We're heading toward the end of August, and we have ourselves a busy Wednesday. Of course, the schedule is spread out throughout the day, but we still have eight games starting at 7:15 p.m. EDT. Take some time this afternoon, or early evening, to look over these lineup recommendations and then make your MLB DFS decisions.
Try our FanDuel MLB Lineup Optimizer to discover more expert recommendations, customize the player pool, set exposure percentage and mass-enter DFS lineups.
Pitching
Yusei Kikuchi, LAA vs. CIN ($9,600): The Reds may be fighting the Mariners for a spot in the top 10 in runs scored (the top nine seem pretty locked in), but that doesn't mean I'm running away from Kikuchi. He's excelled at home in his first campaign as an Angel. The lefty has a 2.40 ERA in Anaheim, a city that is not Los Angeles. As mentioned, Kikuchi is a lefty, and that's also a good thing for a pitcher facing the Reds.
Noah Cameron, KAN vs. TEX ($9,300): Over his last seven starts, Cameron has a 2.12 ERA. That's impressive enough as is, but in his four home starts in that time he has an 1.13 ERA. The Royals may be in the bottom five in runs scored, but the Rangers are in the bottom 10, so Cameron has himself a fine matchup, even if the run support may not be there.
Top Targets
Christian Yelich ($3,600) has put a lot of balls on the ground, and only one-third of his hits have qualified as "hard." And yet, he still has 26 home runs to go with 15 stolen bases through 119 games. Now, he's been quite bad against lefties, but on the year Yelich has an .882 OPS versus righties. The Cubs and Brewers finally managed to get their doubleheader in Tuesday, leaving Colin Rea to start Wednesday. Lefties have hit .294 against Rea this season.
After a cold stretch, Fernando Tatis ($3,400) is starting to warm back up. On the season he has an .852 OPS against his fellow right-handers, and he has an .868 OPS at home. Landen Roupp's first start back from injury was rough, as he allowed five runs in three innings to the Rays. On top of that, in his career righties have hit .265 against Roupp.
Bargain Bats
It seems like Brandon Lowe ($3,200) is going to hit 30 home runs for the second season in his career, and all that really took was for him to stay relatively healthy. Of course, fingers crossed he stays in the lineup down the stretch to get there. The slugging second baseman has an .893 OPS versus righties. Cam Schlittler started the season in Double-A, and you might think that the fact he's delivered a 3.94 ERA through six MLB starts is sufficient to make him an intriguing target. However, he also has a 4.25 BB/9 rate, an 1.82 HR/9 rate, and a 5.23 FIP.
While 24-year-old shortstop Brooks Lee ($2,600) is nobody's idea of a power threat, so far in his career he has slugged .413 at home. This season he's managed 13 home runs in 105 games, and he has an .818 OPS over the last two weeks. Lee is a switch hitter, and he will be swinging the bat as a lefty against J.T. Ginn on Wednesday. Ginn has a 5.15 FIP this season, and in his career lefties have hit a whopping .323 against him.
Stacks to Consider
Dodgers at Rockies (Tanner Gordon): Freddie Freeman ($3,900), Mookie Betts ($3,700), Michael Conforto ($3,000)
Gordon has now made 16 MLB starts, and he has an 8.30 ERA. Lefties have hit .311 against him in his career, so I have two lefties for this stack at Coors Field. However, I did include one righty. One, left-handed hitters have gotten a little sparse for the Dodgers with Max Muncy out again. Two, righties have hit .400 against Gordon in his career. Yes, .400.
Freeman may be rounding into form at the right time, as he has an 1.052 OPS over the last three weeks. When all is said and done, he should be able to get to 20 home runs, but he also might get to 40 doubles. It has been a tough season for Betts, even if he has 13 home runs and eight stolen bases through 116 games. It bears repeating however that he's at Coors Field on Wednesday, and he's facing a guy who has let righties bat .400 against him. That makes this roster decision justifiable. Conforto is a roll of the dice on a lefty at Coors facing a bad righty pitcher. He's fallen so far from the hitter he used to be, but he has nine homers and 18 doubles. One extra-base hit would be enough at this salary.
Athletics at Twins (Bailey Ober): Nick Kurtz ($4,100), Brent Rooker ($3,700), Tyler Soderstrom ($3,000)
In the past, Ober has been good and occasionally teased greatness, but he hasn't even reached mediocre this season. The righty is still good at avoiding walks, but his K/9 rate is down to 7.14 and his HR/9 rate is up to 1.99. Not only that, but Ober's groundball rate is 28.9 percent. Guys are hitting the ball hard and in the air against him, and that's how he's ended up with a 5.18 FIP. If that wasn't enough for this stack, Ober has a 7.15 ERA over his last nine outings.
Kurtz is absolutely, positively still crushing it, and if he stays healthy he's going to walk away with the AL Rookie of the Year Award even though he played 21 games in the minors to begin the year. The slugger has hit .313 with 25 home runs, and he's done almost all his damage against righties (1.176 OPS). Rooker has a .914 OPS over the last three weeks, and I think he is an interesting righty for this stack. Ober has let lefties hit .283 against him, and they've hit more home runs against him. However, righties have hit .277 with 20 doubles. Rooker can go yard, sure, but he also has 30 doubles in 127 games, so he's well-suited for this matchup. Soderstrom started hot then cooled down, but he's back on fire for the Athletics. He has a .977 OPS over the last three weeks. Interestingly, while he's gotten on base better in Sacramento, Soderblom's .479 slugging percentage on the road bests his number in his hitter-friendly minor-league home park.
