Major League Baseball has a fun split schedule this Wednesday with seven games on the afternoon slate and eight games on the main slate on DraftKings. The main slate is the focus of this post and gets underway a little early at 6:40 p.m. ET in order to include the three games that start just before 7:00 p.m. ET. The Tigers and Guardians clash in an important divisional matchup in one of those three games, and that is one of three divisional games on the board, including the late-night hammer from Los Angeles, where the Dodgers host the Giants.
With 16 teams in the player pool there are plenty of options to analyze and matchups to break down, so let’s jump right into the top values and bargains on Wednesday’s main slate.
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PITCHER
Stud
Jack Flaherty, Detroit Tigers at Cleveland Guardians ($9,000) – Flaherty is likely going to be a name that gets thrown around a lot at the Trade Deadline since the veteran has had an impressive bounce-back season for the Tigers. Detroit is currently six games out of the third Wild Card spot, and if they decide to be sellers, there would definitely be plenty of interest in Flaherty. In his 17 starts, the 28-year-old righty has gone 7-5 with a 3.13 ERA and 3.15 FIP. He has a total of 127 strikeouts in 100 2⁄3 innings for an 11.35 K/9 rate that would be a new career-best. He did land on the IL with back issues just before the break but looked sharp with back-to-back wins against the Guardians and Blue Jays after being activated. He earned 21.1 fantasy points with six strong innings against Cleveland followed by 26.4 fantasy points in a road win over the Blue Jays. The Guardians haven’t started the second half quite as hot as they were early in the season. They have been held to two runs or fewer in three of their last four games by strong starting pitching and only managed five runs against the Tigers’ bullpen game Tuesday. Flaherty will look to continue that trend on Wednesday, and with his strikeout upside and excellent form, he’s a great place to start building your lineup this Wednesday.
Value
Michael Wacha, Kansas City Royals vs. Arizona Diamondbacks ($7,700) – Wacha is another veteran on a nice roll who brings good value this Wednesday. He is 7-6 with a 3.55 ERA and matching 3.55 FIP. In 96 1⁄3 innings, he has 85 strikeouts and has been locked down over his last 10 starts, allowing two runs or fewer in nine of those outings with a 2.30 ERA, 3.38 FIP and an 8.3 K/9. He had an impressive 30.5 fantasy points last Friday in a start against the White Sox and has at least 16 fantasy points in eight of his last 10 outings. Arizona’s offense has been clicking lately, but Wacha’s momentum and consistency make him a very strong value under $8,000.
INFIELD
Stud
Bobby Witt Jr., Kansas City Royals vs. Arizona Diamondbacks ($6,400) – Witt has come out of the All-Star swinging a red-hot bat and has vaulted into the MVP conversation with an impressive start to July. Witt is hitting .492 (31-for-63) in his 16 games this month and 13 of his 31 hits have gone for extra bases with six doubles, six home runs and a triple for a .583 wOBA. Witt added a stolen base on Tuesday and now has 23 steals to go with his 18 homers and .340 batting average on the season. Witt has averaged 13.8 fantasy points per game over his last 10 contests and has double-digit fantasy points in each of his five games since the break. He’s hitting .408 at home this season with a .497 wOBA, and he’s also on the strong side of his power splits against righty Ryne Nelson ($6,100).
Stud
Marcus Semien, Texas Rangers vs. Chicago White Sox ($5,100) – Semien is another very productive middle infield bat off to a strong start out of the break. He has averaged 7.6 fantasy points in his five games since the break and 9.8 fantasy points per game over his last 13 games. In July, he’s hitting .290 with three homers and a .376 wOBA and has helped the Rangers to climb back into the fringes of the playoff hunt. He and the rest of the Rangers get a favorable matchup at home vs. Chris Flexen ($6,000) this Wednesday.
Value
Richie Palacios, Tampa Bay Rays at Toronto Blue Jays ($3,700) – Palacios is a more affordable option than Semien at 2B or he can slide to the OF and let you get both leadoff hitters in your lineup. Palacios has stepped in as leadoff hitter against righties while Yandy Diaz (personal) has been away from the team. He’s hitting only .242 on the season but has been heating up by hitting .302 over his last 18 games with one home run and six stolen bases. The extra aggression on the bases has led to an average of 8.2 fantasy points per game. If he gets another start atop the order against Yariel Rodriguez ($6,500), he’ll be a great value again on Wednesday.
Value
Juan Yepez, Washington Nationals vs. San Diego Padres ($3,300) – Yepez has been a great addition to the Nationals lineup since being called up for his season debut on July 5. He has hit safely in each of his 14 games, going 20-for-53 (.377) with eight doubles, a home run and a .440 wOBA. He has produced 9.3 fantasy points per game and has at least seven fantasy points in seven of his last eight games. He may not be able to keep this up forever, but the former Cardinals prospect hit well in Triple-A over the last few seasons before signing with Washington as a free agent this past offseason.
OUTFIELD
Stud
Aaron Judge, New York Yankees vs. New York Mets ($6,500) – The Yankees have been struggling lately, but Judge continues to put up big numbers on a regular basis. The Mets walked him four times on Tuesday keeping him to 0-for-1, but he had multiple hits in three of his four games against the Rays coming out of the break. In his last 20 games, he hit .329 with five homers and a .446 wOBA. On Wednesday, he’ll face lefty Sean Manaea ($7,300) putting him on the strong side of his power splits. He has a .419 ISO against southpaws this season and a .377 ISO at home. If the Mets give him anything to hit, Judge should be poised for another big game Wednesday.
Stud
Teoscar Hernandez, Los Angeles Dodgers vs. San Francisco Giants ($5,000) – Hernandez made headlines with his Home Run Derby win during the All-Star break, and he’s been excellent in his first 100 games for the Dodgers after signing as an underrated part of the team’s offseason spending spree. Hernandez is hitting .269 on the season with 21 homers and a .355 wOBA on the season and has hit safely in 18 of his last 20 games while hitting .338 with three homers and a .395 wOBA. Most of his damage this season has been done against lefties, who he is hitting .293 against with a .399 wOBA and 163 wRC+ against. With Robbie Ray ($7,200) making his Giants debut after a long stay on IL, Hernandez will look to continue mashing lefties in this matchup.
Value
Justyn-Henry Malloy, Detroit Tigers at Cleveland Guardians ($3,000) – Malloy has been a promising addition to the Tigers’ lineup, and the 24-year-old seems to be settling into a productive spot after an adjustment period. Over his last 15 games, he has five home runs and has hit .300 (15-for-50) with a .433 wOBA. He has hit safely in seven of his last eight games and has been moved into the heart of the Tigers order. Even in a tough matchup against Tanner Bibee ($8,500), Malloy brings a lot of upside for an outfielder at $3,000.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $200K Bat Flip [$50K to 1st]
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and customer (my username is z.thompson) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.
