You know the deal on Wednesdays in MLB.
We’ve got baseball on all throughout the day, but this article will be focusing on tonight’s eight-game featured slate on DraftKings. Why? Because I said so. Also there’s $200,000 up for grabs. That’s important, too.
Let’s dig in and find some value, shall we?
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA $200K Relay Throw [$50K to 1st]
SP Kumar Rocker, Texas Rangers at Athletics, $6,900
This should come with a warning label. To me, Rocker is the clear value pick in GPPs among tonight’s crop of pitchers. However, the rookie has absolutely zero floor and pitching at Sutter Health Park is a nightmare, so if you’re looking for more of a cash game vibe, may I turn your attention to Michael Lorenzen ($7,300)?
Rocker’s underlying numbers have been much better than his surface stats so far in 2025, as the right-hander comes into Wednesday’s action in possession of a 6.38 ERA and a 3.74 FIP. How does that happen? Well, a .344 opponent BABIP doesn’t help, nor does a 55.6% strand rate. Needless to say, there’s some normalization on the horizon for Rocker, even after his last outing, when he went seven innings with eight strikeouts versus the Angels. Rocker earned 26.8 FPTS that day — which is the ceiling that makes him so appealing at his $6,900 salary. I foresee more strikeouts in Rocker’s future, as well. At least that’s what his track record and 11.1% swinging strike rate suggest.
1B/2B Enmanuel Valdez, Pittsburgh Pirates at Los Angeles Angels, $3,300
While Valdez might not look like a traditional clean-up hitter, that is the exact role he’s recently been filling for the Pirates against RHPs. It sounds crazy, but I can’t really blame Derek Shelton for the decision-making process. Yes, a large aspect of Valdez’s lineup positioning comes from a lack of options, but the 26-year-old has also been sneaky good so far in 2025. It’s just 60 plate appearances, yet Valdez owns an 87th percentile expected batting average (.300) and an 86th percentile expected wOBA (.387). That’s more than enough to be viable when you happen to be priced this close to $3,000 on DraftKings.
Valdez’s matchup on Wednesday is crucial, too. Jack Kochanowicz ($6,300) is the perfect archetype of pitcher to stack against, in that he might be the most contact-oriented starter in baseball. In fact, in his 15 career MLB starts, Kochanowicz has struck out just 9.9% of his opponents. Specific to this season, Kochanowicz is surrendering 2.61 home runs per nine to LHBs. Woof.
3B/OF Addison Barger, Toronto Blue Jays at Houston Astros, $2,100
The Jays are on a four-game losing streak and have just one run over their last two contests, so there could be a couple lineup tweaks in the works on Wednesday. As such, you’d be wise to keep an eye on how things shake out before investing too heavily. Still, think of Barger as a placeholder value LHB. This could just as easily be Alan Roden ($2,500) or Will Wagner ($2,300), depending on who ends up where in the order.
Still, I have a soft spot for Barger. The man simply hits the ball hard. Barger only has 16 plate appearances at the major league level in 2025, yet he’s managed a 92.8 mph average exit velocity. Barger was also incredible throughout Spring Training, slashing .367/.429/.733. Barger — or Roden or Wagner — have a nice matchup this evening in the form of Ryan Gusto ($7,200). The rookie has faced 24 lefty hitters this season and they’ve combined to hit .348 with a .652 slugging percentage. That’ll play.
