still has an .893 OPS. Smith has batted .282 and hit 10 homers and 20 doubles, finally proving a viable MLB hitter. He's actually quite serviceable against his fellow southpaws, but he has an .831 OPS versus righties, and also an .874 OPS at home. Langford debuted with the Rangers as one of the top hitting prospects in baseball. It's…been spotty. However, a 22-year-old who can bat .251 with five homers, four triples, and nine stolen bases in 76 games has clear upside and promise. Plus, he's been atrocious on the road, where he has a .579 OPS. At home, he has a reputable .805 OPS.
