On Wednesday night, Major League Baseball has 10 games on the main slate, which begins at 7:07 p.m. ET. There are four matchups on the schedule for just after 7:00 p.m. ET, three around 8:00, and three more around 10:00 p.m. ET from the West. Coors Field is in play as the Astros visit the Rockies, and there are plenty of other juicy matchups to dive into for what should be a great night of action on the diamonds. From the 20 teams on the slate, here are my top MLB DFS picks for Wednesday night.
As everyone was reminded yesterday, the weather is a key factor to keep a close eye on. In Philadelphia, Washington, New York, Boston and Atlanta, there is a chance for pop-up showers, but nothing that looks as threatening as last night’s washouts. Keep a close eye on lineups and weather forecasts leading up to game time and be ready to pivot as needed, but we are probably clear for the most part from any postponements, although a delay is definitely within the realm of possibilities in those places mentioned above.
With all that in mind, let’s break down my top MLB DFS picks for Wednesday.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $200K Bat Flip [$50K to 1st]
PITCHER
Stud
Jacob Misiorowski, Milwaukee Brewers at New York Mets, $10,500: The fireballing righty is only 23 years old and making his fourth MLB start, but he’s already the most expensive play on the board and brings such a high ceiling that he’s hard to pass up.
The top prospect has delivered on his potential with 19 strikeouts in 16 innings, with just three hits and two earned runs allowed. He earned over 22 fantasy points in each of his three outings, with more fantasy points in each start than in his previous outing. He had eight strikeouts in five dominant innings against Paul Skenes and the Pirates in his last start, totaling 28.85 fantasy points.
His dominance is unsustainable at this level forever, but he has looked unhittable so far, and his matchup with the Mets at Citi Field isn’t tough enough to make him high-risk. The weather could be, though, so double-check the radar and play Misiorowski with confidence if the skies are clear enough for him to get his usual workload.
Value
Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Chicago White Sox, $8,000: From one of the youngest, inexperienced arms on the slate to one of the most grizzled vets, let’s take a look at Kershaw as my top value starting pitcher in tonight’s MLB DFS picks. Kershaw made his MLB debut when Misiorowski had just turned six years old, but the two make a strong tandem to build around Wednesday night.
Kershaw is 4-0 in his eight starts this season with a 3.03 ERA and 4.28 FIP. His strikeout rate is down to just 6.75 K/9, which is a huge drop from his Cy Young form, but he has still been able to be effective. He has allowed two earned runs or fewer in all but one of his last seven starts, and he finished with at least 23 fantasy points in three of his last four outings. His last start came at Coors Field, but he held the Rockies to two hits and one run in six innings to earn the win and 23.7 fantasy points. He showed an even higher ceiling with 27.35 fantasy points against the Giants a few starts ago.
On Wednesday night at home, he’ll take on the White Sox, who have the second-lowest batting average and second-lowest wOBA in the majors over the last 30 days. They’ve averaged only 3.3 runs per game over the last month and have a .289 wOBA on the season against southpaws.
INFIELD
Stud
Will Smith, Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Chicago White Sox, $4,800: Kershaw’s battery mate Will Smith is also a strong play to consider this Wednesday, as the Dodgers face off with lefty Brandon Eisert ($4,000) and bulk reliever Sean Burke ($5,500) for the White Sox. The wind is forecast to be blowing out at Dodger Stadium in one of the more hitter-friendly environments on the slate, and Smith has been very productive at home all year. At Dodger Stadium, he’s hitting .353 this season with six homers and a .438 wOBA.
Smith has also been heating up with five of his 10 home runs in his last 18 games. He has hit .313 over that span with a .424 wOBA and a 46.0% hard-hit rate. He usually hits in the heart of the order and is a solid way to fill in your spot behind the plate with a power option that brings a high ceiling in the late game.
Stud
Michael Busch, Chicago Cubs vs. Cleveland Guardians, $4,700: Busch and the Cubs host Tanner Bibee ($7,500) and the Guardians at Wrigley Field, where the wind will start gusty but then shift to blowing out late in the game. It may not be ideal hitting conditions, but it’s still a good spot to attack, especially with Busch, who has been good all season and even better lately.
He had three hits and 15 fantasy points on Tuesday and has multiple hits in each of his last four starts. Over his last 13 games, he’s hitting a red-hot .386 with three homers and a .458 wOBA. He’s hitting an impressive .312 against righties on the year but only .105 against southpaws. He’ll also be on the strong side of Bibee’s splits, since the righty has let lefties like Busch hit .244 with a .325 wOBA and nine of his 15 homers allowed.
Value
Caleb Durbin, Milwaukee Brewers at New York Mets, $3,100: Durbin is a nice value option from the hot corner as the Brew Crew finish their doubleheader against Clay Holmes ($8,000). Durbin has hit safely in nine of his last 10 games, hitting .390 with two homers, a stolen base and a .416 wOBA. He has averaged 11.1 fantasy points per game during that stretch and brings both power and speed potential for Milwaukee, which has won eight of its last 10 games and is on a nice roll offensively.
OUTFIELD
Stud
Aaron Judge, New York Yankees at Toronto Blue Jays, $6,500: Judge went 2-for-2 with three walks and a double in the series opener against the Blue Jays, earning 18 fantasy points. He is 14-for-37 (.378) in his career against Jose Berrios ($8,200) with five home runs in their past meetings.
He has cooled off from his torrid pace early in the season, but he still brings an incredibly high ceiling every game and has averaged 11.2 fantasy points per game over his last 11 contests. During that stretch, he has a 54.2% hard-hit rate and 29.2% barrel rate with an average exit velocity of 93.3 miles per hour. If the Jays give him anything to hit on Wednesday night, he has a good shot to deliver a monster performance.
Stud
Jarren Duran, Boston Red Sox vs. Cincinnati Reds, $4,500: Duran and the Red Sox will finish their suspended game in the afternoon before taking on Nick Martinez ($7,000) in the night game. Duran is a solid midrange value option with a great upside, with both power and speed potential. He has hit safely in six of his last eight games and had 22 fantasy points on Monday in the first game of this series to raise his average to 7.3 fantasy points per game over his last 10.
Duran is hitting .290 with a .371 wOBA at Fenway Park this season and is hitting .277 with a .353 wOBA against righties. Since he’ll be on the strong side of both those splits in this matchup, he brings plenty of upside in what should be a favorable hitting environment on Wednesday night.
Value
Jake McCarthy, Arizona Diamondbacks vs. San Francisco Giants, $2,700: McCarthy continues to be a great bargain play with upside. I highlighted him yesterday in my top MLB DFS Bargains post, and he delivered a home run and 18 fantasy points in Arizona’s 8-2 win on Tuesday night.
He has a hit in each of his last six games after rejoining the team and is 6-for-21 (.286) with a triple, two homers, a stolen base and an average of 10.3 fantasy points per game over that short stretch. He brings both power and speed potential and has looked good while helping to fill in the outfield while Corbin Carroll (wrist) is on the IL. If you have to go cheap, McCarthy brings a high ceiling in this matchup with Landen Roupp ($6,800).
