Wednesday brings another great split slate of fantasy baseball with eight games on the early slate and five games under the lights. In this post, we’ll focus on the five games on the later slate and find some strong options to consider for MLB DFS lineups from the 10-team player pool. The later slate gets underway at 6:45 p.m. ET and concludes with the final game of the night between the Brewers and the Rockies.
That matchup between the Rockies and Brewers takes place at Coors Field at elevation, where the bats will get an extra boost in the rarified air in Denver. The slate also includes three juicy divisional matchups along with the AL matchup between the Angels and the Rays in Tampa. Let’s dive into this 10-team player pool and take a look at my top MLB DFS picks for Wednesday night’s slate.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $150K Relay Throw [$50K to 1st]
PITCHER
Stud
Ryan Pepiot, Tampa Bay Rays vs. Los Angeles Angels, $7,900: While Wednesday night’s slate doesn’t have a top-tier, pay-up ace, Peopiot is a solid option from just under $8,000. He isn’t the most expensive pitcher on the board, but he does have good enough upside to build around. Over his first two starts of the season, Pepiot has 11 strikeouts in 11 innings. He gave up 11 hits and three runs in those two starts, going 0-1. He earned 22.7 fantasy points in his first start against the Rockies but only managed 8.5 fantasy points against the Pirates.
Last year in his first year with the Rays after being traded to Tampa as part of the Tyler Glasnow deal, Pepiot went 8-8 with a 3.60 ERA, 3.95 FIP, and 9.8 K/9 in 26 starts. With such a good strikeout ceiling, Pepiot has a high upside against the Angels in his third start of the season. He’ll need to improve his efficiency to work deeper into the game after throwing 85 and 88 pitches in his first two starts of the season.
Value
Tyler Alexander, Milwaukee Brewers at Colorado Rockies, $6,000: Alexander has had to step into the starting rotation since the Brewers have faced multiple injuries to their pitching staff. He made his first start of the season last Friday and went 5 2/3 innings without allowing a hit but giving up three walks to go with six strikeouts. He earned an impressive 26.4 fantasy points in that outing.
Even though he’s pitching at Coors Field on Wednesday night, he can be a good value play since he has a good shot at a win in this head-to-head matchup with Antonio Senzatela ($5,500), who has allowed 19 hits in 9 2/3 innings this season. Alexander also gets a favorable matchup against the Rockies, who have the highest K% in the MLB so far this season and scored just 30 runs in nine games coming into this home series against the Brewers.
The game environment makes Alexander far from a safe play, but he has enough upside after his first strong start to be a great bargain option at only $6,000 in this matchup.
INFIELD
Stud
Brice Turang, Milwaukee Brewers at Colorado Rockies, $5,600: Turang has an 11-game hitting streak to start the season and is thriving whether he’s leading off or hitting out of the ninth spot in the order. On the season, he is 14-for-44 (.318) with three home runs, two stolen bases, 11 runs scored, and a .380 wOBA that has helped him produce 10.5 fantasy points per game.
Since the Brewers are facing a hittable righty in Coors Field, Turang will likely be a popular but productive pay-up play at the top of the order for the Brew Crew.
Stud
Bo Bichette, Toronto Blue Jays at Boston Red Sox, $4,300: Bichette has started the year swinging a hot bat and is 16-for-51 (.314) over the first 12 games of the season with four doubles and a .345 wOBA. He is still in search of his first home run, but he has been very productive out of the leadoff spot and has played every inning of all 12 of the Blue Jays games this season.
Red Sox starting pitcher Tanner Houck ($7,700) was shaky in spring training and has given up seven runs on 12 hits in 9 2/3 innings this season. The Blue Jays should be able to have a productive evening in Fenway, and Bichette is typically in the middle of the team’s production.
Value
Willi Castro, Minnesota Twins at Kansas City Royals, $3,800: The switch-hitting Castro can fit at 2B or 3B, where I think he has a little more value since there aren’t as many strong options on Wednesday’s slate. Castro is 8-for-34 (.235) to start the season with four doubles, a home run, three walks, and a stolen base.
Castro is averaging 7.0 fantasy points per game and has at least four fantasy points in five of his last six games. He has a strong career history against opposing starting Seth Lugo ($8,100), going 4-for-8 with a pair of doubles against him in their previous meetings. Castro has been a streaky producer during his career and usually finds some way to chip in production. Especially at a thin 3B spot, he brings solid value this Wednesday.
OUTFIELD
Stud
Jackson Chourio, Milwaukee Brewers at Colorado Rockies, $6,000: Chourio is an expensive play at Coors Field, but his upside and current form makes him worth the investment. He is 15-for-44 (.341) since going 0-for-5 with five strikeouts on Opening Day and has produced five doubles, three home runs, 11 RBI and a stolen base to average 12.2 fantasy points over his last 10 games after starting the season with a thud.
So far this season, Chourio is continuing his emergence as an elite fantasy producer, and stacking him with Turang against Senzatela is a great way to anchor your lineups this Wednesday night. There is value available at other spots, so paying up for those two Brewers’ bats is possible on Wednesday night.
Value
Jake Mangum, Tampa Bay Rays vs. Los Angeles Angels, $3,900: With Josh Lowe (oblique), Richie Palacios (finger), and now Jonny DeLuca (shoulder) on the IL, Mangum and Kameron Misner ($2,800) should continue to get regular playing time in the Tampa Bay outfield for the next few weeks. Since the Rays are facing a lefty in Yusei Kikuchi ($8,300) on Wednesday, I’ll go with the switch-hitting Mangum in this spot over the lefty Misner, although both are viable plays.
Mangum is a long-time minor leaguer who has hit for average with some speed in the minors without a lot of power. He has carried that profile over to the majors so far, going 11-for-27 (.407) since arriving with the Rays and stealing five bases in five attempts over seven games to help him average 11.1 fantasy points per game. He has a stolen base and at least eight fantasy points in four of his last six games.
Value
Kyren Paris, Los Angeles Angels at Tampa Bay Rays, $2,800: Paris has been a recurring character in my targets and values all season, and he delivered again on Tuesday with a big night. Paris homered for the second straight game and now has three home runs on the season to go with his .429 (9-for-21) batting average while also adding four stolen bases.
Paris is averaging 12.6 fantasy points per game and can fit either at 2B or in the OF. Even though I like Pepiot as a starting pitcher, Paris is a good play under $3,000 and can produce with either power or speed, giving him both a high ceiling and a high floor.
