This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
For Wednesday, the DFS slate is focused on the afternoon. Specifically, 10 games that begin with a first pitch of 1:10 p.m. EDT. You'll need to get your lineups in a little early for a weekday, but if you play DFS MLB seriously, you know that is part of the deal. Hopefully these recommendations help you early birds out there get the worm.
Pitching
Martin Perez, TEX at KC ($9,600): Perez has a 2.87 ERA through three starts, though his underlying numbers aren't as strong as they were last year when he surprised us by posting a 2.89 ERA across 32 starts. That being said, this matchup is so favorable I am still happy to hope he continues the success of 2022. The Royals are at the bottom of the league in runs scored and team OPS.
Trevor Rogers, MIA vs. SF ($9,100): Who is Rogers as a pitcher? The guy who had a 2.54 FIP in 2021 and looked like a future star, or the guy who had a 4.35 FIP last season? This year he has a 4.53 FIP, but his strikeouts are up and he just held the Diamondbacks to one run over six innings after starting the year with two starts against the Mets. I also like that Rogers is a southpaw, as the Giants rely on a lot of lefty bats.
Cal Quantrill, CLE at DET ($7,000): If you can get a viable pitcher against the Tigers this season at a salary like this, go for it. As a full-time starter in 2022, Quantrill had a 3.38 ERA, so he qualifies. The Tigers may have just swept a doubleheader against the Guardians, but they scored all of five runs in doing so. This is an offense that ranked last in runs scored last year, and is down in the bottom three again.
Top Targets
I bet Bryan Reynolds ($4,400) is glad DFS exists, because otherwise his skills would go overlooked. The switch hitter has a career .846 FIP and has the power to hit 27 homers (as he did in 2022) and the base-running skills to hit eight triples (as he did in 2021). The Pirates are at Coors Field, where Reynolds will get to face Austin Gomber. Since joining the Rockies, Gomber has a 5.24 ERA.
The steady bat of Austin Riley ($3,500) may be at Petco Park on Wednesday, but I'm not sweating it. With a .530 slugging percentage since 2021, he has the power to go yard anyway, but he has more bat skills than that as he has a .289 average during that time as well. Nick Martinez returned from Japan and posted a 4.42 FIP last year, but this year his FIP is up to 6.72.
Bargain Bats
Is Josh Jung ($3,000) putting it together? Well, at the very least he looks more like the guy who was considered the Rangers' top hitting prospect, and one of the better hitting prospects in baseball. He has a .286 average and .476 slugging percentage with three homers and a stolen base. Brady Singer has a 7.88 ERA through three starts, and while he is right-handed, since 2021 righties have hit .280 against him.
Power is the name of the game for Eugenio Suarez ($3,000). He's hit 31 homers in each of his last two seasons, and he had a .911 OPS against lefties last year. Southpaw Eric Lauer has a 5.28 ERA in 2023, in part because he's allowed 2.35 home runs per nine innings. That's a lot, but even last year he gave up 1.53, so it isn't totally fluky.
Stacks to Consider
Guardians at Tigers (Spencer Turnbull) Jose Ramirez ($3,800), Andres Gimenez ($3,600), Steven Kwan ($3,200)
Turnbull has returned from Tommy John surgery, and while he still doesn't allow home runs, he has a 9.00 ERA through three starts. He's lost over a mile per hour on his fastball so far, his strikeouts are down, and lefties have somehow hit .414 against him. Now, obviously that won't be sustained, but I'm primed to stack a lefty-focused trio from the Guardians regardless.
In his career, Ramirez has slashed .279/.355/.503. His power has been slow to arrive so far, but he's stolen four bases and fell one homer short in 2022 of having back-to-back 30/20 seasons. Gimenez had 17 homers and 20 stolen bases himself in 2022, his first full season of MLB action. This year he has posted a .275 average as well. Kwan is not a power guy, but made waves last season by batting .298 with a .373 OBP. While his average is down to .257 in 2023, he has a .357 OBP due to his batting eye, keeping him a viable, and valuable, leadoff man.
Cardinals vs. Diamondbacks (Madison Bumgarner): Paul Goldschmidt ($3,700), Nolan Arenado ($3,600), Tyler O'Neill ($2,600)
Recently it had to be clarified that, yes, Bumgarner will be staying in the rotation for the Diamondbacks, a sign of how far he has fallen. In four seasons with Arizona, the one-time Giants star has a 5.10 ERA. This year, he has a 7.90 ERA through three starts, hence the questions about his spot in the rotation. Owing to the fact he is a lefty, and also the fact he has allowed righties to hit .274 against him since 2021, I am stacking three right-handed batters against Bumgarner.
Since 2021, Goldschmidt has an 1.178 OPS against lefties. I don't need to say anything else, do I? Well, I'll remind you he is the reigning NL MVP, just in case. Arenado's power is a little down, but he still has a .310 average. Considering he has hit at least 30 homers in each of his first two seasons with the Cardinals, I think the power will come around. O'Neill had 14 homers and 14 stolen bases in 2022, and while he doesn't walk he does have a .278 average this season. Also, while he struggled against righties in 2022, O'Neill had a .788 OPS versus southpaws.
