This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
Wednesday's main slate of games brings us eight games and luckily it looks like weather will not play a factor (I live in Buffalo, current home of the Blue Jays, and have been building an ark the last few days). Five of those eight games have an over/under of at least nine runs and the top mark belongs to the game at Sahlen Field at 10.5 with the Jays being a -170 favorite. More on that in a minute.
Pitching
Lance McCullers, HOU vs. CLE ($10,200): McCullers opened as a -310 favorite and has since dropped to -255 which is still the biggest favorite of the night. Cleveland isn't a great hitting team against right-handed pitching and has a .285 wOBA on the road against that handedness, fourth worst in baseball. McCullers has at least 34 fantasy points in each of his last five starts and at least seven strikeouts in each of his last four. This is the best pick for cash on a night when it seems reasonable to pay up for a starting pitcher.
Erick Fedde, WAS vs. MIA ($6,500): Want to know who's going to be very unpopular after putting up a -11 fantasy-point outing in his last start? Obviously the answer is Fedde, but that makes him a great candidate for GPPs. He's been largely hit-and-miss this season with fantasy games of 40-plus in five of his 14 starts but also has seven games of 18 or fewer fantasy points. Fedde will take on the Marlins at home, who have a 26.4 percent strikeout rate on the road against right-handed pitching (fifth worst) and a team .294 wOBA (eighth worst). Again, GPP use only here.
Top Targets
Vladimir Guerrero, TOR vs. BOS ($4,500): It seems like I'm being redundant highlighting Vlad almost every time I write this column, but the truth is he doesn't disappoint. That Tatis guy isn't on this slate and Garrett Richards isn't an elite pitcher. Guerrero has a reverse split this season with a .475 wOBA (.375 ISO) against right-handed pitching, and that balloons to a .551 wOBA/.504 ISO at home. Use him first when constructing a batting lineup no matter how much you spend up on starting pitching.
Juan Soto, WAS vs. MIA ($4,400): I know it's lame to pick the two players with the highest salary but there's justification for using both. Plugging in both Vlad and Soto along with McCullers stills allows for an average of $2,650 for every other hitter in a lineup. I'll find some value bats to help make that happen. Soto has been a beast with 37.4 fantasy points or more in five of his last 16 games, showing his upside. There's only been one goose egg in that span so there's a viable floor as well.
Value Bats
Myles Straw, HOU vs. CLE ($2,200): Straw offers some salary cap relief and is in a favorable spot against Cleveland and Eli Morgan. Morgan comes into the game with a 7.86 ERA and has allowed a .434 wOBA to right-handed hitters, albeit in a small sample. Again, Houston is a heavy favorite in this game with Vegas expecting them to score around six runs.
Josh Bell, WAS vs. MIA ($2,400): This salary cap hit seems very reasonable given the fact that Bell is averaging 9.4 fantasy points per game this season. He didn't start Tuesday night with the Marlins sending a lefty to the mound but managed a pinch-hit home run in the eighth inning. As of writing this, the Marlins are still undecided on a starting pitcher meaning there won't be an ace on the mound for them. It'll likely be a second or third-tier type of hurler instead.
Stacks To Consider
Nationals vs. Undecided: Soto, Bell, Trea Turner ($4,300), Alcides Escobar ($2,600)
Escobar seems extremely motivated playing for his new team and the Nationals should be able to take advantage of whoever the Marlins put on the mound. I can see a path to six-plus runs here and these four players would definitely play a role if that scenario pans out.
Dodgers vs. Logan Webb: Cody Bellinger ($3,500), Max Muncy ($4,300), Mookie Betts ($4,200), Will Smith, ($3,200)
Smith has been hitting cleanup as of late and has games of 25.7, 40.7 and 29.2 fantasy points in three of his last four contests. The other three hitters have hit right-handed pitching very well at home and should be able to take advantage of this matchup. Webb has allowed a .350 wOBA to lefties this season and has pitched much worse on the road (4.76 ERA) than at home (1.64 ERA).
