After a busy afternoon of action with some getaway games and first games of doubleheaders, Wednesday night has nine games on the main DFS fantasy baseball slate, which begins at 6:40 p.m. ET. It’s an early heavy slate, with no game starting after 8:10 p.m. ET. The slate has a good mix of pitching and offense available, with plenty of ways to assemble a solid roster. Let’s dive in and examine the 18 teams in the player pool to identify some solid MLB DFS picks for Wednesday night’s slate.
Overall, the weather looks to be relatively clear, but there could be some storms around Atlanta and Boston to be cautious of. The wind is blowing in at Wrigley, and Coors Field is on the early slate, so there aren’t any must-mash spots for offense. However, environments and matchups are key factors when making your MLB DFS picks, so be sure to double-check lineups and forecasts before locking in your final roster.
Make your DraftKings MLB DFS picks here: MLB $70K Relay Throw [$20K to 1st]
PITCHER
Stud
Sandy Alcantara, Miami Marlins at Houston Astros, $8,500 — The Marlins were hot and climbing back into the race just a few weeks ago, but they have hit the skids with eight straight losses and are on the verge of a third straight sweep unless Alcantara can step up and be the stopper on Wednesday night. The 2022 Cy Young Award winner has been on a great run lately, and if the Marlins are forced to concede and sell at the deadline, he could be a very interesting name to monitor.
Over his last nine starts, Alcantara is 7-1 with a 2.93 ERA and 3.25 FIP. He has racked up 55 strikeouts in 61 1/3 innings, working at least 5 2/3 innings in every one of those nine outings. Sandy has 19+ FPTS in three straight outings and in eight of his last nine. He was solid in his only start during the team’s losing streak, going six innings and giving up just one run on three hits to the Brewers. While it isn’t an ideal matchup, the Astros’ lineup definitely isn’t one you have to avoid at this point in the season. The rest of the stud options have bigger issues, so Alcantara stands out as a great place to start your roster builds for Wednesday night.
Value
Anthony Kay, Chicago White Sox at Texas Rangers, $6,800 — Kay hasn’t been able to work deep into games lately, but he has been getting enough whiffs to see a little upside in his matchup with the Rangers this Wednesday. The rest of the cheap value plays are all very sketchy, with even higher risk than Kay.
On the season, Kay is 6-4 with a 4.34 ERA and 5.09 FIP. He has gone 0-2 with a 4.24 ERA in his last four outings and only made it through the fifth inning one time. Before that, though, he showed his upside with an impressive 25.9 FPTS against the Guardians in a start with six shutout innings. He also had a start with 20+ FPTS against the Dodgers in June, but he has struggled to consistently work that deep into games. He brings enough upside at this salary to be worth using as a value play in this series finale after the teams split the first two games of the series.
INFIELD
Stud
3B Junior Caminero, Tampa Bay Rays at Toronto Blue Jays, $5,800 — Caminero continues to rake and should be in a good spot at the Rogers Centre against Braydon Fisher ($4,000) and Spencer Miles ($5,500). Miles is expected to be the bulk reliever after giving up six runs in four innings in his last appearance. The 23-year-old All-Star 3B has hit safely in every game since the break, going 10-for-24 (.417) with two doubles and a homer to average 10 FPTS per contest.
In his last 23 games, he has 13 homers with a .488 wOBA, a 50.7% hard-hit rate and a 20.3% barrel rate. He is mashing everything right now in the middle of the Tampa lineup and is a great piece to build around with both a high floor and a high ceiling.
Value
3B/SS Jared Triolo, Pittsburgh Pirates at New York Yankees, $2,400 — Triolo has also hit safely in his three appearances since the All-Star break, going 7-for-13 (.538) with two doubles, four RBIs and three runs scored. He hit second in the order in one of those games against lefty Joey Cantillo, and he’ll bring extra value if he’s near the top of the order for Game 2 of the doubleheader as the Pirates face lefty Max Fried ($8,800) in his return from the IL. Triolo is hitting .286 this season against southpaws with five doubles. While he doesn’t bring a lot of power potential, he does make good contact and get involved in the team’s run production on a regular basis. Getting him under $2,500 on the left side of the infield saves a lot of salary for the rest of your lineup, and he usually finds a way to chip in contributions of his own.
OUTFIELD
Stud
Fernando Tatis Jr., San Diego Padres at Atlanta Braves, $5,500 — Tatis has been hitting the ball hard all season, but the results have trailed his contact metrics. He’s had some great positive regression coming out of the break, though, with three games of over 22 FPTS and an average of 19.2 FPTS in his five games since the break. Tatis has three homers in those five games while going 6-for-15 (.400), with a 50% hard-hit rate and 21.4% barrel rate. Tatis is hitting .293 over his last 20 games with five homers and six stolen bases, and he brings a good blend of speed and power upside as he takes on lefty Martin Perez on Wednesday night. He has strong splits against lefties this season, and he’s got great momentum as he helps the Padres turn their season around in the second half.
Value
Cam Cauley, Texas Rangers vs. Chicago White Sox, $2,000 — Cauley is available at the minimum salary, but he has a good chance to return value. He has at least 4.0 FPTS in each of his four games since the All-Star break and went 1-for-4 with a walk on Tuesday for 7.0 FPTS. The 23-year-old has excellent speed potential after slashing .262/.363/.407 in Triple-A with eight home runs and 29 stolen bases in 74 games with the Round Rock Express. The righty Cauley will likely be in the lineup against the lefty Kay, and he has made the most of his limited chances, going 6-for-16 (.375) in nine games over the last two weeks.
