This article is part of our DraftKings MLB series.
We shift into a schedule full of getaway days Wednesday, which pushes the majority of the games to the afternoon. There are only 10 teams in action, but 6:40 slate is full of quality pitching. That makes identifying hitters a bit more difficult, but also opens the possibility to play really unique lineups without being contrarian for the sake of it. That's a bit different than the typical small slate.
Pitchers
Kevin Gausman ($9,300) and Luis Castillo ($8,900) are the top-priced pitchers and are options to consider for different reasons. Gausman is superior from a skills perspective, maintaining a higher strikeout rate, lower walk rate and lower SIERA. The Cardinals are typically a matchup to avoid, but without both Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt the lineup becomes considerably less scary. Meanwhile, Castillo takes on the Marlins, who have been absolutely dreadful offensively as a team across the last 14 days (.242 wOBA, 23.3 K%).
It might be time to buy the dip on Nathan Eovaldi ($8,200). He had a disastrous start over the weekend against the Blue Jays, but he owns the second-lowest SIERA among the pitcher pool. Cleveland is a tough lineup – primarily because they make so much contact – but Eovaldi has the skills to put up the same type of ceiling performance as Gausman or Castillo.
Braxton Garrett ($7,900) has to be mentioned due to his recent meteoric rise in performance. Unfortunately, his price is also starting to rise and a matchup at Great American Ballpark – not the Reds lineup – concerns me.
Drew Rasmussen ($7,300) doesn't work deep into games, so he's extremely unlikely to put together a tournament-winning performance. On the other hand, he's posted between 14.5 and 17.4 DK points in three of four starts since returning from injury. There's no reason to believe he won't be able to do something similar against a mediocre Orioles lineup, so Rasmussen is a really nice cash game option.
Top Hitters
Pete Alonso ($5,300) is back on track after a very brief downturn. Domingo German looked shaky in his season debut, and he's still likely to be ramping up in his second outing of the season. That makes me generally interested in Mets' bats.
Xander Bogaerts ($5,100) appears as a top hitter for the second consecutive day. Wednesday is a pretty strong slate of pitchers overall, so I'll target Cal Quantrill due to the amount of contact he gives up.
Adam Wainwright has served up a pair of homers in three of his last four starts. That's likely just a bad stretch in a long season, but Toronto is a tough spot to get back on track. Teoscar Hernandez ($4,500) has been hot, but his price hasn't followed his performance.
Value Hitters
Nearly half of Nolan Jones' ($2,300) hits have gone for extra bases, so that makes him someone I want to target against pitchers who are homer prone. Though Nate Eovaldi was discussed as a potential pitcher to roster, he's also been homer prone this season (2.2 HR/9, though it has been skewed heavily towards the beginning of the season).
Luke Raley ($2,000) has quietly taken advantage of the Rays' depleted outfield, starting three of the team's four games out of the All-Star break. He hasn't put together mind-blowing performances, but he has at least one hit in each start and has hit as high as third in the order. At minimum price, he's a sneaky add on a small slate.
Stacks to Consider
Mets vs. Yankees (Domingo German): Starling Marte ($4,900), Francisco Lindor ($5,000), Pete Alonso ($5,300)
German didn't look ready to return Thursday against the Astros, and things won't get easier with a matchup against the Mets on Wednesday. The Mets are an expensive stack, but also relatively affordable as compared to the top players in the Blue Jays, Yankees, and even Red Sox lineup. However, they could be pretty popular as a result.
Rays at Orioles (Tyler Wells): Yandy Diaz ($4,300), Brandon Lowe ($5,000), Randy Arozarena ($4,800)
Wells has pitched well this season and has the benefit of Camden Yards in this start, so the Rays aren't an obvious choice. He does have the third-lowest strikeout rate of the pool and only Eovaldi has given up more home runs (by rate) than Wells, so there is reason to attack him. As compared to the cost of the Mets stack and likely popularity, the Rays are also a nice way to get to different builds.
Blue Jays vs. Cardinals (Adam Wainwright): Vladimir Guerrero ($5,200), Alejandro Kirk ($4,900), Teoscar Hernandez ($4,500)
Wainwright has been on a slide of late, allowing at least four earned runs in four of his last seven starts. That's not predictive, but he will need to be sharp to get through the Jays' order successfully – especially in Toronto. I like using the Toronto lineup to build around because it's easy to shift up and down the order to find savings while not losing a lot of hitter quality. Despite his recent struggles, Wainwright still has a 3.40 ERA for the season, so he may not stand out as a pitcher to target.
