This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Baseball series.
There are some early start times across baseball on Wednesday, including an afternoon matchup between the Pirates and Brewers in which Brandon Woodruff will start for Milwaukee. As far as the night games go, the matchup between the Mets and Giants has the potential to be a great pitchers duel between Carlos Rodon and Chris Bassitt. The two have combined to allow three runs over 24 innings this season. The Blue Jays and Red Sox will also take the field against each other in a matchup between two teams that have among the best lineups in the league. Let's get down to business and highlight some pitchers and hitters to target for the main evening slate.
Pitchers
The Mets brought in several big names during the offseason, but Bassitt ($44) has the potential to be one of their most crucial additions. He's only finished with an ERA over 4.00 one time during his career, and he's had a WHIP below 1.20 in each of the last three seasons. While he may not have the strikeout upside of some of the other pitchers included in this slate, he is still one of the most appealing.
The initial returns on Merrill Kelly ($32) have been very promising. He didn't allow a run in either of his first two starts and recorded 13 strikeouts across 9.1 innings. He's been throwing a changeup more, and his average fastball velocity is up by 1.0 miles per hour compared to last season. It will be interesting to see if he can maintain his increased strikeout rate over the long haul, but for this start, he could take advantage of a Nationals lineup that was forced to play a doubleheader Tuesday.
Daulton Jefferies ($31) has had two difficult matchups against the Phillies and Blue Jays to start the season. He came away from them about as good as could have been expected, allowing two total runs over 9.1 innings. On the negative side, he only recorded four total strikeouts. He had 68 strikeouts across 77 innings at Triple-A last season, so asking him to miss a lot of bats is probably unrealistic. However, he could still provide value against an Orioles team that has one of the most anemic lineups in baseball.
Top Targets
Entering play Tuesday, Rafael Devers ($22) was on a 10-game hitting streak to begin the season. He racked up four multi-hit games during that stretch, while posting a .558 slugging percentage. Facing Jose Berrios ($41) won't be the easiest of matchups, but Berrios is still looking to get on track after beginning the season by allowing seven runs and three home runs over 5.1 innings in his first two starts.
Nick Pivetta ($28) has been as bad as Berrios, allowing a combined eight runs and three home runs across 7.2 innings so far this season. While he did make some positive strides last season, he didn't exactly shine with his 1.30 WHIP. He also allowed 24 home runs over 155 innings. With the rate at which he allows home runs, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. ($25) could be worth his top-tier salary.
Bargain Bats
It's difficult to have much faith in Jordan Lyles ($30), who has a 4.72 FIP and a 1.44 WHIP for his career. Even though the Athletics tore down their lineup during the offseason, they still have a few hitters who could exploit this matchup. One of them that could provide value is Sheldon Neuse ($10), who entered Tuesday with a .823 OPS. He was also productive at Triple-A last season, sporting a .830 OPS over 349 plate appearances.
Staying with the Athletics, Tony Kemp ($12) might also be worth targeting. Although he doesn't carry the same power upside that Neuse days, he's become adept at getting on base, recording a .377 OBP since the start of the 2020 season. The problem is, both Neuse and Kemp are listed at second base, so you'll have to choose between the two.
Stacks to Consider
Royals vs. Chris Paddack ($33), Twins: Salvador Perez ($15), Bobby Witt Jr. ($8), Andrew Benintendi ($17)
After looking like one of the most promising starting pitching prospects in baseball while coming up through the Padres' organization, Paddack now finds himself as a member of the Twins after a 2021 season in which he recorded a 5.07 ERA. His FIP was much better at 3.78, though, and he's still just 26 years old. The problem is, he's allowed 1.5 HR/9 for his career, and he has allowed a hard-hit rate of at least 42.7 percent in back-to-back seasons. This could be an excellent opportunity to roll with a Royals stack, with the powerful Perez being a great option to build one around.
Twins vs. Daniel Lynch ($26), Royals: Carlos Correa ($14), Miguel Sano ($12), Gary Sanchez ($13)
Both teams in this game might be worth stacking. Lynch was awful last season, recording a 4.82 FIP and a 1.63 WHIP across 68 innings. He didn't look any better during his first start of 2022, allowing 10 base runners, six runs and three home runs over five innings against the Cardinals. As bad as Sano and Sanchez have been this season, they both bring plenty of power to the plate, and could potentially exploit this matchup.
Mariners vs. Dane Dunning ($30), Rangers: Ty France ($18), Jesse Winker ($15), Adam Frazier ($12)
If Dunning is ever going to live up to the hype that came with being a first-round pick in the 2016 Draft, he's going to need to do a better job of keeping hitters off base. Last season, he had a bloated 1.44 WHIP that left him with a 4.51 ERA. He didn't perform any better to start out this season, allowing 16 base runners and five runs over 8.2 innings in his first two starts. Dunning's inability to keep runners off base could be an issue against Winker, who entered Tuesday with a .349 OBP, despite batting just .152. Entering 2022, he had an OBP of at least .388 in three of his last four seasons.
