This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
Wednesday DFS baseball is for the early birds. The first game starts at 12:20 p.m. EDT, and the main slate of contests on FanDuel consists of the nine afternoon games. Now, if you miss out, there are other options on the DFS front, but I am tackling the main slate for my recommendations.
Pitching
Kyle Hendricks, CHC at PIT ($8,100): Hendricks was getting away with an unremarkable fastball and few strikeouts for years, but 2021 was rough for him. Will he bounce back this season? Well, even if he doesn't rebound entirely, the Pirates ranked last in runs scored last season, and they look no better this year.
Triston McKenzie, CLE at CIN ($6,600): I'm betting on the upside of Cleveland's lanky young pitcher. In his career he's struck out 10.30 batters per nine innings, and he's allowed righties to hit a mere .176 against him. The Reds did something of a teardown this offseason, leaving them with a lineup I'm skeptical about.
Top Targets
The Reds are giving Nick Lodolo his first career MLB start, and while he's a promising prospect, he's never faced anybody quite like Jose Ramirez ($4,400). The fact that Lodolo is a lefty puts him in a particularly precarious situation. Since 2020, Ramirez has a 1.000 OPS against LHP, and overall last year he had 36 homers and 27 stolen bases.
So far, so good for Matt Olson ($3,900) with Atlanta, as he's slashed .474/.630/.737 to start this campaign. Looking at a larger sample than a couple games, the lefty has a career .254/.350/.513 slash line. Josiah Gray is a young pitcher that hasn't lost all his promise, but to start his career he has a 5.67 ERA.
Bargain Bats
Over his career, Justin Turner ($3,100) has put up a .290/.367/.469 slash line. He's still hitting for average and getting on base, but the last five seasons he's shown more power, slugging .502. Chris Paddack showed promise as a rookie for the Padres, but his numbers have gotten worse every season and he's since been dealt to the Twins. Last year, he had a 5.07 ERA.
In his first two seasons with the Tigers, Jonathan Schoop ($2,700) has a .278 batting average. He's also shown some power for a second baseman, as he has hit over 20 home runs in each of the last five full MLB seasons. Prior to last year, Nathan Eovaldi had allowed at least 1.14 home runs per nine innings in each of his previous four campaigns. He's also allowed righties to hit .280 against him since 2020.
Stacks to Consider
Astros vs. Diamondbacks (Merrill Kelly): Kyle Tucker ($4,200), Jose Altuve ($3,700), Michael Brantley ($2,900)
Kelly's first start this year went well, but it also went only four innings. In his career, the Diamondback has a 4.24 FIP and has allowed 1.31 home runs per nine innings.
Tucker got to play his first full season in MLB last year, and he responded with a .916 OPS, 30 home runs, and 14 stolen bases. Altuve bounced back after 2020 for a slash line of .278/.350/.489 with 31 homers. His career average is .307, so there's still room for improvement based on that. Brantley is good at hitting for average, and especially good at hitting against righties. The southpaw has a .927 OPS versus right-handed pitchers since 2020.
Cubs vs. Pirates (Zach Thompson): Ian Happ ($2,900), Seiya Suzuki ($2,800), Frank Schwindel ($2,600)
Thompson didn't make it to the majors until he was 27. Hey, that's still impressive, but it's not necessarily a sign of a pitcher with much upside. Plus, he posted a 3.68 FIP in 26 games, only 14 of which were starts. Given that he's in the Pirates rotation, I'm not seeing much upside in Thompson.
Happ had a rough go of it in 2021, but he also had a .281 BABIP, well below his career .316 BABIP. Plus, he did still hit 25 home runs and steal nine bases. Suzuki was the top free agent to come over from Japan, and so far he's taken to the States. He just hit his first two home runs, and he's slashing .417/.529/1.167. Schwindel, like Thompson, was a late arrival in the majors. The difference is that in 64 games last year he managed a .962 OPS and hit 14 home runs.
