If seven is a good number for you, you’ll be a big fan of Wednesday’s fantasy baseball slate. On this August 7, the seven-game main slate gets underway at 7:07 p.m. ET. The Blue Jays and Orioles get things started with a divisional matchup, and the Phillies-Dodgers NL showdown series continues in Los Angeles in the final game of the night. In between, the matchups include the Red Sox and Royals in an important Wild Card matchup, while the Mets are in Denver to face the Rockies at Coors Field in a game expected to include plenty of offense.
Let’s dive into this seven-game slate and break down the top fantasy baseball plays to build your DraftKings lineups around.
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PITCHER
Stud
Chris Sale, Atlanta Braves vs. Milwaukee Brewers, $10,300 – The Cy Young favorites in both the AL and the NL are each scheduled to take the mound this Wednesday. Sale is +110 and holding off surging rookie Paul Skenes while in the AL Tarik Skubal ($10,100) is -225 as he faces the Mariners. Of the two, I’m leaning towards Sale, who has been slightly more consistent lately. He has had a remarkable bounce-back season in Atlanta, going 13-3 with a 2.71 ERA, 2.32 FIP and an 11.3 K/9. He has the fourth-highest K/9 in the MLB and is tied for the league lead with those 13 victories. He earned at least 15 fantasy points in each of his last nine starts, averaging 25.6 fantasy points per outing. He has at least nine strikeouts in four of his last six contests and produced over 25 fantasy points in each of those four starts. He faced the Brewers in Milwaukee in his most recent appearance, going 5 2/3 innings with two runs allowed and six strikeouts in a no-decision. Sale has been slightly better this season at home, where he has held opponents to just a .198 batting average and .240 wOBA. The Brewers took the first game of this series on Tuesday after losing four of their previous five games. Over the last 30 days, they rank in the bottom 10 in the MLB in runs scored and team wOBA and the top 10 in K%. Sale should be able to put together another strong outing against them on Wednesday night.
Value
Paul Blackburn, New York Mets at Colorado Rockies, $6,500 – Blackburn spent over two months on IL with a stress reaction in his foot, but he showed enough in his return for the A’s to get the attention of the Mets, who acquired him at the Trade Deadline to fortify their rotation. In his Mets’ debut, he held the Angels to one run in six innings and got the win and 22.1 fantasy points. It was his second-best fantasy start of the season, but he has earned over 18 fantasy points in six of his 10 starts while compiling a 4.11 ERA and 4.40 FIP. Much of that damage, though, came in his last start before landing on IL and his first art after returning. The veteran will look to continue his strong first impression as he takes on the Rockies at Coors Field. Colorado’s lineup has the highest K% of any team in the MLB over the last 30 days and Blackburn has at least five strikeouts in five of his last seven starts. Rolling with a starting pitcher at Coors Field is always a high-risk strategy, but Blackburn at this salary brings great value and upside on Wednesday’s slate.
INFIELD
Stud
Francisco Lindor, New York Mets at Colorado Rockies, $6,100 – Lindor and the Mets will surely be a popular stack against Ryan Feltner ($5,800) at Coors. Feltner is 1-10 in his 22 starts with a 4.97 ERA and 4.33 FIP. He has given up a .362 wOBA in his 48 1/3 innings at Coors with a 6.14 ERA that asks to be stacked against. Lindor is a strong option since he brings both power and speed potential. He has 22 homers and 23 stolen bases on the season with a .340 wOBA, and over his last 20 games, he has six homers, six stolen bases and a .377 wOBA. He has hit safely in seven of his last nine games and has the highest ceiling of the superstar shortstops available on Wednesday’s slate.
Stud
Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Toronto Blue Jays vs. Baltimore Orioles, $5,200 – Guerrero and the Blue Jays will face lefty Trevor Rogers ($6,000) in his second start for the O’s after being acquired from the Marlins. Guerrero has feasted against lefties this season hitting .338 with six of his 22 homers and a .460 wOBA in the split. He has also been much better at home than on the road and is currently riding an 18-game hitting streak, during which he has nine homers and a .652 wOBA while going 33-for-66 (.500). He’ll look to stay hot in this favorable spot Wednesday night.
Value
Jackson Holliday, Baltimore Orioles at Toronto Blue Jays, $3,200 – After struggling a little bit in his first call-up, Holiday looks fully ready to live up to his hype as a top prospect in this stint with the O’s. In his six games since coming back to the bigs, Holliday has gone 8-for-20 (.400) with a double and three home runs to average over 20 fantasy points per game. Enjoy the reduced salary while it lasts, but it will get a big bump if he keeps crushing like this.
Value
Kike Hernandez, Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Philadelphia Phillies, $2,500 – Throughout his career, Hernandez has proven to be a streaky contributor, and he seems to be heating up right now for the Dodgers. He is still hitting only .211 on the season but does have six home runs. Since the All-Star break, Hernandez has been even better, going 16-for-57 (.281) with five doubles and a .332 wOBA. He is getting regular time at 3B and should continue to bring good bargain potential with power upside in Wednesday’s matchup against the Phillies.
OUTFIELD
Stud
Kyle Schwarber, Philadelphia Phillies at Los Angeles Dodgers, $5,600 – Schwarber can also be a streaky producer who brings plenty of power potential when he’s at his best. The slugging leadoff hitter connected on his 24th homer of the season on Tuesday night and has averaged 15 fantasy points per game over his last 10 contests. During that stretch, he went 14-for-37 (.378) with five long balls and a .561 wOBA. He’ll get a great matchup against Gavin Stone ($6,800), who has given up 18 runs in 22 2/3 innings over his last five starts while serving up seven home runs.
Stud
Teoscar Hernandez, Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Philadelphia Phillies, $4,500 – On the other side of that matchup, Hernandez is a solid mid-range target who also has great power upside. Hernandez has hit a scorching .327 in his 29 games since July 1 with seven doubles, seven homers and a .414 wOBA. He has three homers in his last five games and is up to 25 on the season, giving him at least that many homers in four straight seasons.
Value
Parker Meadows, Detroit Tigers at Seattle Mariners, $2,500 – The Tigers are hoping to give Meadows a long look the rest of the season, provided the 24-year-old lefty can stay healthy. He missed a month with a strained hamstring but has picked up multiple hits including a triple and a home run in his two games since returning. Before going on IL, he looked good in a few games after being called up, going 4-for-11 with a home run and a stolen base in three games. He comes with both power and speed upside, and at just $2,500, he fits into lots of lineup builds with a good ceiling even in a tougher matchup against George Kirby ($8,800).
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 user (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.
