This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
Wednesday sees most, but not all, teams in action. The beginning of the MLB season involves getting in the groove in certain ways. The action is mostly in the afternoon as it's a getaway day for a lot of clubs, and the FanDuel slate covers nine games starting between 1:05 p.m. EDT and 2:10 p.m. EDT start. You still have options, and here are my recommendations.
Pitching
Shane McClanahan, TAM at WAS ($10,600): If the schedule remains this kind to McClanahan, the dude is going to win the Cy Young. His first start was against the Tigers, and now he gets to face the Nationals. One of those teams is almost a lock to finish last in runs scored. Oh, and last year McClanahan had a 2.54 ERA, so it's not like he needs the help.
Cristian Javier, HOU vs. DET ($10,000): Fun with one-game sample sizes: Javier has a 5.40 ERA, but a 1.48 FIP. Last year, his first as a regular starter, Javier had a 2.54 ERA, so he'll be fine. This matchup against the Tigers, who were last in runs scored in 2022, should help get those numbers normalized.
Pablo Lopez, MIN at MIA ($9,400): Well, Lopez didn't have to wait long to get a shot at his former team. He was a solid pitcher with the Marlins, posting a 3.52 ERA over his last three seasons with the squad. The Marlins were 28th in runs scored last year, and don't seem a ton better offensively this season, so Lopez could enjoy his chance at "revenge" in Miami.
Top Targets
It's early, but a healthy Wander Franco ($3,900) is an enticing player, and he is off to a hot start. He also has a .926 OPS against lefties in his career, and Franco gets to face the woeful Patrick Corbin on Wednesday. Since 2021, righties have hit .312 against him.
There a lot of fun to be had when Adolis Garcia ($3,800) is involved in a baseball game. Walks? Who needs them! Garcia is always a candidate to finish with a sub-.300 OBP, but also a candidate to put up 30 homers and 30 stolen bases. Just last year he hit 27 homers and stole 25 bases. The Orioles' rotation situation is scrambled after Tyler Wells was needed in relief Monday, and while top prospect Grayson Rodriguez is getting the call, there may have been a reason he didn't break camp on the big-league roster -- he walked four batters in four innings in his first Triple-A start Friday.
Bargain Bats
He had an odd season in 2022, but lefty Andrew Benintendi ($2,800) still had an .812 OPS against right-handed pitchers. Just two seasons ago he hit .276 with 17 home runs, which feels viable now that he is with the White Sox and probably in a more stable situation. Logan Webb yields a lot of groundballs, but also a lot of hits for lefties. Since 2021, southpaws have hit .261 against him.
With a righty on the mound, Ji-Man Choi ($2,200) should likely be in the lineup for the Pirates. Since 2021, he has a .765 OPS versus righties, including a .350 OBP. He's not much of a power guy, but he can get on base. Corey Kluber started the season in rough fashion, allowing two homers in 3.1 innings against the Orioles. Even last year, when he was Choi's teammate in Tampa, he had a 4.34 ERA.
Stacks to Consider
Astros vs. Tigers (Eduardo Rodriguez): Jose Abreu ($3,300), Alex Bregman ($3,200), Jeremy Pena ($3,100)
Things have not gone well for Rodriguez with the Tigers. After a season with the Red Sox when his FIP was much better than his ERA, last year Rodriguez had a 4.05 ERA and a 4.43 FIP. His first start this season against Tampa also went poorly. Since he's a southpaw, I decided to go with three righties from the Astros.
Abreu has hit for average out of the gate, which isn't surprising as he has a career .292 average. Since 2021, he has a .909 OPS versus lefties as well. Bregman posted a .366 OBP last year while hitting 23 homers, his most since his breakthrough 2019 campaign. At home, Bregman was stellar, managing a .972 OPS. Pena doesn't have OBP skills, but he still gets to lead off for the Astros and rack up runs. He also had an .822 OPS against lefties as a rookie.
Red Sox vs. Pirates (Mitch Keller): Rafael Devers ($4,100), Adam Duvall ($3,800) Masataka Yoshida ($3,500)
Keller had a 3.91 ERA last year, which was a step up from his 6.17 ERA in 2021, but not great. In his first start this year, Keller allowed four runs, six hits, and four walks to the Reds, which is not the most intimidating lineup. Now, he faces the Red Sox in Fenway.
Devers, who is hot to start the campaign, loves to face a righty in Boston. He had a .931 OPS versus righties last year and a .932 OPS at home. Duvall will not stay this hot, but he's got power and he's been streaky in the past. He's slugged .470 in his career and has three 30-homer seasons to his name. If he's hot, why not take a shot? Yoshida came over from Japan where he excelled at hitting for contact and getting on base. Since 2021, Keller has let lefties hit .304 against him, and Yoshida is a southpaw.
Cardinals vs. Atlanta (Bryce Elder): Brendan Donovan ($3,300), Nolan Gorman ($3,100), Tommy Edman ($2,900)
Elder has been called up to start Wednesday because of an injury to Max Fried, offering unexpected DFS potential. As a rookie last year, Elder had a 3.77 FIP. He also had a 3.66 ERA on the road, as opposed to a 2.45 ERA at home. I decided to go with three guys who can hit lefty against the right-handed pitcher while trying to save some cap space.
As a rookie, Donovan hit .281 with a .394 OBP. He struggled on the road but had an .896 OPS at home. Gorman hit 14 home runs in only 89 games last year. He's hot to start this season, and all 16 of his career homers have come against righties. Edman's skill set is about hitting for average and stealing bases. He's had over 30 stolen bases in each of his last two seasons, and could get up to 40 this year. Edman also has had double-digit homers the last two campaigns.
