This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
It being the middle of the week already, the DFS slates start at 2:10 PM EST with early-only and all-day slates that include the three games starting around that time. As usual the main contest will begin at 7:05 PM EST and feature a nine-game slate that, unlike the last couple of nights, doesn't really feature any big-name pitchers. Wednesday is a good day to try out the single-game format, as there's one at 6:35 PM EST between the Marlins and Red Sox and a later game at 10:15 PM EST between the Diamondbacks and Giants.
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PITCHER
CC Sabathia, NYY vs CWS ($8,200): Sabathia seems to be getting stronger at the end of the season, recording games of 40, 49 and 50 fantasy points over his last three starts. The White Sox remain a great matchup, especially without Jose Abreu in the lineup. Chicago has the 10th-worst wOBA against southpaws (.305) and have a 26.5 percent strikeout rate, the worst in the league by almost two percent. The Yankees opened at a -250 favorite, making both the quality start and win bonus points likely for Sabathia as well.
GPP Fade: Dereck Rodriguez, SF vs ARI ($9,300): Rodriguez comes in as the most expensive pitcher Wednesday night, and rightfully so. He's scored at least 21 fantasy points in 12 straight starts and has surpassed 40 fantasy points in half of those games. However, using him tonight limits the cap space available for Yankee and Dodger bats, and the Diamondbacks aren't a great matchup. Since July 1, Arizona is in the top half of the league in wOBA (.323) and in the bottom half of the league in strikeout rate (22.3 percent) on the road against right-handed pitching.
Cheap GPP Consideration: Freddy Peralta, MIL at CIN ($8,700): While Peralta isn't too cheap tonight, he's almost always in play as a GPP consideration given his strikeout upside. In his 13 starts this season Peralta has had three games scoring fantasy points in the 40s, one game in the 50s and two games in the 60s. The Reds, since July 1, are in the bottom 10 in wOBA (.313) while striking out 22.3 percent of the time (13th highest) against right-handed pitching.
FIRST BASE/CATCHER
Greg Bird, NYY vs CWS ($2,900): Bird, or even Luke Voit ($2,600), are both cheap ways to get pieces of the Yankee lineup facing Reynaldo Lopez at home. Lopez has a 4.96 road ERA and has given up a .358 wOBA to left-handed hitters away from home this season. Bird, in a small sample, has a .338 wOBA in Yankee Stadium against right-handed pitching for his career; just make sure he's in the lineup.
SECOND BASE
Jason Kipnis, CLE vs MIN ($2,800): Kipnis is the cheapest lefty bat in the Cleveland lineup against Kohl Stewart. The rookie has given up three earned runs in all three of his starts and has yet to get out of the fifth inning in any of those contests. Kipnis has heated up as of late with a .328 wOBA against right-handed pitching since July 1, and he had a monster 53.6 fantasy-point effort Sunday.
THIRD BASE
Jurickson Profar, TEX vs LAD ($3,200): Profar has been very solid against southpaws this season with a .338 wOBA, but that stat goes up to .362 when at home in Arlington. Profar also has gone 9-for-9 in the stolen base department this season, adding more potential to his fantasy score. Alex Wood has been very good but the hitting environment in Texas trumps his success.
SHORTSTOP
Asdrubal Cabrera, PHI vs WAS ($2,600): Cabrera and the Phillies will take on Gio Gonzalez, who has been bad this season against right-handed hitters. Gio has allowed a .347 wOBA to RHH and that number has been at .367 since July 1. Cabrera has a career .330 wOBA against lefties. Considering the top-10 players at the position are priced at $3,000 or more on a nine-game slate, Cabrera provides solid value and frees up cap space for other positions.
OUTFIELD
Enrique Hernandez, LAD at TEX ($2,800): All of the Dodgers are in play tonight, especially the right-handed bats against lefty Mike Minor. This game carries an over/under of 10.5 with the Dodgers a -165 favorite, giving them one of the highest expected run totals on the slate. Hernandez has a career .354 wOBA against lefties and is the cheapest bat in the Los Angeles lineup. Pairing Kike up with Manny Machado, Justin Turner and Brian Dozier along with a cheap pitcher in a GPP makes sense.
Rhys Hoskins, PHI vs WAS ($3,500): Pivoting away from the Yankees and Dodgers tonight is a good contrarian strategy, and Hoskins has one of the best matchups on the slate. At home he has a .384 wOBA against left-handed pitching for his career, and Gonzalez has been awful since the beginning of June. A stack of the Phillies right-handed batters makes a good pivot from the other expected higher-scoring games.
UTILITY
C.J. Cron, TB at ATL ($3,100): Cron will be under the radar tonight, assuming he's in the lineup, as the Rays have gone into full rebuild mode. Cron has a lofty .368 wOBA against lefties this season and usually hits in a good RBI spot when facing one. Sean Newcomb has had a solid season, although he has struggled a little more at home (4.09 ERA) than on the road (3.12).
