After just a few early games this Wednesday, Major League Baseball has a full night of games lined up for under the lights with 10 games on the DraftKings main slate, which begins at 7:05 p.m. ET. Six of the games have first pitch scheduled within an hour of the contests beginning, while four games from the West wrap things up with start times around 10 p.m. ET. Let’s dive in and take a look at this 20-team player pool and hunt down some of the top MLB DFS picks for this Wednesday.
As is typical for this time of year, there are some weather issues to keep a close eye on. Atlanta, Tampa, Chicago and St. Louis are all spots to monitor the forecast before game time. The late games are clean, though, so there are pivot options if you need to adjust due to unfavorable conditions.
Let’s break down the top options in my MLB DFS picks.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $200K Bat Flip [$50K to 1st]
PITCHER
Stud
Chris Sale, Atlanta Braves vs. Arizona Diamondbacks, $9,800: Sale has found his form after a rough start to the season, and as long as the weather is no issue, he should be ready for another good start against the struggling Diamondbacks, who have dropped nine of their last 12, although they did win the first game of this series on Tuesday.
Sale is just 3-3 in his 12 starts this year with a 3.06 ERA and 2.98 FIP, but he has allowed two earned runs or fewer in each of his last eight starts with a 1.66 ERA and 2.70 FIP. During that run of success, he has racked up 62 strikeouts in 48 2/3 innings, including 8+ strikeouts in five of his last six starts. He earned at least 22 fantasy points in each of those five starts and over 28 fantasy points in four of those outings. In his most recent start, he went six shutout innings in Philadelphia to earn 29.9 fantasy points in an impressive road win.
The Dbacks skew a little lefty-heavy but have done a decent job at producing good wOBA and strikeout suppression in the splits this season. Even though they’re not an easy matchup, Sale beat them earlier this year right before he went on his current impressive run, and his current dominant form makes him the top stud play on Wednesday’s MLB DFS slate.
Value
Zebby Matthews, Minnesota Twins at Athletics, $7,700: The Athletics have completely unraveled after a promising start to the season and have lost eight straight and 19 of their last 20 coming into Wednesday night’s matchup against Matthews and the Twins. Matthews has been a prospect with a ton of upside that hasn’t quite put it together, but this could be the spot where he finally breaks through.
Matthews quickly rose through Minnesota’s minors last season and climbed all the way from High-A to the majors. He was knocked around with a 6.69 ERA and 5.72 FIP in nine starts last season but still had 10.3 K/9. He started this season in Triple-A, where he went 2-1 with a 1.93 ERA, 2.47 FIP and 10.5 K/9 before moving back to the majors three starts ago. This year, his ERA is still an ugly 6.43 but his 13.5 K/9 continues to showcase his high ceiling.
In his last start, he gave up four runs, but they were all in the first inning. After that, he settled down and worked a season-high seven innings with seven strikeouts and 17.6 fantasy points. In his previous start against the Royals, he only lasted four innings but had nine strikeouts and 19.4 fantasy points.
Matthews’ excellent strikeout stuff always gives him a high ceiling if he can manage to limit the runs he allows. With the A’s struggling, this could be a spot he goes off for a huge number with his salary under $8,000. He isn’t the safest play on the board, but his ceiling is hard to ignore at this potential value.
INFIELD
Stud
Jose Ramirez, Cleveland Guardians at New York Yankees, $5,700: Ramirez is often underappreciated since he puts up his huge numbers in Cleveland, but he is a great cornerstone to build your lineup around, especially when he’s in a favorable matchup and environment like at Yankee Stadium against Clarke Schmidt ($8,200).
Ramirez has multiple hits in three straight games and 10 of his last 14. He has posted at least 15 fantasy points in five of his last six contests and is averaging 13.4 fantasy points per game over his last 10. He’s hitting .349 with a .416 wOBA on the road this season, and over his last 25 games, he’s hitting .408 with six homers, eight stolen bases, a .491 wOBA and a 48.9% hard-hit rate. He had a pair of stolen bases in the first game of the series in the Bronx and his dual-threat abilities give him multiple paths to a big game this Wednesday.
Stud
Jackson Holliday, Baltimore Orioles at Seattle Mariners, $4,200: Holliday is a great example of a prospect that was loaded with potential but took a while to find his stride in the majors. He’s been locked in lately, though, going 22-for-74 (.297) over his last 16 games with three home runs, two stolen bases and a .363 wOBA since May 15. He is hitting .291 on the year against righties with all seven of his home runs on that side of the split.
Since he’s now in the leadoff spot, he brings a much higher ceiling and should be in a good spot against Emerson Hancock ($6,500) and the Mariners. Hancock has a 5.64 ERA and 5.11 FIP in his nine starts this year and has allowed lefties to post a .376 wOBA against him. You can include Coby Mayo ($2,300) and Heston Kjerstad ($2,700)in your Orioles stack as well as cheap options with upside.
Value
Ronny Mauricio, New York Mets at Los Angeles Dodgers, $2,000: Mauricio was called up on Tuesday when Mark Vientos (hamstring) landed on the injured list. He went 0-for-4 while starting in his first game after the promotion, but I still think he’s a great play at this minimum salary on Wednesday.
He showed both power and speed potential throughout his time in the minors but is still just working his way back from a torn ACL suffered at the end of 2023. He went 17-for-33 (.515) with three homers, four stolen bases and a 48.3% hard-hit rate in nine games at Triple-A. Using him at shortstop at only $2,000 leaves you lots of salary to use in other spots.
OUTFIELD
Stud
Byron Buxton, Minnesota Twins at Athletics, $5,600: Buxton has collected multiple hits in each of his four games since coming off the concussion IL, going 8-for-22 (.364) with a double, two stolen bases and four runs scored. Since May 1, he’s hitting .329 with three stolen bases and four home runs supported but a 52.9% hard-hit rate and 11.8% barrel rate, per Statcast.
Buxton is hitting an impressive .357 this season against lefties with a .436 wOBA, so he will be in a great spot to keep smashing against lefty Sean Newcomb ($7,000) in Sacramento at Sutter Health Park, which is one of the friendliest hitting environments in baseball when the wind is blowing out.
Stud
Josh Lowe, Tampa Bay Rays vs. Texas Rangers, $5,100: Lowe was an option lots of experts liked coming into the season to have a breakout campaign, but he took a detour to the injured list after an oblique injury on Opening Day. Lowe has looked good since returning, though, and he moved into the leadoff spot against right-handed starting pitchers like Kumar Rocker ($6,700).
Lowe is 13-for-39 (.333) over his last 10 games with two home runs, two stolen bases, five walks and 10 runs scored. He has averaged 10.3 fantasy points per game over that stretch and is making great contact with a 50% hard-hit rate over that span.
Value
Jonatan Clase, Toronto Blue Jays vs. Philadelphia Phillies, $2,800: Clase has been very productive from the bottom third of the Blue Jays’ order over the last couple of weeks and can be a great cheap option from under $3,000. Clase is 10-for-23 (.435) over his last eight games wtih five walks, three stolen bases and an average of 9.1 fantasy points per game over that span.
He hasn’t flashed a ton of power this year but did have 12 homers in 94 games in the minors last year. He had 15 stolen bases and hit .315 in his 27 games in Buffalo prior to his promotion, so he should continue to be a good source of stolen bases and good average, which is all you need at this price point.
