Yahoo DFS Baseball: Wednesday Picks

Yahoo DFS Baseball: Wednesday Picks

This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Baseball series.

Wednesday's MLB slate begins at 1:05 PM Eastern time and features 16 games, including a doubleheader between the Orioles and Red Sox. Owners don't need to break the bank to find quality pitching in this slate, which should allow plenty of room to pursue expensive hitters, such as some of the Nationals set up for success in their home ballpark.

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PITCHER

Cody Reed, CIN vs. KC ($31): Reed's been downright filthy in his past two starts, posting a 16:2 K:BB while allowing only seven hits over 11 scoreless innings. There's little reason for the young lefty to slow down against a 25th-ranked Royals offense that's scoring just 3.91 runs per game. At just $31, using him also opens up crucial cap space to spend at other positions without sacrificing production in the pitcher spot.

Masahiro Tanaka, NYY at TB ($44): This will likely be Tanaka's final pitch (no pun intended) to start the Wild Card game for New York, and he's already made a pretty convincing case for himself with a 2.64 ERA in 12 starts since July 15. That strong stretch includes one start in Tampa Bay -- a three-hit, one-walk complete game shutout. He likely won't be quite as dominant this time, but Tanaka's strong second half and lofty 25.2 percent strikeout rate should be enough to get owners excited here.

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CATCHER

Omar Narvaez, CWS vs. CLE ($13): Left-handed hitters have pummeled rookie Indians righty Shane Bieber to the tune of a .391 wOBA over a 246-batter sample. Narvaez is primed to add to Bieber's struggles, as the catcher has a .360 wOBA against right-handed pitching this season and bats in the heart of Chicago's order.

FIRST BASE

Ryan Zimmerman, WAS vs. MIA ($17): Zimmerman has been limited to 69 at-bats against lefties this season, but he's made the most of those limited chances with a .472 wOBA over that sample. That success should continue against Marlins southpaw Wei-Yin Chen, who has an astronomical 9.29 ERA in 51.1 road innings.

SECOND BASE

Travis Shaw, MIL at STL ($17): Cardinals righty John Gant has had major command issues recently, issuing 21 walks in 30.2 innings over his past six starts while failing to get through five frames in three of his last four. Those control problems should put more ducks on the pond in front of Shaw, thus allowing Milwaukee's cleanup hitter to maximize the damage from his .377 wOBA against righties.

THIRD BASE

Alex Bregman, HOU at TOR ($24): Blue Jays starter Sean Reid-Foley has been brutal in righty-on-righty matchups, allowing a .391 wOBA. That .391 mark also happens to be Bregman's wOBA against right-handed pitching this season. Reid-Foley isn't expected to go deep into the game, and Bregman's .409 wOBA against lefties suggests he's ready for whatever Toronto's bullpen throws at him.

SHORTSTOP

Trea Turner, WAS vs. MIA ($22): Turner's decent .347 wOBA against lefties climbs to a much more dangerous .394 in 77 at-bats facing them at Nationals Park (1.14 park factor). Given Chen's aforementioned road struggles, Turner's primed for a strong home performance out of the two-hole in Washington's batting order. He's also a major threat to add value with his legs, having stolen 89 bases since the start of last season.

OUTFIELD

Robbie Grossman, MIN vs. DET ($15): Grossman's a switch-hitter with a heavy preference toward batting right-handed. His wOBA against lefties is .373 while his mark against righties is a paltry .306. Luckily for Grossman, he'll get to bat from his preferred side against Tigers southpaw Matt Boyd, who has allowed a .338 wOBA to right-handed hitters en route to a 5.52 ERA on the road. Grossman should also benefit from batting cleanup for the injury-riddled Twins.

Nick Martini, OAK at SEA ($15):Felix Hernandez hasn't been the king of anything except getting hit hard by left-handed batters this season, serving up a .359 wOBA in that split. With a .361 mark against right-handed pitching coming into this contest, Martini's an affordable yet effective option operating out of the leadoff spot for Oakland.

Kyle Schwarber, CHC vs. PIT ($19): Left-handed hitters have produced a .345 wOBA against Pirates righty Ivan Nova, and that number jumps to .393 over a 148-batter sample on the road. Wrigley Field's eighth-ranked, 1.09 park factor makes it one of the league's more hitter-friendly road venues, which should make things even tougher for Nova. Meanwhile, Schwarber's in the midst of a solid campaign, with a .359 wOBA versus righties.

The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire. Sasha Yodashkin plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: FanDuel: Youngsash, DraftKings: Yashdogg,Yahoo: Sasha, Fanball: Yashdogg.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sasha Yodashkin
Sasha has been contributing NFL, NHL, NBA, MLB and Tennis content to RotoWire since 2015, with an emphasis on DFS. He is a huge New York sports fan who has been playing fantasy sports since middle school.
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