Major League Baseball has had another busy week at the ballpark, and that continues on Wednesday with games spread throughout the day. While there are plenty of early contests to consider, the main MLB DFS slate has a solid stack of eight games that get underway at 7:00 p.m. ET or later. The slate is split into two waves with four games starting between 7:00 p.m. ET and 8:00 p.m. ET, and the other four starting at 9:38 p.m. ET or later. In this post, we’ll look at all 16 teams in the two waves of action and pinpoint some of my favorite MLB DFS picks to consider for your lineup.
The slate is mostly free from weather concerns, but there could be some passing showers in Kansas City. The later games look to be in good spots weather-wise, and the last game of the night is at Sutter Health Park, where the Athletics host the Rangers in an environment that has boosted MLB DFS production with its hitter-friendly setup in Sacramento. Several of the top hitting options in my MLB DFS picks come from that game Wednesday night.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $200K Relay Throw [$50K to 1st] (Night)
PITCHER
Stud
David Festa, Minnesota Twins vs. Chicago White Sox, $8,800: While Logan Webb ($10,000) and Freddy Peralta ($9,800) battling by the Bay is a great matchup of the two most expensive pitchers on the slate, I actually like Festa as an excellent pivot option as he takes the mound against the White Sox. Not only does he get a very favorable matchup against Chicago, but the 25-year-old righty has also looked strong in his two starts since being called up from Triple-A.
Festa has not allowed an earned run in his nine innings across two starts, but he has not been able to get through the fifth inning to qualify for a win. He went 4 1/3 innings against the Mets last Wednesday with a season-high six strikeouts and 17.6 fantasy points. He did throw 76 pitches in that outing, and he should continue to stretch out as he settles into the Twins’ rotation after taking over this spot when Pablo Lopez (hamstring) landed on IL.
Last year, Festa made 10 starts for the Twins, going 2-6 with a 4.90 ERA, 3.76 FIP and 10.8 K/9. That strikeout rate and his two strong starts to begin this season are enough to make him a very strong starting pitcher to build around against the White Sox, who rank last in the MLB with a .263 team wOBA and have scored just 3.1 runs per game in their 5-18 start.
Value
Andrew Heaney, Pittsburgh Pirates at Los Angeles Angels, $8,100: Since we paid down a little bit for Festa in my MLB DFS picks and have some big-time values below, we can afford to pass up the sketchy cheap starting pitching on this slate and pay up a little bit for veteran lefty Andrew Heaney.
Heaney has been solid in his four starts this season for the Pirates, going 1-1 with a 2.13 ERA, 2.75 FIP, 0.91 WHIP and 22 strikeouts in 25 1/3 innings. He has earned at least 10 fantasy points in each of his four starts with excellent outings of 30.2 fantasy points against the Yankees and 24.3 fantasy points against the Nationals.
From 2015-2021, Heaney pitched for the Angels before making stops with the Yankees, Dodgers and Rangers before landing with the Pirates. He faced them three times last year with Texas but catches them at a good time for this matchup. The Angels’ lineup has been slumping, scoring just 2.7 runs per game over the last week with a .227 team wOBA which is the lowest in the MLB. They are also tied with the Rockies for the highest K% during that stretch, so Heaney could be set up in a smash spot Wednesday night.
INFIELD
Stud
Bobby Witt Jr., Kansas City Royals vs. Colorado Rockies, $6,100: The Royals offense as a whole has stumbled out of the gate, but Witt is putting together another excellent season and has an average of 9.6 fantasy points per game.
He had a single, two walks and his seventh stolen base of the season in Tuesday’s win over the visiting Rockies. He finished that game with 12 fantasy points and has at least seven fantasy points in four of his last five. He’s hitting .308 with two homers and a .364 wOBA. He’s one of the best pay-up options in today’s MLB DFS picks, especially in a favorable matchup against German Marquez ($5,300), who has given up 17 runs on 22 hits in 16 1/3 innings this season.
Value
Nick Kurtz, Athletics vs. Texas Rangers, $3,500: The A’s created a logjam at 1B when they called up Kurtz, but they’ll get creative to get him and Tyler Soderstrom ($5,300) in the lineup by using Soderstrom or Brent Rooker ($5,500) in the outfield and also rotating the three players through the DH spot. Kurtz definitely deserved a call-up after starting the year with seven home runs in 20 games in Triple-A with a .321 batting average and .437 wOBA.
Last summer, the A’s drafted Nick Kurtz with the 4th overall pick in the draft, and he quickly smashed his way through the minor leagues. He gets a great spot in his MLB debut against Kumar Rocker ($6,900), who has a 6.38 ERA and 1.47 WHIP in his first four starts and has let lefties like Kurtz hit .410 off him with a .429 wOBA in the early going this season. I wish Kurtz was cheaper, but I’m willing to buy in even at this salary since he has so much power potential in his MLB debut at Sutter Health Park.
Value
Marcus Semien, Texas Rangers at Athletics, $3,000: On the other side of that AL West matchup, Semien is an amazing bargain at just $3,000. He got off to a brutally slow start to the season, but the veteran woke up on Tuesday, going 2-for-3 with his second homer of the season, totaling 25 fantasy points. He’s still hitting just .160 on the year, but he has hit safely in five of his last six games, going 6-for-21 (.286).
Semien could move back to the leadoff spot against lefty JP Sears ($7,700) on Wednesday or remain lower in the lineup after finding success hitting fifth on Tuesday. He has still hit lefties well in his slow start and is 6-for-22 (.273) with two home runs against Sears in their previous career matchups, so he makes sense as a value play in today’s MLB DFS picks.
OUTFIELD
Stud
Oneil Cruz, Pittsburgh Pirates at Los Angeles Angels, $5,800: Cruz had two hits in Tuesday’s win for the Pirates and has reached double-digit fantasy points in each of his last five starts. Cruz is hitting only .236 on the season but has five home runs and 10 stolen bases, and those major impact plays have helped him average 10.3 fantasy points per game while spending most of the year hitting leadoff for the Pirates.
Cruz has a 54.0% hard-hit rate and 18.0% barrel rate and continues to be a Statcast darling. He’s translating those metrics into big plays and has a good matchup on Wednesday against Jack Kochanowicz ($6,300), who has a 6.20 ERA and 5.78 FIP this season while giving up 15 runs and four home runs in his four starts.
Stud
Wyatt Langford, Texas Rangers at Athletics, $4,300: Langford landed on the IL for just over a week with an oblique injury, but he is back and looking good for the Rangers. He went 1-for-3 with a walk, a stolen base and 10 fantasy points on Sunday against the Dodgers in his return. He was even better on Tuesday in Sacramento, where he homered and added another stolen base for 27 fantasy points. On the season, he has produced 10.2 fantasy points per game with four stolen bases, five home runs, and a .376 wOBA.
Value
Mickey Moniak, Colorado Rockies at Kansas City Royals, $2,800: Moniak has been getting more playing time with Brenton Doyle (personal/quadriceps) out, and he has moved into the leadoff spot lately for the Rockies against righties. He is 8-for-28 (.286) with two triples and two home runs over his last seven games, averaging 11.1 fantasy points per game.
He’ll be on the strong side of the splits against Michael Lorenzen ($7,300), who has let lefties hit .306 against him with a .321 wOBA in the early part of this season. While the Rockies’ lineup has struggled, Moniak has shown streaky upside in the past and makes sense as one of my MLB DFS picks at this bargain rate, especially if he’s in the leadoff spot.
