This article is part of our DraftKings MLB series.
Oftentimes, MLB fills the day with baseball. That's great as a fan, but for DFS purposes, it can be tricky, especially on a weekday. Because of this, DFS sites often focus on the evening for their contests. For Wednesday, this is particularly pertinent, as the first game of the day is at 12:35 p.m. ET. Asking a Californian to get a DFS lineup in by 9:35 in the morning? Not ideal. The focus here is on the six-game slate that starts at 6:35 p.m. ET. That means fewer options, but less time crunch as well.
Pitching
Kevin Gausman, TOR vs. DET ($10,100): Through two starts, Gausman has yet to allow an earned run. He had a 2.37 FIP last year, and this year his FIP is 1.82 thus far. The Tigers are down near the bottom of the majors in runs scored, which is not surprising, as that is where they finished in 2022.
Nathan Eovaldi, TEX vs. KC ($8,200): Fenway Park was harsh to Eovaldi last year. He had a 2.64 ERA on the road, but he had a 5.26 ERA in his then-home park. Now, Eovaldi is a Ranger and has an 1.99 FIP through two starts. The Royals are down near the bottom of the league in runs scored and batting average, and the other day were mowed down at the plate by Andrew Heaney.
Top Target
Last year, Daulton Varsho ($4,500) notched 27 homers and 16 stolen bases even though he had a .235 average. However, he had a .698 OPS at home and a .786 OPS on the road, so leaving Arizona for Toronto could be good for him, and he was already contributing on the DFS front. Eduardo Rodriguez's first season with the Tigers went poorly, but this year things have started off even worse. He's pitched 10 innings, allowed three homers, and only struck out six batters.
Bargain Bat
Josh Jung ($3,800) began the season as Texas' top prospect, and while he hasn't lived up to that yet, he hasn't even played in 40 MLB games yet. I'm betting on his upside, and the hitting profile that made him such a vaunted prospect. Brad Keller had an ERA over 5.00 in each of his last two seasons. He's also allowed righties to hit .293 against him since 2021.
Stack to Consider
Atlanta vs. Reds (Hunter Greene): Austin Riley ($5,600), Matt Olson ($5,200), Sean Murphy ($4,100)
Green has an incredible fastball. It's why he strikes out so many batters and has a good BAA in his career. However, he still has a career 4.51 ERA and 4.24 FIP, because he allows a lot of home runs. In his career, Greene has given up 1.68 home runs per nine innings. That big fastball can only do so much. I'm leaning into power with this stack as a result. Greene doesn't allow a lot of contact, but the contact he does allow tends to do damage.
When Riley tweaked his swing, he changed his career. Over the last three seasons he's slashed .280/.360/.528, and he's hot over 30 home runs in each of his last two campaigns. Olson is off to a hot hitting start, which is encouraging given that he batted .240 in his first season with Atlanta. Even so, he still hit 34 homers and 44 doubles. The lefty also has an .867 OPS versus righties since 2021. Murphy had 18 home runs last season, good for a catcher, but he's gotten away from Oakland's pitcher-friendly ballpark as well. In 2022, he had a .702 OPS at home, but an .812 OPS on the road.
Orioles vs. Athletics (Ken Waldichuk): Adley Rutschman ($5,100), Ryan Mountcastle ($4,300), Austin Hays ($4,100)
You look at Waldichuk's 14.54 ERA through two starts and maybe you assume he's been unlucky. Indeed, his FIP is all the way down to…14.01. So yeah, Waldichuk has been terrible, allowing seven home runs in 8.2 innings, even with one of his starts coming at home in his pitcher-friendly ballpark. Since Waldichuk is a lefty, I have three guys who hit righty in my stack.
Rutschman showed why many saw him as the best prospect in baseball in 2022, but this year he's looked like one of the best hitters full stop. He's slashed .395/.490/628, and he's looked better against lefties after mostly succeeding versus righties last season. This isn't about Mountcastle having nine RBI in his last outing. It is about him hitting 55 home runs total over the previous two seasons and having an .809 OPS versus righties since 2021. Hays doesn't normally walk much, but his .257 batting average isn't bad by modern standards, and last year he had 16 homers and 35 doubles. He also has an .819 OPS versus lefties since 2021.
