This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
The MLB playoffs are near. Fortunately, the wild-card races are still exciting thanks to the Blue Jays being on fire and the Padres scuffling. This is not about assessing the postseason battle, though. It's about recommending players for DFS lineups Wednesday. There are 10 games starting at 7:05 p.m. EDT or later. My recommendations all come from those games.
PITCHING
Julio Urias, LAD vs. ARI ($10,300): At this point, most of us know not to judge a pitcher by their win-loss record. That being said, Urias' 17-3 record is indicative of a pitcher performing well and getting a lot of run support, not that he's needed a ton of help recently. In his last 13 starts, the 25-year-old has allowed more than two runs only once. The Diamondbacks are in the bottom 10 in runs scored even though their home park is hitter friendly, and Dodgers Stadium is decidedly better for pitchers.
Sean Manaea, OAK at KC ($9,200): Manaea is striking out double-digit batters per nine innings for the first time in his career, and his 3.66 FIP is a slight improvement on his 3.79 ERA. Also, he's not a product of his home park as he has a 3.64 ERA on the road. On top of all that, Kansas City is down in the bottom 10 in runs scored.
Ranger Suarez, PHI vs. CHC ($8,800): While Suarez has mostly pitched out of the bullpen, his 1.38 ERA is still impressive. Plus, over his last six starts he has a 1.97 ERA. The Cubs have a .232 batting average and are in the bottom half of the league in runs scored, and we can't forget their fire sale at the trade deadline.
Jose Urquidy, HOU at TEX ($8,700): Urquidy has been easing himself back into the rotation after missing all of July and August. Now that he has a couple games under his belt, I think he can take things to the next level, and at least get to five innings so that he can qualify for a win. The Rangers should help with that. They rank 29th in runs scored and are the only team with a sub-.300 OBP.
TOP TARGETS
Jose Ramirez, CLE at MIN ($4,100): Even though he's "only" hitting .254, Ramirez has piled up plenty of juicy stats. He's hit 33 homers, stolen 23 bases, driven in 88 runs, and scored 94 runs, and Ramirez is carrying the Cleveland offense as per usual. Now he gets to face Griffin Jax, who has a 6.42 FIP in his rookie campaign.
Freddie Freeman, ATL vs. COL ($3,900): Freeman can hit just about anybody, but the lefty is particularly good against righties, which is often the case with southpaws. The slugger has a 1.019 OPS versus right-handed pitchers since 2019. Antonio Senzatela has let lefties hit .294 against him in that same time frame, and his poor numbers aren't entirely about Coors Field. He actually has a 5.53 ERA on the road since 2019.
VALUE BATS
Dylan Carlson, STL at NYM ($2,700): In his cup of coffee in 2020 Carlson struggled a bit, but in 2021 he's been better. His OBP is .338 and he's hit 13 home runs. Rookie Mets pitcher Tylor Megill has a 4.25 FIP, which isn't terrible, but he has allowed 1.74 home runs per nine innings. Additionally, he's allowed lefties to hit .308 against him. Carlson is a switch hitter, not a pure lefty, but he can at least bat from that side of the plate, which is more than most Cardinals can say.
David Fletcher, LAA at CWS ($2,600): Fletcher has no power, but he's hit .287 in his career and almost always leads off for the Angels. He's also stolen 15 bases. At least Fletcher has shown some pop against lefties, as he has an .820 OPS in those matchups. Dallas Keuchel is having a rough year, as he has a 5.33 ERA. He's also struggled quite badly recently, as he has an 8.27 ERA in his last eight starts.
STACKS TO CONSIDER
Astros vs. Kohei Arihara: Jose Altuve ($4,300), Yordan Alvarez ($3,600), Kyle Tucker ($3,400)
Things could be going better for Arihara in his first MLB season since coming over from Japan. He's posted a 6.32 FIP through nine starts and has allowed 2.21 homers per nine innings. Arihara has also been particularly bad at home where he has a 9.22 ERA. It's a small sample, sure, but a lousy one nonetheless.
Altuve has bounced back from a bad 2020 with a .278/.353/.482 slash line. He's also racked up over 100 runs in 129 games. In his debut campaign Alvarez slugged a staggering .655, which may give us a skewed take on his .537 slugging percentage in 2021. The guy clearly still has plenty of power. Tucker's breakout campaign is getting overshadowed by the impressive lineup he's in. The lefty has hit 25 homers and stolen 13 bases.
Athletics vs. Mike Minor: Starling Marte ($4,000), Mark Canha ($3,200), Josh Harrison ($2,800)
The best season in Minor's career came when he pitched in the bullpen for the Royals in 2017. He returned to Kansas City this year, but in the starting rotation, and it hasn't gone great. Minor has a 5.05 ERA. Also, over the last three seasons he's allowed 1.46 home runs per nine innings.
Marte is threatening to win both a batting and stolen base title in 2021. He's hitting .322 and has swiped 45 bags (while only getting caught three times, by the way). Canha isn't going to win any batting titles, but he's got a .359 OBP and has an .862 OPS on the road. Harrison has hit .289, and he has a .351 OBP over the last two seasons. He's also hit eight homers and stolen nine bases.
