As Major League Baseball reaches the midpoint of the week and the eve of the MLB Trade Deadline, Wednesday offers up a split schedule with six games on the afternoon slate and six games under the lights on the main Wednesday night MLB DFS slate, which starts at 6:40 p.m. ET. The Rockies and Guardians start up the action at that time with three more games in the early wave, followed by two late games from Anaheim and Sacramento. The 12 teams on the board offer many different ways to go about building your roster for the six-game evening slate, so let’s dive into the matchups and take a look at my top MLB DFS picks of the night.
The only major weather concern is in St. Louis, where some storms are expected to roll in at some point in the evening. New York also has some spotty rain in the forecast, so keep an eye on the radar for those two matchups, especially if you’re targeting one of the four starting pitchers in those games. Along with the forecast, be sure to monitor starting lineups as they roll in to confirm the players you’re focusing on are in the right spots in the right matchups.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $150K Bat Flip [$50K to 1st]!
Pitchers
Stud
Nathan Eovaldi, Texas Rangers at Los Angeles Angels, $10,500: Eovaldi has over 25 fantasy points in three straight starts, and he even managed to get over that number on Friday despite a season-high four walks in his return after missing a start with a back issue.
He is only 8-3 in his 17 starts but has a 1.50 ERA and 2.39 FIP to go with a 9.5 K/9 with his 101 strikeouts in 96 innings. Eovaldi had a dominant 31.65 fantasy points in his last start before being scratched and looked like he was ready to go after fully recovering from a trip to the injured list in June with a triceps injury. If he can now put the back injury behind him as well, he should be set for a big game on Wednesday in Anaheim.
He and the Rangers are trying to avoid a sweep by the Angels, and this will be Eovaldi’s second start against them this month. He worked six shutout innings and earned 25.9 fantasy points against them in Anaheim earlier this month and will look to continue that production on Wednesday night. The Angels’ offense has been better lately but is still a good matchup to attack since they have the second-highest K% in the majors this year.
Value
Emmet Sheehan, Los Angeles Dodgers at Cincinnati Reds, $7,500: Sheehan is not expected to start on Wednesday, but he is expected to take over after Shohei Ohtani ($7,500), who is available as a pitcher and will not accrue points as a hitter. Sheehan has had some success and brings good value potential in that role, since he doesn’t have to pitch the minimum of five innings to qualify for the win if he works after the opener.
Sheehan has earned over 13 fantasy points in four of his last five appearances, with a season-high 18.25 fantasy points in his most recent outing, which was last Friday against the Red Sox. Sheehan went five innings and gave up two runs on three hits with five strikeouts.
After opening the season on the injured list after undergoing Tommy John surgery in May of last year, Sheehan is 2-1 with a 4.22 ERA, but his FIP is much lower at only 2.72. He has 21 strikeouts in 21 1/3 innings, and he showed even more punchout potential before the injury. Sheehan should continue to improve and could thrive in this role as a bulk reliever. Blake Snell (shoulder) is nearing a return, though, so the Dodgers’ rotation is in flux, whether they add to the mix at the trade deadline or not. Sheehan will be trying to show he can be part of the solution as he takes on the Reds on Wednesday.
Infield
Stud
Jose Ramirez, Cleveland Guardians vs. Colorado Rockies, $6,500: Ramirez is always a strong play to consider in your MLB DFS picks when the Guardians are facing a hittable lefty, and on Wednesday, they get a juicy home matchup against Kyle Freeland ($6,000). On the season, he’s hitting .342 against lefties with four homers and a .391 wOBA. He’s also been more productive at home than on the road this season, so is on the good side of those splits as well.
Since the All-Star break, Ramirez has hit safely in 11 of 12 games with a .304 batting average, three doubles, three homers, and a pair of stolen bases for an average of 9.9 fantasy points per game.
Stud
Jonathan Aranda, Tampa Bay Rays at New York Yankees, $4,100: Aranda is a left-handed hitter with strong splits against righties, and he’ll be facing Will Warren ($7,800) and the Yankees on Wednesday night in hitter-friendly Yankee Stadium. Against righties on the year, Aranda is hitting .324 with a .392 wOBA and 153 wRC+.
Aranda had 12 and 19 fantasy points in the first two games of the series and has averaged 11.4 fantasy points per game in his eight games against the Yankees this season.
Value
Brayan Rocchio, Cleveland Guardians vs. Colorado Rockies, $2,500: Rocchio has picked up at least five fantasy points in four straight games with two games of double-digit fantasy points production. On Tuesday, he went 2-for-4 with a triple and an RBI. He makes sense as a barain play at either middle infield spot in this matchup against Freeland.
On the season, the switch-hitter has hit only .214 with a .262 wOBA, one home run and two stolen bases. Since the All-Star break, though, he’s 12-for-42 (.286) and has nine RBI and five runs scored in 12 games. He’s a bargain play that brings decent upside if you think the Guardians will pile up runs against Freeland.
OUTFIELD
Stud
Julio Rodriguez, Seattle Mariners at Athletics, $5,500: Rodriguez has hit seven homers in his last 15 games, while going 20-for-62 (.323) with a .458 wOBA and a 57.1% hard-hit rate. That hard-hit rate is more than 10% higher than his season average and shows his surge is more likely to continue as a turnaround than just a result of a few more soft hits falling in.
Rodriguez is hitting .292 with a .373 wOBA on the road and .250 with a .339 wOBA against lefties. In hitter-friendly Sutter Health Park, he’s a good pay-up play with a high ceiling against lefty Jeffrey Springs ($7,200) on Wednesday night in the late game.
Stud
Tyler Soderstrom, Athletics vs. Seattle Mariners, $4,300: On the other side of that matchup in Sacramento, Soderstrom is a good midrange target in the outfield as he takes on Bryan Woo ($10,000). In their past meetings, Soderstrom is 4-for-13 with a home run. Woo has solid overall this season, but lefties have a .291 wOBA against him compared to just a .226 wOBA for righties. Woo has also been a little more hittable on the road, where he has a 3.33 ERA.
Soderstrom started the season on fire but cooled off and moved to the outfield to make room for Nick Kurtz ($5,800). He’s been heating back up recently, though, with 19 hits in his last 19 games, including seven homers, a .379 wOBA and a 60.4% hard-hit rate.
Value
Jordan Walker, St. Louis Cardinals vs. Miami Marlins, $2,700: Walker has a very high ceiling as he continues to grow as an offensive option, and although he continues to be streaky, he’s a great value at this salary on Wednesday night against Cal Quantrill ($6,300) in St. Louis.
Walker is hitting only .229 on the season, but he has looked much better since returning from a month-long absence with appendicitis. In his last 10 games, he’s hitting .353 (12-for-34) with five doubles, a .409 wOBA, and a 54.2% hard-hit rate. He has an average exit velocity of 94.2 miles per hour in his 24 batted-ball events during that span. If he keeps hitting the ball so hard, he should get even better results and has a great chance to return value at his salary under $3,000.
