After a few early games, Major League Baseball has a strong eight-game slate on tap for Wednesday night under the lights. The Wild Card races in both leagues are heating up, and several of the teams in the mix are in action this Wednesday. While several games feature two teams hopeful of making the playoffs, some of the other matchups also have great value for fantasy baseball as young players get a chance to prove that they’re ready to be part of their team’s future turnaround.
With a well-stocked, 16-team player pool this week, there are plenty of options to consider. Here are the studs and values that stand out to me as strong plays this Wednesday.
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PITCHER
Stud
Jack Flaherty, Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Seattle Mariners, $10,500 – In this matchup, it’s hard to pass up Flaherty’s strikeout potential even though he’s at the top of the salary structure. In his impressive bounce-back season, he’s on pace for a career-best 11.46 K/9 in his 21 starts between the Tigers and Dodgers. He Is only 9-5 but has a 3.06 ERA and 3.25 FIP. He has at least seven strikeouts in each of his three starts since joining the Dodgers, highlighted by a double-digit strikeout game against the A’s that earned him 27.9 fantasy points. Flaherty has over 21 fantasy points in 11 of his last 13 outings dating back to before the trade, and he’ll have an especially high strikeout ceiling in this game since the Mariners have the highest K% in the MLB this season. Flaherty will be looking to secure the Dodgers a sweep against Seattle, who has only scored three runs in the first two games of the series.
Value
Nick Martinez, Cincinnati Reds at Toronto Blue Jays, $6,300 – Martinez has been a workhorse for the Reds this season, working mostly out of the bullpen but appearing in 34 games with a 3.25 ERA and 3.03 FIP. He has moved to the rotation for his last three games and looked very sharp, allowing three runs in 18 innings with 16 strikeouts. He had over 21 fantasy points in each of his two road starts during that short stretch, shutting out the Marlins and Brewers before losing to the Royals in his most recent outing. Martinez’s role and versatility make him unique and lower his per-game production, but his recent results have been strong enough to make him a good play in Toronto against the Blue Jays offense that has been boom-or-bust throughout the season. Martinez is extremely affordable for the upside he offers.
INFIELD
Stud
Trea Turner, Philadelphia Phillies at Atlanta Braves, $5,800 – We know when Turner gets locked in, he can go on dominant runs where he seems impossible to get out. He looked like he was starting one of those stretches, going 10-for-17 with three doubles and a home run in a four-game stretch, but that hot streak came to a screeching halt on Tuesday with an 0-for-4 game. He’ll look to get right back on track this Wednesday and is in a good spot against Max Fried ($8,500). Turner is hitting .308 with a .360 wOBA on the season and has been better against lefties with a .325 average and .398 wOBA. He also has a good history in this specific matchup, going 13-for-35 (.371) with three homers against Fried in their past meetings.
Stud
Max Muncy, Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Seattle Mariners, $4,700 – Muncy is another streaky power producer, and it looks like he came off IL ready to make up for lost time. After being sidelined for over three months with an oblique injury, he homered in each of his first two games back, going 3-for-7 with a total of 36 fantasy points in those two games. After his two big bashes against Seattle, he has 11 homers this season to go with a .351 wOBA and .283 ISO. Getting him under $5,000 won’t last long if he keeps slugging like this.
Value
Will Wagner, Toronto Blue Jays vs. Cincinnati Reds, $2,400 – The Blue Jays have overhauled their lineup and gone much younger since the Trade Deadline, and Wagner was one of the key pieces they added at the deadline. The 26-year-old lefty tore up Triple-A for the Astros and Blue Jays before being promoted for his MLB debut just over a week ago. He has already moved into the cleanup spot for Toronto after going 10-for-24 (.435) with three doubles and a .442 wOBA backed up by a 55.6% hard-hit rate according to Statcast. Even though I do like Martinez as a value play, Wagner has been too productive to pass up at under $2,500. He has averaged over seven fantasy points per game with his OPS over 1.000.
Value
Niko Kavadas, Los Angeles Angels at Kansas City Royals, $2,000 – Kavadas is another deadline acquisition who is getting a chance to step up for his new team. If you want to free up some serious salary to spend on Flaherty or stock up on power hitters, check out Kavadas, who is available for the minimum salary but brings power potential to the middle of the Angels lineup. The 25-year-old lefty hit cleanup in his first three MLB starts but went 0-for-7 with two walks. Before he was called up, he hit .281 with 17 homers in 83 games for the Worcester Red Sox, posting a .427 wOBA. He is a boom-or-bust play since he had 27 homers but also a 33.7 percent strikeout rate at Triple-A the last two seasons. He’ll face Michael Lorenzen ($7,700) on Wednesday, who has allowed 17 homers in 22 games this season with a 5.11 FIP. Kavadas is a cheap “swing for the fences” pick that leaves you with a lot of salary for other spots.
OUTFIELD
Stud
Aaron Judge, New York Yankees vs. Cleveland Guardians, $6,900 – The Yankees are getting top-tier production from both Judge and Juan Soto ($6,500), who went back-to-back in Tuesday’s win. Judge has hit an impressive .420 since the All-Star break with 11 homers, six doubles and a .552 wOBA. He has hit 20 of his 45 homers at home, where he has a .495 wOBA this season. He also has a .493 wOBA against lefties, so this matchup against young lefty Joey Castillo ($5,300) is a great spot to pay up for Judge on Wednesday.
Stud
Ian Happ, Chicago Cubs vs. Detroit Tigers, $4,600 – The Cubs moved Happ to the top of their batting lineup for the last 17 games, and Happ has been solid in that spot, delivering six homers and two stolen bases while hitting .234 with a .385 wOBA. He strikes out more than a prototypical leadoff hitter but brings enough power to the spot that he is a good fantasy option while getting extra at-bats. He brings good upside in Wednesday night’s home game against the Tigers, who have yet to announce who will be their starting pitcher.
Value
Parker Meadows, Detroit Tigers at Chicago Cubs, $3,200 – On the other side of that matchup at Wrigley, Meadows has moved to the leadoff spot for the Tigers in each of his last three starts and brings good value potential from that prime lineup spot. Since returning from the IL, Meadows has gone 16-for-49 (.327) with three doubles, two triples, a home run, five stolen bases and a .376 wOBA. He has averaged 10.3 fantasy points per start in his 12 starts since returning and brings both power and speed potential whenever he’s hitting leadoff against a righty like Jameson Taillon ($8,400)
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.
