This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
Wednesday brings us a healthy nine-game evening slate, with two earlier slates to participate in during the afternoon hours. The games are nicely spaced out with three "early" games, two "middle" games and four "late" games on the West Coast. Let's dive in.
Pitching
Alex Wood, SF vs. STL ($8,300): All of the upper-tier pitchers come with some fleas. The weather could play a role for Zack Wheeler, and I could easily see the game in Houston turning into a high-scoring affair. Enter Wood, who'll be at home in a game with one of the lowest over/under totals of the night. Wood has struck out more batters at home (10.4 K/9IP) while allowing fewer home runs (0.8/9IP) than on the road. The Cardinals are in the bottom half of the league in wOBA against left-handed pitching (.311) and the Giants are a -172 favorite.
Chris Paddack, SD vs. WAS ($7,600): It's hard to get away from Paddack given his upside and the offense behind him. Throughout his career almost every stat has been better at home: K%, BB%, wOBA, FIP, xFIP, you get the idea. Washington is in the middle of the pack for most stats as a road team facing a right-handed pitcher, and they will be without slugger Kyle Schwarber. Like Wood, Paddack is a -172 favorite at home but saves you $700 against the salary cap.
Top Targets
Vladimir Guerrero, TOR at BAL ($4,600): Using the two pitchers I mentioned means it's not tough to get Guerrero into a lineup. He's the top hitter on the team with the highest implied run total, so it's not a bad idea to use him in any format. My favorite pitcher to fade, Matt Harvey, will be on the mound for the Orioles and is actually allowing a .408 wOBA to right-handed hitters while only a .338 to lefties. Oddly that works nicely for Guerrero, who has hit right-handers (.479 wOBA) better than southpaws (.409).
Bryce Harper, PHI at CHC ($3,800): There are 14 other players at Harper's salary level or higher, so he seems to be a bit of a bargain among the elite bats. Alec Mills (4.85 ERA) is allowing a .378 wOBA to left-handed hitters this season while Harper is hitting right-handed pitching to the tune of a .390 wOBA. Again, this game features a weather warning, and we saw last night in New York what could happen if we blindly assume a game will be played based on the word of others.
Value Bats
Andrew McCutchen, PHI at CHC ($2,900): Since I'm returning to the Cubs/Phillies game, it does look like the teams will get it in with a small chance of rain, but the wind is what peaks my curiosity. Gusts of up to 20 mph north would favor the hitters (straightaway center faces northeast at Wrigley Field). The Phillies have scored 28 runs over the last two days and McCutchen has contributed with 28.9, 24.9, 3 and 18.2 fantasy points over his last four games.
Randal Grichuk, TOR at BAL ($3,100): Harvey's struggles against right-handed bats have already been noted and Grichuk comes into this game on a tear with home runs in two straight. He also has 18.7 fantasy points or more in four of his last eight contests and should be hitting in the middle of the Jays order. Grichuk has a respectable .343 wOBA on the road this season against right-handed pitching.
Stacks To Consider
Blue Jays vs. Harvey: Guerrero, Grichuk, Teoscar Hernandez ($3,400), Marcus Semien ($4,200)
This by no means is an easy stack to fit into a lineup given the salary cap hits. However, using this group with either Paddack or Wood still allows at least an average of $2,850 per hitter for the rest of a lineup. George Springer ($3,700) can be used here as well as he has a .433 wOBA against right-handed pitching when he's been healthy. Despite a high salary, Semien fills a void at a position where hitting is scarce and he's having a monster season for Toronto.
Giants vs. Johan Oviedo: Brandon Crawford ($3,300), Mike Yastrzemski ($3,200), LaMonte Wade ($2,900), Buster Posey ($3,000)
By all means, mix and match the Phillies for stacks against the aforementioned Mills but realize that could be the most popular stack of the night. Looking for an under-the-radar group to use brings you to the Giants. They're probably the most underrated offense in the league, hitting the second-most home runs (126) and sitting tied for seventh in runs scored (418). Looking at Oviedo's box scores, he has given up three or more runs in eight of his last 10 starts and has only made it out of the fourth inning three times during that span. All four Giants hitters have been excellent at home against right-handed pitching with wOBAs of .400 (Posey), .410 (Crawford), .424 (Wade) and .429 (Yastrzemski). In a limited sample, Oviedo's struggles have been magnified on the road against left-handed hitting. Obviously, check to see if Posey is back in the lineup.
