After plenty of day games on the MLB schedule this Wednesday, including a five-game afternoon slate, the evening MLB DFS contests have a solid seven-game slate lined up for this Wednesday night. The contests begin with the 7:05 p.m. ET matchups in New York and Tampa Bay and will continue through the late game between the Blue Jays and the Angels in Anaheim. With 14 teams in the player pool, there are plenty of stars, studs and values to consider for your lineup, so let’s examine some of my favorite MLB DFS picks for Wednesday night.
As we get closer to game time, be sure to check the latest weather updates, especially for Kansas City and Denver. While there are a few aces on the mound, for the most part, the starting pitchers are from the back end of the rotation, which should mean plenty of offense this Wednesday night.
Let’s break it all down in my MLB DFS picks.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $150K Relay Throw [$25K to 1st]
PITCHER
Stud
Hunter Greene, Cincinnati Reds at Atlanta Braves, $9,800: Greene is having a breakout season for the Reds and gets a slight edge on this slate over Max Fried ($9,500) due to his higher strikeout ceiling. Greene has racked up 55 strikeouts in his 42 2/3 innings this season to go with his 2.53 ERA, 3.34 FIP, and 0.82 WHIP.
He has allowed zero or one run in four of his seven starts and is coming off a dominant performance last Friday against the Nationals when he gave up just two hits in six innings with 12 strikeouts to earn 37.1 fantasy points.
His strikeout ceiling gives him plenty of upside, and he has produced over 23 fantasy points in five of his last six outings with at least 34 fantasy points in three of those contests.
Greene’s matchup with the Braves is one you have to avoid based on how the Braves are hitting this season, and the Reds will look for Greene to step up as their stopper after losing each of their last four games.
Value
Cristopher Sanchez, Philadelphia Phillies at Tampa Bay Rays, $7,500: Sanchez had an injury scare a couple of weeks ago and had to leave a start against the Mets after just two innings due to forearm soreness. He looked fine in his next outing, though, working five innings in a win over the Nationals and earning 17.9 fantasy points.
Sanchez has 16+ fantasy points in five of his six starts this year with his early departure the one exception. His best start of the season game against the Giants when he racked up a season-high 12 strikeouts on his way to 36.2 fantasy points. He’s not as much of a strikeouts specialist as Greene, but the potential is there for a big strikeout game from time to time.
He has a good matchup against the Rays, who usually significantly adjust their lineup against left-handed starters. The Rays have the second-lowest batting average in the majors against southpaws at just .189 with a .256 wOBA and 66 wRC+.
INFIELD
Stud
Trea Turner, Philadelphia Phillies at Tampa Bay Rays, $5,000: Turner can get hot and absolutely carry the Phillies’ offense for stretches of the season, and it looks like he’s in the middle of one of those heaters. In his last eight games, Turner is 14-for-37 (.457) with two doubles, two stolen bases, and an average of 10.75 fantasy points per game during that stretch.
Both his stolen bases came on Tuesday in the first game of this series, and if he starts running more, he’ll be an even more elite fantasy play at a stacked shortstop position. He’s only the fourth-most expensive play at the position but brings a ton of upside.
Stud
Yandy Diaz, Tampa Bay Rays vs. Philadelphia Phillies, $3,900: While most of the Rays struggle against lefties, Diaz is typically a notable exception. Last year, he hit .346 against lefties with a .394 wOBA, but this year, he’s just 5-for-32 (.156). Some of that is small sample size, though, and he could be ready for some positive regression on Wednesday against Sanchez.
He has also been heating up lately for the Rays, going 16-for-46 (.348) over his last 12 contests with four doubles, two home runs and a .423 wOBA that has earned him 9.4 fantasy points per game.
Value
Jackson Holliday, Baltimore Orioles at Minnesota Twins, $3,500: The Orioles’ offense has had confirmed seats on the struggle bus for the last few weeks, but one of the few bright spots has been Holliday, who seems to be adjusting to Major League pitching and starting to realize his potential. Holliday was a top prospect who struggled in his first few tastes of the majors, which has been a recurring theme for Baltimore prospects.
He is hitting .272 on the season, though and has really picked it up in his last six games, going 8-for-19 (.421) with a pair of home runs. Both those homers came in one game when he posted 31 fantasy points against the Royals on Sunday. He gets a good matchup against Simeon Woods Richardson ($7,300), who has let lefties hit .340 against him this year with a .404 wOBA.
OUTFIELD
Stud
Byron Buxton, Minnesota Twins vs. Baltimore Orioles, $5,100: After going yards again on Tuesday, Buxton has five home runs in his last 15 games. He also has multi-hit performances in eight of those matchups, going 21-for-62 (.339) with a .433 wOBA.
During that hot streak, Buxton has been smashing the ball with a 54.8% hard-hit rate and seven barrels, including two on Tuesday. He and the Twins get a good matchup against Charlie Morton ($5,000), who has a 9.76 ERA and has gone 0-6 this year for the Orioles. The fact that the veteran is getting another start on Wednesday shows how thin the team’s rotation is.
Stud
Kerry Carpenter, Detroit Tigers at Colorado Rockies, $4,600: Carpenter at Coors should be a lot of fun. You can definitely stack the Tigers if the weather holds on Wednesday against righty rookie Chase Dollander ($6,500), who has great stuff but hasn’t gotten great results in his first few starts.
Carpenter went 4-for-6 with a home run and 33 fantasy points on Sunday. He’s hitting .307 with six homers and a .388 wOBA against right-handed pitching, and he’ll be a great option if he’s at the top of the lineup against Dollander and the Rockies on Wednesday night.
Value
Heston Kjerstad, Baltimore Orioles at Minnesota Twins, $3,300: Another one of the Orioles’ big-time batting prospects that is working through adjusting to the majors is Heston Kjerstad. He’s also another lefty who will be on the strong side of the splits against Woods Richardson.
Kjerstad is hitting only .209 with a .265 wOBA on the season, but his 50% hard-hit according to Statcast and his .335 xwOBA indicate he could be set for some positive regression. He has hit safely in four of his last five games, going 5-for-16 (.313) with a double and a stolen base. He and Holliday are an affordable mini-stack to consider, and you can throw in Coby Mayo ($2,200) if you want the whole Baltimore bargain bat special.
