This Wednesday, Major League Baseball has a huge 11-game slate lined up for MLB DFS contests on DraftKings’ main slate, which begins at 7:05 p.m. ET. Only two of the matchups are divisional contests, while five are more unusual interleague matchups. With a massive 22 teams in the player pool, there are plenty of strong options to consider, so let’s dive into Wednesday night’s matchups and check out my top MLB DFS picks for these contests.
At this time of year, the weather is always a critical factor to monitor. The games in Baltimore and New York could face a delay or postponement, based on the current outlook, so be especially careful to check the radar and DK Network for the latest leading up to the first pitch for any updates. The wind will be blowing gently out again in Sacramento, setting up a good hitting environment for the late game.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $200K Bat Flip [$50K to 1st]
PITCHER
Stud
Lucas Giolito, Boston Red Sox vs. Colorado Rockies, $8,500: Giolito had a rough start to the season, but he has settled in and been excellent over his last five outings, going 4-0 with a 0.83 ERA, 2.90 FIP and 31 strikeouts in 32 2/3 innings. He earned over 21 fantasy points in four of those five outings, with a high point of 35.1 fantasy points in a road win in Seattle.
Giolito had a few of his bad outings at Fenway early in the season, which skews his home/road splits. However, he should be in a good spot at home this Wednesday as he takes on the Rockies. Colorado has been a little better lately but still ranks in the bottom 10 in the majors in runs scored, home runs, wOBA and wRC+ over the last 14 days. The Rockies have struggled away from Coors Field all season and have a league-leading 26.4% strikeout rate on the year, making them a great matchup to target with Giolito in my MLB DFS picks this Wednesday night.
Value
Cade Horton, Chicago Cubs at Minnesota Twins, $6,500: The MLB debut of Cam Schlittler ($7,000) will be exciting to watch if the weather holds off, and he brings a great value ceiling, but since the weather is dicey, I’m going with another exciting rookie in my MLB DFS picks who come even cheaper. Horton made his MLB debut on May 10 and has a 4.15 ERA, 4.28 FIP and 1.38 WHIP in his 10 games this year. He’s coming off his longest start of the season after going seven shutout innings against the Guardians in his last start to earn 21.55 fantasy points and his third win of the year.
Horton has 16+ fantasy points in four of his last seven starts, and the Cubs opted to keep him in the rotation when Shota Imanaga (hamstring) returned from the injured list instead of Ben Brown, who was optioned to Triple-A. The 23-year-old righty has been inconsistent, but he gets a good matchup against the Twins, who are hitting only .217 over the last two weeks while averaging 3.9 runs per game.
INFIELD
Stud
Jose Ramirez, Cleveland Guardians at Houston Astros, $5,300: After losing 10 straight, the Guardians have taken two in a row against the Astros to start their series. Ramirez has been a problem for Houston, homering in each of the first two games of the series, posting 23 and 34 fantasy points. He has double-digit fantasy points in four of his last five games, averaging 17.2 fantasy points per contest.
Ramirez and the Guardians can close out the sweep against lefty Brandon Walter, which sets Ramirez up on the strong side of his splits. Against southpaws, he’s hitting .350 on the year with .383 wOBA and 150 wRC+. Since he brings upside with both his power and his speed, he’s a great stud to build around at the hot corner on Wednesday.
Stud
Bobby Witt Jr., Kansas City Royals vs. Pittsburgh Pirates, $5,900: Witt is also in a good matchup taking on a lefty, as the Royals face Bailey Falter ($6,700) and the Pirates. Witt is hitting .343 with a .365 wOBA against lefties on the year, although strangely, all his homers have come off righties.
Witt has a 12-game hitting streak coming into the matchup after going 20-for-50 (.400) with three doubles, three homers and a .448 wOBA during that stretch. He’s been a very productive stud to build around all season, and like Ramirez, he brings big-game upside with both power and speed potential to this matchup.
Value
Angel Martinez, Cleveland Guardians at Houston Astros, $2,900: Not just one but TWO Guardians in my MLB DFS picks? What is going on?!?! Martinez got a little lucky with his 10th-inning grand slam at Daikin Park, which would not have been a home run in any other stadium, but he still ended up with 22 fantasy points.
The 23-year-old switch-hitter is still hitting only .238 on the year, but he has six homers, five stolen bases and seems to be settling in at the MLB level. He has at least one hard-hit batted ball event in each of his last four games, and has hit safely in five straight. Since he can fit in your lineup under $3,000 at either 2B or in the outfield, he brings good versatility and upside against Walter since he has hit .308 against lefties with a .358 wOBA.
OUTFIELD
Stud
Jarren Duran, Boston Red Sox vs. Colorado Rockies, $4,500: The Red Sox have faced four straight lefties, but they’ll finally get a right-handed opponent on Wednesday in a juicy matchup against Antonio Senzatela ($4,500), who has tone 3-12 in his 18 games this season with a 6.57 ERA, 5.34 FIP, and 1.90 WHIP. Lefties have hit .364 against Senzatela with a .408 wOBA and five home runs, so the Red Sox left-handed hitters like Duran, Wilyer Abreu ($4,800) and Roman Anthony ($4,200) are all strong plays to consider for your MLB DFS picks.
Duran has been hot despite all the lefty-lefty matchups, going 11-for-33 (.333) with three doubles, two triples and two homers and a 56.0% hard-hit rate over his last nine games. He has averaged 11.2 fantasy points per game over those nine games and 9.3 fantasy points per game at home on the season. He could return to the leadoff spot against a righty this Wednesday, but wherever he hits, he brings a high ceiling.
Value
Lawrence Butler, Athletics vs. Atlanta Braves, $4,500: Butler had a pair of homers on Tuesday night, leading off the game with an inside-the-park homer and following htat up with a blast to center field that cleared the fence and boosted him to a big night with 32 fantasy points. Butler has gone 10 for-30 (.333) in his last eight games with a double, a triple, and those two home runs boosting him to a .443 wOBA.
Butler and the A’s are in a favorable matchup at hitter-friendly Sutter Health Park on Wednesday night against Bryce Elder ($6,200) and the Braves. Elder has a 5.92 ERA and 5.51 FIP this season, but his batted-ball metrics show he has been fortunate to only give up that many runs with a 6.00 xERA from his 47.4% hard-hit rate and 10.7% barrel rate against.
Value
Jurickson Profar, Atlanta Braves at Athletics, $3,400: Profar is still extremely affordable after serving his suspension and has returned to hit in the heart of the Braves’ order. He took over as leadoff hitter with Ronald Acuna Jr. ($6,200; back) sitting the last two games, but when Acuna was available, Profar still had a solid spot as the cleanup hitter.
In his six games since returning, Profar is 6-for-25 (.240) with two homers and a 38.9% hard-hit rate. The Braves are also in a good matchup against Mitch Spence ($6,800), so Profar could end up being a great value play if he’s in the middle of the team’s production in what could be a high-scoring matchup to close out the slate.
