This article is part of our DraftKings MLB series.
There are three pitchers that stand above the rest in Wednesday night's slate and you need at least one of them. The separator will be finding a cheap second pitcher to complement the expensive one. As for the bats, grab a few guys from the Reds-Royals game, which has the highest over/under at 9.5 runs, and call it a day.
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PITCHER
Trevor Bauer, CLE at CWS ($11,500): Bauer's price surprisingly went down even though he cruised to 12 strikeouts and 39.2 fantasy points last time out. He has at least 23 fantasy points in his last five starts and gets another favorable matchup. Over the last month, the White Sox are at the bottom of most charts against righties with a 25.7 K% and .291 wOBA.
GPP Fade: Gerrit Cole, HOU at OAK ($13,200): I'm not saying Cole is going to get shelled, only that there's no reason to spend up on him. Cole is a couple thousand dollars more than Bauer and Jose Berrios, yet both of them have been just as good in fantasy and have better matchups. Cole faces the Athletics, which have a decent .181 ISO and .322 wOBA against righties in the last month.
Cheap GPP Consideration: Nick Pivetta, PHI vs. COL ($7,500): None of the cheaper options stood out, but I ultimately decided on Pivetta, partly because of upside and partly because of opponent. While he's struggling, it was only a few weeks ago that he reached 26 fantasy points in three consecutive outings. He's hit six strikeouts in five of his last six starts and the Rockies have poor road numbers against righty arms over the last two months with a 24.1 K% and .280 wOBA.
CATCHER
Tucker Barnhart, CIN at KC ($3,200): I'm not confident in any of the catchers so I'll take my chances with Barnhart in a nice matchup. He was better against righties last year with a .326 wOBA and that will hopefully show up against Jason Hammel. The righty hurler is struggling again after a couple solid outings, allowing seven runs in his last two starts. He's giving up tons of contact to both sides of the plate and hasn't improved from last year's 5.15 xFIP against lefty bats. In the case Barnhart gets rested, I'd look at James McCann ($2,800) if he returns from the flu, as he's had success against Berrios with five hits (2 HR) in 11 at-bats.
FIRST BASE
Jose Martinez, STL vs. SD ($5,000): Martinez is one of the hottest hitters in the league with 20 hits (3 2B, 5 HR) in his last 10 games and he gets another ripe matchup. Eric Lauer has two quality outings this year, sporting a 6.64 ERA and 1.67 HR/9 against righties. Martinez only has 125 career plate appearances against southpaws, yet a .299 ISO and .478 wOBA are hard to ignore.
SECOND BASE
Scooter Gennett, CIN at KC ($4,700): There are a few places to go big against Hammel and I decided on Gennett, who has a .376 BABIP and eight homers against righties after a slow start. Gennett has been excellent and hasn't fallen off after last year's .261 ISO. Hammel has a 5.30 xFIP against lefty bats this season, which isn't far off from his career number at 4.47.
THIRD BASE
Brian Anderson, MIA vs. SF ($4,000): Anderson won't be the most popular third baseman on this slate and that's why he's worth using. He's feeling good hitting safely in nine of his last 10 games and that's translated to a .211 ISO and .351 BABIP against lefties. Andrew Suarez has given up at least three runs in four of his last five starts and is getting blasted by righty bats for 1.93 HR/9 in his rookie season.
SHORTSTOP
Ehire Adrianza, MIN at DET ($2,900): I considered Jose Iglesias ($3,100), but figured it'd make more sense to go against Matt Boyd than Berrios. Plus, Adrianza is cheaper, hit a grand slam on Tuesday and has a career .321 wOBA against southpaws. Boyd has pitched well this season, yet has a 5.34 xFIP against righties, which is about where he was in 2017 at 5.14.
OUTFIELD
Matt Kemp, LAD vs. TEX ($4,300): There are plenty more outfielders to consider, but I couldn't get away from the 16 homers Cole Hamels has allowed to righties, showing little improvement from a 5.01 xFIP last season. Kemp has 11 extra-base hits (4 HR) in 65 at-bats against lefty arms, which isn't far from his career .391 wOBA.
Jesse Winker, CIN at KC ($3,400): I wanted another cheap bat against Hammel in case he gets blasted for five or more runs again. Winker is the choice after gaining some confidence in the last week with a couple homers pushing his wOBA to .334 against righties. That rate is good enough at this price, especially against Hammel, who has a 5.12 ERA and is giving up more power to lefty bats (six HR) after a .329 wOBA allowed last season.
Alex Gordon, KC vs. CIN ($3,000): Finding a cheap outfielder was difficult, but Gordon should do the job with a .356 BABIP against righties. At a minimum, he'll get on base against Tyler Mahle. The righty hurler has one quality start in his last six outings and a miserable 2.41 HR/9 against lefty bats, pushing his career xFIP to 5.32.
