This article is part of our DraftKings MLB series.
Wednesday is loaded down with day baseball, so you have to get your DFS lineups in early. However, the 12:35 p.m. ET start is not included, nor a couple later games. Instead, the DFS slate covers nine games, the first of which starts at 1:05 p.m. ET. Here are my recommendations.
Pitching
Shane McClanahan, TAM at WAS ($8,800): McClanahan is an easy call, given that he's a shrewd sleeper pick for the AL Cy Young. He has a career 3.14 FIP and does not allow many home runs. The Nationals, sans Juan Soto, are a good bet to finished last in runs scored in 2023. McClanahan could go another six or so innings not allowing a run, as he did in his first start.
Cristian Javier, HOU vs. DET ($8,100): Javier has a great chance to bounce back after he was batted around a bit in his first start. The Tigers aren't primed to do that to many pitchers, much less pitchers who held both lefties and righties below the Mendoza line last year, as Javier did. Detroit was last in runs scored in 2022, and 29th in OBP.
Jesus Luzardo, MIA vs. MIN ($7,900): After a tough start to his career, Luzardo finally looked like the vaunted prospect he was last year, and it was only his age-24 season. The lefty opened this year with 5.2 shutout innings against the Mets. The Twins were middling offensively last season, in terms of runs scored, but Luis Arraez is now a Marlin, removing one cog from that offense.
Top Targets
The Orioles might end up going with a bullpen game Wednesday, which can make going with a left-handed hitter tricky. That's not a concern with Corey Seager ($4,700), though. Since 2019, he has an .819 OPS versus his fellow southpaws, not to mention an .825 OPS against righties. In his first year as a Ranger, he also had a .901 OPS at home for good measure.
Last season was great for dynamic rookies who could join the 30/30 club soon. One of those was Michael Harris ($4,000). He hit .297 with 19 homers and 20 stolen bases in his debut campaign, and that was only 114 games. Miles Mikolas was admittedly unlucky in his 3.1 innings of baseball in his first start, but he's a guy with a career 3.87 FIP who has struck out 6.72 batters per nine innings in his career as well.
Bargain Bats
With a lefty starting for the Mets, expect Luke Voit ($2,900) to draw into the lineup for the Brew Crew. He hit 22 home runs last season, his third time in four campaigns hitting the 20-homer mark. David Peterson, the lefty starter in question, has a career 4.08 FIP. He also has a 4.95 ERA on the road since 2021.
On the catcher front, Martin Maldonado ($2,700) has a nice opportunity against the Tigers. He's not an elite hitter by any means, but he's a catcher who popped 15 homers last year. He also had a .763 OPS versus lefties in 2022 as well. Eduardo Rodriguez, a lefty, had a 4.43 FIP last season, his first with the Tigers, and struggled in his first start this year.
Stacks to Consider
Rays at Nationals (Patrick Corbin): Randy Arozarena ($5,200), Wander Franco ($4,800), Yandy Diaz ($4,100)
Over the last four seasons, Corbin has a 5.82 ERA. Yes, really. He's allowed righties to hit .312 against him since 2021 as well. Thus, I have two righties and a guy who is a switch hitter here for the Rays.
Arozarena has swiped at least 20 bags in both of his full MLB seasons. Now, he's also been caught stealing double-digit times in those campaigns, but if the bigger bases and fewer pickoffs turn a few of those into swiped bags, that's big for Arozarena's DFS value. Franco is healthy and starting the year reminding us why he was the top prospect in baseball. He has base-stealing upside in this new-look MLB, and in his career he has a .921 OPS against lefties. Diaz is an on-base guy and a leadoff hitter by nature. In his career he has a .372 OBP, but last year against lefties he also slugged .492.
Red Sox vs. Pirates (Mitch Keller): Rafael Devers ($6,100), Alex Verdugo ($4,500), Triston Casas ($2,900)
Keller had a 3.91 ERA last year, but in his career, he's posted a 5.04 ERA. That may be paired with a 4.02 FIP, but that's not exactly good. While the Pirate admittedly doesn't allow a lot of home runs, he gets hit a ton. In fact, since 2021 lefties have hit .304 against him, and I am stacking three southpaws.
Devers had a .931 OPS against right-handed pitchers last year. That was paired with a .932 OPS at home as well. Verdugo isn't going to hit .400 this year, but he is a guy who has shown he can hit for average. Since joining the Red Sox, he has a .290 average, and since 2021 he has an .822 OPS versus righties as well. Casas is getting his first real taste of MLB action, but entered the season considered one of the better hitting prospects. He has a lot to prove, but he's a big dude, and he has an .826 OPS against right handers in his career.
Pirate at Red Sox (Corey Kluber): Oneil Cruz ($5,600), Bryan Reynolds ($5,200), Ji Hwan Bae ($2,900)
It's nice Kluber was able to put his injuries behind him and pitch regularly again, but he's past his prime. Last year he made 31 starts, but he posted a 4.34 ERA and struck out only 7.63 batters per nine innings. Both lefties (.266) and righties (.269) have hit him well since 2021, and batting averages seem primed to be on the rise in 2023, especially among southpaws who no longer have to fear the shift. Kluber's first start with the Red Sox was a disaster, and even the Pirates have three players worth stacking in this matchup.
Cruz, as exciting as he is, only played in 87 games last year. However, he still managed 17 homers and 10 stolen bases. The cannon-armed shortstop also has an .856 OPS against righties in his career. Reynolds has a career .282/.361/.485 slash line, something that can be easy to overlook given that he plays for the Pirates. He's also hit over 20 home runs in each of his last two campaigns. The southpaw Bae has played even less than Cruz, but he's Pittsburgh's starting second baseman, at least against righties. So far, he has a .975 OPS when facing a right-handed pitcher.
