This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
There's lots of baseball Wednesday, including six games before the main slate starts at 7:05 p.m. EDT. There's still a healthy dose of action for the main slate with eight different contests to choose from. With football season right around the corner, now is a good time to enter some ticket qualifiers, earning entries into big tournaments for a fraction of the actual cost.
Pitchers
Zack Greinke, HOU vs. SF ($9,800): Greinke has been a bit unlucky to start the season, being unable to get in the win column despite allowing no runs in his last outing and only two runs in the one before that. The Giants are a good matchup with the eighth-lowest wOBA (.296) in baseball against right-handed pitching. As of Tuesday night, the Giants had not announced a starter, meaning Greinke should be a big favorite against a second or third-tier pitcher.
Masahiro Tanaka, NYY vs. ATL ($8,300): Tanaka is a good mid-priced option even with a tough matchup against Atlanta. They have stuck out 26.4 percent of the time against right-handed pitching this season, however, the sixth highest mark in baseball. Tanaka pitched much better at home last season, allowing only a .280 wOBA to opposing batters, leading to a 3.10 ERA.
Top Targets
Nelson Cruz, MIN at MIL ($3,800): It's beating the proverbial dead horse, but any time Cruz is facing a lefty he should be in any cash lineup. Cruz had a 1.207 OPS last season against lefties and is affordable tonight with there being no game in Colorado on the main slate.
Cody Bellinger, LAD vs. SD ($3,900): Bellinger has gotten off to a slow start, so he should be an unpopular pick tonight. That makes him a good contrarian play in GPPs, especially considering he has as much power upside as any hitter in the game. Zach Davies has allowed a career .320 wOBA to opposing left-handed hitters, making this an above-average matchup for Bellinger.
Joey Gallo, TEX vs. SEA ($3,800): Speaking of power upside, Gallo is also one of the few players who has multi-home run ability on any given night. Facing Taijuan Walker is a plus matchup for Gallo, as Walker continues to work his way back from injury.
Value Plays
Miguel Sano, MIN at MIL ($2,900): While Cruz rightfully gets his due when facing a lefty, teammate Sano has also had his own success. Sano posted a .408 wOBA against southpaws last season and should be hitting in the cleanup spot against Eric Lauer, where he'll be protecting Cruz in front of him. Teammate Mitch Garver ($2,300) is also very much in play despite a slow start. Garver had a .468 wOBA last season, and stacking the three Twins isn't a bad idea.
Michael Conforto, NYM vs. WAS ($2,900): Conforto has been a consistent fantasy producer in this short season, safely reaching base in all 18 games. He should be in a good RBI spot hitting cleanup and has a plus matchup against Anibal Sanchez. Sanchez is on the wrong side of 36 years old, and Conforto has the lefty-on-righty advantage.
Stacks To Consider
Houston vs. Trevor Cahill: Yuli Gurriel ($2,900), Alex Bregman ($4,000), Michael Brantley ($3,000), Carlos Correa ($3,300)
The Astros stack is in play on a nightly basis, but if the Giants run out Cahill they'll be one of the better stacks of the night. The first three players listed all have an OPS of over 1.000 against Cahill, and Correa has a career .386 wOBA against right-handed pitching. The winning lineup in a big GPP could involve lots of Houston batters with some Twins sprinkled in.
Texas vs. Taijuan Walker: Joey Gallo ($3,800), Shin-Soo Choo ($3,100), Rougned Odor ($2,600), Elvis Andrus ($2,500)
A complete fade of Walker could work, as his control has been very questionable over his first three starts. He has also allowed two homers over 14 innings and the first three players mentioned here are lefties in their home park, a favorable scenario. Consider this one of the under-the-radar stacks of the night.
