This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
We got the first forays out of the way Tuesday. Four Game 1s are in the books, and now we get a quartet of Game 2s. Given the best-of-three nature of the wild-card round, we could see some teams heading home. That's a Thursday problem, though. For Wednesday, here are my DFS recommendations. First pitch is, once again, at 3 p.m. EDT.
Pitching
Sonny Gray, MIN vs. TOR ($9,500): Gray is, to me, the clear best pitcher going Wednesday. He was quite good in his first campaign with the Twins in 2022, posting a 3.08 ERA, but this year he dropped his ERA down to 2.79. Plus, his 2.82 FIP shows he was not necessarily super lucky getting there. Oh, and he allowed one earned run or fewer in six of his last seven starts. Toronto's lineup kind of disappointed this year, to be honest. The Jays finished 14th in runs scored. I wouldn't have said this coming into the season, but I have full confidence in Gray at home in this matchup.
Top Target
Zach Eflin is a good pitcher. Corey Seager ($4,400) is a great hitter, though. In the playoffs, that means more to me. Over 119 games, Seager slashed .327/.390/.623. Even better, he had an .881 OPS against his fellow lefties. You know the Rays dream of trotting out a series of bullpen arms to take advantage of matchups, but that's not really possible with Seager. As to Eflin specifically, he allowed eight homers over his last 10 starts, and he had a 4.94 ERA at home in that time.
Bargain Bat
For the first time in his career, Alec Bohm ($3,000) got to the 20-homer mark, and also to the 30-double mark. A key part of that? His consistent ability to excel against lefties. Bohm has posted an OPS over .925 against southpaws in each of his last two seasons. Braxton Garrett has been better on the road, but he's also a lefty. While Garrett was outstanding versus his fellow left-handers, he allowed a .261 batting average to righties.
Stack to Consider
Twins vs. Blue Jays (Jose Berrios): Max Kepler ($3,100), Edouard Julien ($3,000), Alex Kirilloff ($3,000)
When a team is trotting out a pitcher with a 3.99 FIP in Game 2 of the first round, you know its rotation gets dicey fact. That is what Toronto is doing with Berrios. Since 2021, southpaws have also hit .272 against the former Twin. I expect an unkind homecoming for Berrios.
Kepler slugging .497 against righties tracks, but what also stands out is his .539 slugging percentage at home. He also ended the regular season with a .924 OPS over the last three weeks. Julien posted a .381 OBP as a rookie, which is impressive. Now, he fully had to be protected from facing lefties to make that happen, but he had an .898 OPS versus righties, not to mention a .918 OPS at home. Kirilloff is not a prototypical slugging first baseman per se, and he's long had issues staying healthy. However, he has an .849 OPS over the last three weeks, and he put up an .858 OPS versus right-handed pitchers this year.
