Major League Baseball has another big mid-week slate lined up for Wednesday, with several waves of contests throughout the day. The featured MLB DFS slate under the lights gets underway at 7:10 p.m. ET and includes seven games spanning the evening. With 14 teams in the player pool, there are plenty of strong options to consider as you look to assemble your winning team for this Wednesday night. With playoff races coming down to the wire and teams planning for the end of the season, it sets up for another exciting night of fantasy baseball on the diamonds, so let’s dive in and examine some of my top MLB DFS Picks today.
Coors Field is the best hitting environment on the slate by a wide margin, but there is the potential for some rain, so proceed with caution and be sure the forecast looks cooperative. The rest of the games are either indoors or dry, but the one other MLB weather note to be aware of is that the wind will be blowing in at Wrigley Field, which is typically one of the most wind-impacted stadiums in baseball. As always, leading up to the first pitch, it’s always important to double-check lineups and forecasts before locking in your final roster.
Make your DraftKings MLB DFS picks here: MLB $100K Bat Flip [$25K to 1st]
PITCHER
Stud
Shota Imanaga, Chicago Cubs vs. Atlanta Braves, $8,800 — It’s a shaky night for pay-up pitching, but with the wind blowing in at Wrigley, Imanaga brings enough upside to consider in this marquee matchup against the Braves in a potential playoff preview. The two teams split the first two games of the series, leaving Imanaga and JR Ritchie ($7,200) to face off to decide who gets the series win.
Imanaga struggled early in the season, dominated for most of June and July, and had a few more bumpy outings in August. He picked up back-to-back wins in his last two outings, though, earning 21.7 FPTS against the Marlins and 17.3 FPTS against the Pirates. He went exactly six innings in both of those outings, allowing a total of three runs on eight hits.
Despite his inconsistency, he’s one of the top options on this slate, especially since the Braves are very lefty-heavy. Against southpaws this season, they have a 91 team wRC+, meaning they produce runs at 9% below league average. They’re still a good offense, but the risk from that factor isn’t as high as the other stud options on this slate, who come in with shaky form or bad matchups of their own.
Value
Cristian Javier, Houston Astros vs. Kansas City Royals, $6,000 — The Astros bounced back from their weekend sweep in Tampa by beating the Royals on Tuesday and have a one-game lead over the Texas Rangers for the AL West lead, despite being just one game over .500. They’ll look to maintain or grow that lead on Wednesday by giving the ball to Javier, who looks like he’s starting to find his form. He still has an ugly 5.50 ERA on the season, but his 4.58 FIP and 4.71 xERA indicate he hasn’t been quite as bad as that ERA suggests.
After a long road back from Tommy John surgery and then a shoulder strain earlier this season, Javier has allowed just one run in each of his last two outings. He dominated against Arizona two starts ago, racking up eight strikeouts in five innings and earning 26.8 FPTS. He was also sharp against the Phillies in his most recent outing, working six innings and earning 19.1 FPTS in a no-decision. Even though the Royals have been much better offensively lately, they’re still a favorable matchup for Javier, who brings a high ceiling at his bargain salary.
INFIELD
Stud
1B Pete Alonso, Baltimore Orioles at New York Mets, $5.300 — In a matchup stuffed with revenge potential from multiple angles, Alonso will face his former team again on Wednesday while another former Met, Chris Bassitt ($5,500), takes the mound for Baltimore. Alonso homered on Tuesday for career homer No. 300, appropriately earning a curtain call at Citi Field, where he hit so many long balls earlier in his career. Alonso has hit 14 of his 37 home runs this season over his last 36 games, while hitting .336 with a .456 wOBA and 16.2% barrel rate.
In the series finale on Wednesday, Alonso is facing righty Robert Stock ($5,300). Alonso has hit 26 of his homers against righties this season with better batted-ball metrics on that side of his splits as well. Stock has let righties hit .302 against him this season and has a 5.93 ERA in his 30 1/3 innings this year.
Value
2B Justin Foscue, Texas Rangers vs. Boston Red Sox, $3,400 — In a very important series for the Rangers as they try to catch the Astros in the AL West, Foscue is a strong option on Wednesday against the Red Sox since he’ll likely move into the leadoff spot against lefty Jake Bennett ($8,300), who has allowed 3+ earned runs in eight of his last nine starts and was roughed up for six runs in his most recent outing.
Foscue has feasted on lefties like Bennett this season, hitting .323 against southpaws with a .427 wOBA and a 1.001 OPS as a result of a 43.8% hard-hit rate and 12.5% barrel rate. In his limited action in September, he’s hitting .321with a home run, three runs, seven RBI and a .366 wOBA. Especially if he’s at the top of the lineup, he’ll be a great value play at 2B against Bennett.
OUTFIELD
Stud
Fernando Tatis Jr., San Diego Padres at Colorado Rockies, $7,200— Tatis would be a strong pay-up option wherever he was playing, but he’s even worth considering at this elevated salary since he’s playing at Coors Field. Tatis hit his third home run in his last four games to lead off Tuesday’s game, and he has 10+ FPTS in six straight games and eight of his last nine. Over those nine games, he has an average of 15.8 FPTS per contest, and he is up to 35 stolen bases and 23 home runs on the season.
Tatis is mashing in every matchup, but he has been especially effective against the Rockies this season. The extra boost from playing at Coors Field (as long as it doesn’t rain) gives him a high ceiling, and if you can find the value plays to make his salary work, his ceiling could definitely be worth the spend.
Value
Cam Smith, Houston Astros vs. Kansas City Royals, $3,000 — Smith has been very streaky throughout the season, but he has shown a great ceiling when he’s locked in. He homered in three straight games last week to get to 20 homers on the season. He is hitting .250 (8-for-32) over his last nine games with an 18.2% barrel rate and an average of 8.0 FPTS per contest. Smith is an affordable option in a favorable matchup against lefty Daniel Lynch IV ($5,000). He brings plenty of power potential and should be part of a productive lineup for the Astros, which is enough to make him one of my top MLB DFS Picks today.
