After a few games in the afternoon, Wednesday night baseball features nine games on the main DFS fantasy baseball slate, which begins at 7:05 p.m. ET. It’s a relatively full slate under the lights as many series come to a close, with nice matchups. Let’s look at the 18 teams in the player pool and grab some nice MLB DFS picks for the evening slate.
For the most part, the weather looks cooperative on Wednesday with clear skies and indoor venues. In the outdoor parks, the wind will mostly be blowing in, with the main exception in Anaheim, where the wind will be blowing out for the matchup between the Rockies and Angels. With no Coors Field or Sutter Health Park in play, Great American Ball Park and Yankee Stadium are homer-friendly venues to consider, although the wind is not expected to help any big flies in either spot. Be sure to consider the environment when making your MLB DFS picks.
Let’s dive into the nine-game Wednesday night slate and pick out some top studs and values for your MLB DFS lineups on DraftKings. This article was written before starting lineups were announced..
Make your DraftKings MLB DFS picks here: MLB $150K Bat Flip [$50K to 1st]
PITCHER
Stud
Chase Burns, Cincinnati Reds vs. Kansas City Royals, $10,000— On Wednesday night, several aces headline a strong pitching slate. While Shohei Ohtani ($11,000), Paul Skenes ($10,500) and Gerrit Cole ($9,500) all have very high ceilings, none of them has been as consistently dominant lately as Chase Burns has been. Burns was scheduled to start on Monday but was scratched due to illness. His fever has cleared, though, and he’ll be back and ready to roll against the Royals on Wednesday night. Burns has posted at least 24 FPTS in three straight outings and in six of his last seven. He’s averaging 22.9 FPTS per game on the season and had 29.1 FPTS in his most recent home start, which was against the Nationals.
Burns is 7-1 in his 11 starts on the year with a sparkling 1.96 ERA, 3.40 FIP, and 0.96 WHIP. He has 72 strikeouts in 64 1/3 innings and has at least seven strikeouts in six of his last seven starts. He gets a favorable matchup against the Royals on Wednesday, who rank third-to-last in runs scored this season and are hitting only .235 as a team with a 90 wRC+ as a unit. Burns should be in a good spot to keep their bats quiet on Wednesday, and a win would send the team into their scheduled off-day with a series win.
Value
Walbert Urena, Los Angeles Angels vs. Colorado Rockies, $7,300 — Even though the wind will be blowing out, Urena is a solid value play in Anaheim as he takes on the strikeout-prone Rockies. Urena has been very inefficient, which has kept him from working deep into the game, but he has allowed two earned runs or fewer in six straight outings. Over that span, he has a 1.64 ERA and 1.09 WHIP, with 28 strikeouts in 33 innings.
Urena had at least 16 FPTS in three straight outings and at least 14 FPTS in five of his last six. He has been especially effective at home, with an average of 19.3 FPTS per game in his five starts at Angel Stadium. The Rockies have scored 17 runs and won the first two games of this series, but Urena will try to neutralize them on Wednesday night and help his team avoid being swept. Colorado still has a top-five K% and a bottom-five wRC+, so they’re still a solid matchup to attack for the Angels’ 22-year-old righty in this matchup.
INFIELD
Stud
1B Nick Kurtz, Athletics at Chicago Cubs, $5,700 — The wind will be blowing in at Wrigley, but Kurtz is still a strong option for MLB DFS Picks today as he takes on righty Colin Rea ($6,200). Kurtz is hitting .289 with 11 homers and a .415 wOBA this season, and he has three homers in his last four games with 14+ FPTS in each contest. He has an incredible 45.5% barrel rate in those four games. He has at least one hard-hit ball in each of his last 19 games in which he has put the ball in play with a .500 wOBA over that span. He has hit .300 with eight of his 11 homers against righties like Rea.
Value
2B/3B Donovan Walton, Los Angeles Angels vs. Colorado Rockies, $2,700 — Lefties have thrived against Rockies starting pitcher Michael Lorenzen ($5,000) this season, hitting .425 batting average, with a .526 wOBA, .333 ISO, and 16.2% barrel rate. Lorenzen has fared well against righties, holding them to just a .083 ISO and 2.7% barrel rate, but Walton is a solid bargain play at either of his eligible spots since he is left-handed. The journeyman utility player has hit safely in seven straight games, going 10-for-26 (.385) with three doubles, six runs scored and an average of 7.4 FPTS per contest during his hitting streak.
OUTFIELD
Stud
Ronald Acuna Jr., Atlanta Braves vs. Toronto Blue Jays, $5,900 — Acuna and the Braves take on familiar foe in Patrick Corbin ($6,000), who rolls into town with his new team, the Blue Jays, for Wednesday night’s matchup. Acuna is 11-for-34 (.324) with two doubles and a home run against Corbin in their extended history, and he was heating up at the end of May before going 0-for-3 with a walk and a run scored in the series opener on Tuesday. Acuna has four straight games with at least 18 FPTS before that, with five homers in those four games, with four stolen bases as well. He has averaged 13.7 FPTS per game in his last 10 games, and his dual-threat potential gives him a good chance to keep producing against Corbin on Wednesday night.
Value
Nathan Lukes, Toronto Blue Jays at Atlanta Braves, $2,800 — Lukes missed a month with a hamstring strain, but he has been very effective since returning, usually hitting near the top of Toronto’s batting order against righties. Lukes has hit safely in each of his seven games since returning, going 11-for-25 (.440) with two doubles, two walks and four runs scored. He doesn’t have the same big-play potential like Acuna (zero home runs, zero stolen bases this season), but he does consistently make contact and find ways to be involved in the Blue Jays’ offense, especially when he’s hitting first or second in the order in front of the team’s big bats.
