On Wednesday, Major League Baseball only has three matchups in the afternoon, leaving us a juicy 12-game main fantasy baseball slate on DraftKings. With only a week and a half left in the regular season, teams are making their final push to the finish. For some teams that means battling it out for a postseason spot or playoff seeding while other teams are evaluating players for next year and beyond.
Wednesday’s slate starts a little early at 6:35 p.m. ET, including the six games that start just before 7:00 p.m. ET. The Yankees and Mariners clash in Seattle in the final matchup of the night, which is scheduled to be the late-night hammer on this slate since it’s the only game that starts after 8:30 p.m. ET.
With 24 teams in the player pool, good options are available at every position and price point. Finding just the right play in just the right spot and spending your salary cap space wisely will be key. Check out my top studs and values for Wednesday’s giant slate.
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PITCHER
Stud
Sonny Gray, St. Louis Cardinals vs. Pittsburgh Pirates ($9,400) – Numerous studs are scheduled to start on Wednesday, including an outstanding head-to-head matchup between Dylan Cease ($9,800) and Framber Valdez ($9,500) in addition to the runaway favorite for the AL Cy Young Tarik Skubal ($10,600) taking the mound to try and keep his Tigers stalking a playoff spot. Based on the matchups, though, Gray stands out as a great stud play as he faces the Pirates in St. Louis.
Gray has allowed just one run in each of his last three starts, posting 21.7, 24.8 and 31.1 fantasy points. In his last outing, he held the Reds to just one run on two hits over six innings with nine strikeouts to earn his 13th win. One more win will match his career-high, which he set back in 2014 and matched in 2015.
On the year, Gray has a 3.75 ERA, 3.21 FIP and 10.9 K/9. He has been especially sharp at home with a 2.56 ERA and 2.32 FIP. He earned 32.8 fantasy points when he faced the Pirates at home earlier this season, and Pittsburgh should be a good matchup for him once again since it ranks in the bottom 10 in the MLB in wOBA over the last 30 days and the top 10 in K%.
Value
Dean Kremer, Baltimore Orioles vs. San Francisco Giants ($6,200) – Kremer isn’t one of the Orioles’ most exciting starters, but he’s an exceptional value and has proven to be a reliable arm for them over the last three seasons. This year, he’s 7-9 with a 4.10 ERA, 4.23 FIP and 8.57 K/9. He has been trending up, going 3-0 with a 2.62 ERA, 2.53 FIP and 32 strikeouts in 34 1/3 innings over his last six starts. He has allowed zero or one earned run in four of those six outings, including his most recent start when he earned a no-decision and 23.6 fantasy points against the Red Sox. He has posted over 23 fantasy points in three of his last five starts, showing his good upside.
Kremever gets a great matchup at home against the Giants on Wednesday. San Francisco leads the MLB with a 28.2% K% over its last 30 games and has scored the fifth-fewest runs of any team over that span while hitting only .217 as a team. The O’s dropped the first game of this series and have slid to four games back of the Yankees in the AL East, but Kremer should be able to help them get back on track this Wednesday.
INFIELD
Stud
Matt Olson, Atlanta Braves at Cincinnati Reds ($5,000) – Olson’s overall numbers on the season are down from last year’s career highs, but he’s been on a nice sprint to the finish line. The 30-year-old lefty has hit .317 with five homers and a .430 wOBA over his last 22 games, including a home run on Tuesday on his way to 20 fantasy points in the series opener in Cincinnati. The Braves have one of the highest implied run totals on Wednesday’s slate, and Olson’s big bat has been heating up enough to give him a very high ceiling as a stud to build around.
Stud
Junior Caminero, Tampa Bay Rays vs. Boston Red Sox ($4,000) – Caminero was widely regarded as one of the top prospects in baseball when the Rays called him up to the MLB in mid-August. At only 21, he has already settled into the third spot in the Rays’ order and hit a solid .256 with a .319 wOBA and 45.8% hard-hit rate. He had two extra-base hits, including his fourth homer of the season on Tuesday against the Red Sox, and finished with 19 fantasy points.
Over his last seven games, Caminero has gone 9-for-29 (.310) with a .376 wOBA, and he brings a great ceiling on Wednesday as the Rays face Tanner Houck ($8,100), who has been dealing with shoulder fatigue and has been inconsistent during the second half of the season.
Value
Jose Iglesias, New York Mets vs. Washington Nationals ($3,900) – Iglesias has stepped in at leadoff for the Mets while a back injury has sidelined Francisco Lindor ($5,600). The defensive specialist was already putting together one of his best seasons at the plate but has stepped up with at least eight fantasy points in each of his three games in the top spot of the order.
On the year, he is hitting a solid .330 overall but has been especially effective against lefties like DJ Herz ($7,900), who he’ll face on Wednesday. Against southpaws, Iglesias is hitting .395 on the season with a .414 wOBA. Even though he doesn’t bring prototypical speed to the leadoff spot, he has been strong enough in the splits to make him a good play under $4,000 if he leads off again on Wednesday.
Value
Luisangel Acuña, New York Mets vs. Washington Nationals ($2,900) – Another player stepping up while Lindor has been injured has been rookie Luisangel Acuña, who was called up to make his MLB debut on Saturday. Acuña is the younger brother of Braves’ star Ronald Acuña and brings huge base-stealing upside like his brother. He swiped 40 bases in his 131 games at Triple-A before being called up while hitting .258 with a .295 wOBA. He has gone 5-for-11 (.455) in his four games in the majors and has averaged 8.5 fantasy points per game, even though he has yet to attempt his first stolen base. He homered and had 28 fantasy points on Tuesday. He brings a sky-high ceiling from under $3,000 if he’s in the lineup again on Wednesday.
OUTFIELD
Stud
Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers at Miami Marlins ($6,800) – Ohtani smashed his 48th homer of the season on Tuesday and is creeping closer to becoming the first player ever to have 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in the same season. He has so many ways to have a big game that he has to be considered as a top pay-up option any time he’s on the slate.
Ohtani has produced at least 16 fantasy points in eight of his last 14 games, with four home runs and five stolen bases during that stretch. Even in a lefty-lefty matchup, he’s a good option since Ryan Weathers ($7,000) will make his first MLB start since June 7 and is unlikely to work deep into the game.
Stud
Julio Rodriguez, Seattle Mariners vs. New York Yankees ($4,300) – Rodriguez has had a down year overall, but he has consistently been a good play against lefties and is surging in September. On the year, he’s batting .287 with a .346 wOBA against southpaws like Nestor Cortes ($7,800), who he’s scheduled to face Wednesday. In his last 18 games, Rodriguez is hitting .364 with seven multi-hit performances, five home runs and four stolen bases. He’s still discounted due to his struggles earlier in the season, but now he brings great value at just over $4,000.
Value
Michael Harris II, Atlanta Braves at Cincinnati Reds ($3,900) – Harris is another great midrange value to consider as he continues to bat leadoff for the Braves. He has hit safely in six of his last seven games, going 10-for-31 (.323) with two doubles, three homers and a stolen base to average 12.3 fantasy points per game. He, Olson and Jorge Soler ($3,800) are an affordable top-of-the-lineup stack for the Braves that could have huge returns if they get to Jakob Junis ($6,000) in the hitter-friendly environs of Great American Ballpark.
Value
Brandon Lockridge, San Diego Padres vs. Houston Astros ($2,000) – Lockridge hasn’t made an MLB start in his career yet, but he has shown enough to be an intriguing option if he’s in the lineup at the minimum salary on Wednesday against Framber Valdez ($9,500) and the Astros. The 27-year-old righty started the year in the Yankees’ system before being traded to San Deigo at the trade deadline.
Lockridge hit .306 in his 104 games in Triple-A between the two teams, posting a .376 wOBA and swiping 46 bases in 52 attempts. He stole a base in his MLB debut as a pinch runner last week and has regularly appeared as a defensive replacement, playing five games but only logging two plate appearances. If he gets his first start on Wednesday, his speed gives him a high ceiling to make him a very solid player at the minimum salary while allowing you to spend big in other spots.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $150K Relay Throw [$50K to 1st]
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is z.thompson) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.
