This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
Wednesday is heavy on the day games, but we still have six games at night, with the first of those games starting at 6:35 p.m. EDT. Now, onto my recommendations for your DFS lineups to try and make the midweek a bit better for you.
Pitching
Justin Steele, CHC vs. STL ($11,000): Steele was surprisingly solid as a starter in 2022, notching a 3.18 ERA and 3.20 FIP. His FIP is 3.18 through seven starts in 2023, but with an 1.45 ERA. The Cardinals have a few key lefties in their preferred lineup, but the southpaw Steele has held lefties to a .200 average in his career.
Justin Verlander, NYM at CIN ($10,5000): It's a day for Justins on the mound. Verlander looked fine in his first start of the season, or at least capable of being on an MLB mound. He should be healthier, he's gotten his feet under him, and he's coming off winning a Cy Young in 2022. The Reds are down in the bottom 10 in runs scored, so I anticipate Verlander looking more like his usual self Wednesday.
Top Targets
The first two seasons for Randy Arozarena ($4,400) were quite good. He had 20 home runs and at least 20 stolen bases in both campaigns. This year, though, he's slashed .321/.306/.575 with nine homers and three stolen bases. Last year, Dean Kremer had a 3.79 FIP, but his home runs were down. This year he's allowed 1.77 home runs per nine innings and has a 5.41 FIP.
Pete Alonso ($3,800) has shown his usual power, having slugged .526 with 12 home runs, but his numbers are otherwise down. It's not so much that he's taken to swinging for the fences, as he has a .233 BABIP, well below his career .272 BABIP. Hunter Greene has allowed fewer home runs this year, but every homer he's allowed has come at home. Also, Greene has let righties hit .338 against him in 2023.
Bargain Bats
Though Enrique Hernandez ($2,800) isn't typically thought of as a good hitter, since 2021 he's posted an .803 OPS versus lefties. What the guy needs, it turns out, is matchups against southpaws. Well, lefty Jared Shuster is expected to start for Atlanta on Wednesday. In two MLB starts he has an 8.31 ERA.
Last year, Elvis Andrus ($2,500) surprisingly hit 17 home runs to go with his 18 stolen bases. This year he's showing no power, but he still has five swiped bags. It's traditionally easier to steal on righties, and the opportunities should be there against Brad Keller. That's partially because since 2021, right handers have hit .291 against him.
Stacks to Consider
Atlanta vs. Red Sox (Brayan Bello): Ronald Acuna ($4,500), Matt Olson ($4,200), Austin Riley ($3,500)
It's too early to call Bello a Quad-A pitcher, but so far he's done well at Triple-A but struggled every time he's been called upon in the bigs. He has a 4.94 ERA as an MLB pitcher, and this year he has allowed a home run in all four of his starts. That bodes well for this Atlanta trio.
Acuna has MVP numbers in 2023, having slashed .343/.436/.557 with six homers and 15 stolen bases. Again, it's easier to steal against righties, and since 2021 he's slashed .286/.373/.503 against right-handers. The lefty Olson has hit at least 34 home runs in each of his last three full seasons, and two of those came with the Athletics. He already has 11 homers this year, and since 2021 he's posted an .865 OPS against righties. Riley's numbers are down, but over the prior two seasons he had an .887 OPS. While he's performed better against southpaws the last few years, he has an .855 OPS versus righties since changing his mechanics.
Royals vs. White Sox (Lance Lynn): Bobby Witt ($3,700), Vinnie Pasquantino ($3,300), Nick Pratto ($3,000)
In his age-36 season, Lynn is having some struggles. He's posted a 6.86 ERA and has allowed 2.06 home runs per nine innings. His line-drive percentage is up to 24.1, which is a concerning number to be sure. I've gone with two lefties here, as lefties have hit .304 against Lynn this year.
Witt is a righty, but with his counting stats I don't care. He has six homers and 10 stolen bases after having 20 home runs and 30 steals as a rookie despite a sub-.300 OBP. Pasquantino has slashed .287/.376/529 with seven home runs this year. Don't be worried about a lefty out of the bullpen, either. In his career he actually has an .862 OPS against southpaw pitchers. Pratto has only played in a handful of games, but his .349/.429/.488 slash line definitely sticks out. Last year he had a lot less overall success when he made contact, but he did hit seven homers in 49 games.
