This article is part of our DraftKings MLB series.
Wednesday is heavy on the daytime baseball – including four games that start before 1 p.m. ET – leaving the event slate a little light. There are six games starting at 7:05 p.m. ET or later. Here are my DFS recommendations.
Pitching
Luis Castillo, SEA at NYY ($10,100): Castillo has delivered what the Mariners wanted from their trade, and he has a 2.73 ERA through 14 starts even though his groundball rate is the lowest of his career. Righties have hit a mere .171 against Castillo, and the Yankees are righty heavy, so much so Jake Bauers has been drawing into the lineup to give them another southpaw. Also, New York's team OBP has actually fallen before .300, speaking to hitters who aren't exactly patient at the plate.
Paul Blackburn, OAK at CLE ($8,200): Yeah, I never imagined myself recommending an Athletics pitcher either, but here we all. Blackburn managed a 4.20 FIP last season, and this year through four starts he has a 3.32 FIP. His issue in the past has been allowing home runs, but that won't come into play here. The Guardians are in the bottom four in runs scored largely because they are last in homers.
Top Target
He's been able to stay healthy so far, and Luis Robert ($4,800) has been bringing massive power. He's slashed .535 and hit 18 home runs, and he absolutely crushes lefties. Since 2021, Robert has an 1.096 OPS against southpaws. After a strong return to the Rangers, Martin Perez has a 4.54 ERA this season. That includes a 6.50 ERA on the road, where he has allowed 2.2 home runs per nine innings.
Bargain Bat
It is long established that Joc Pederson ($4,500) shows power against righties, but the southpaw also likes being at home by the Bay. He had a .909 OPS at home last season, and his home OPS in 2023 is 1.005. Like Martin Perez for the Rangers, Yu Darvish really struggles on the road. Since 2021, the righty has a 4.57 ERA in away starts.
Stacks to Consider
Rangers at White Sox (Michael Kopech): Corey Seager ($6,300), Marcus Semien ($6,200), Nathaniel Lowe ($4,200)
Last season, his first as a starter, Kopech had a 3.54 ERA, but a 4.49 FIP. This year has been more of the same, but worse. The hard-throwing righty has a 3.92 to go with a 5.30 FIP. Kopech has allowed 1.73 home runs per nine innings, and he's allowed a walk percentage over 11 percent for the second year in a row. Yeah, he throws hard, but Kopech lacks control, and the contact he yields has been leading to home runs.
Seager's slash line is a wonderful .367/.424/.657, and even if he's missed time, doing that over 42 games is impressive. The end of the shift has really benefitted the lefty, who has an .875 OPS versus righties since 2021. Semien has 10 home runs and seven stolen bases, and he benefits from being away from Texas' ballpark, which has sapped his power numbers since signing with the team. He's slugged over .500 on the road since joining the Rangers, and he's slugged .498 against righties since 2021. Lowe's power numbers are down, but he's hit .272 with a .357 OBP. However, his power has mostly dipped versus lefties. The southpaw has an .828 OPS versus righties, slugging .465 in the process.
Padres at Giants (Sean Manaea): Fernando Tatis ($6,400), Manny Machado ($5,100), Ha-Seong Kim ($3,800)
With injuries to the Giants' rotation, we have Manaea in line to grab a start Wednesday. If he doesn't "start," there's a good bet he's going to get the bulk innings out of the bullpen at least. Could Alex Wood in theory move up a day? Maybe, though that's unlikely, but he is also a lefty. Assuming Manaea gets a few innings, I'm going with three righties from the Padres. Manaea, by the way, has a 4.57 ERA over the last four seasons.
The Padres had to wait patiently, and probably with a sense of frustration, for Tatis to return. Quickly, he's reminded us why they waited. He's slashed .291/.357/.568 with 15 homers and 12 stolen bases, and he has a career .955 OPS for good measure. Machado has had a down campaign, but he's still excelled against lefties. He has a .956 OPS versus southpaws this year, and an .851 OPS in those matchups since 2021. Kim has five homers to go with 12 stolen bases, and he likes to face a lefty on the road. He has a .746 OPS against lefties over the last three seasons, and across the last two campaigns his OPS on the road is over .750.
