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It’s only an eight-game featured MLB slate on DraftKings this evening, but the pitching is still stacked. It certainly helps anytime Shohei Ohtani ($11,400) is taking the mound. Should your lineup start with the greatest player on planet Earth? Or should you be looking in a different direction?
Let’s dive in and go position-by-position.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $200K Relay Throw [$50K to 1st]
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PITCHER
Stud
George Kirby, Seattle Mariners at Oakland Athletics, $8,500 - Despite the big names at the top of the pricing list, you might as well save some salary and roll with Kirby. The right-hander has been fantastic for the Mariners in 2023, registering a 2.93 ERA and a 2.62 FIP across 30.2 innings of work. That includes a complete game loss to the Phillies last week, where Kirby racked up 29.5 DKFP for his troubles. The only knock on the 25-year-old is a lack of elite strikeout ability, yet that’s where the matchup comes into play. Over the past 14 days, the Athletics own a putrid 27.9% strikeout rate as a team. That’s reinforced by a 14.5% swinging strike rate that leads baseball within that same span. Woof.
Value
Clarke Schmidt, New York Yankees vs. Cleveland Guardians, $5,900 - Schmidt has been far from perfect to begin the season, but if you squint hard enough, there’s the makings of an interesting DFS asset — particularly at this price. The sophomore has mostly been plagued by a robust .394 BABIP, which is the reason his SIERA (3.65) looks a lot better than his ERA (6.84) through six outings. A healthy 26.9% strikeout rate doesn’t hurt, either, as Schmidt has collected eight punchouts in each of his past two appearances. With the Guardians sitting 27th in wRC+ in 2023 (81), Schmidt should finally have a quality start in his ledger.
INFIELD
Stud
Matt Chapman, Toronto Blue Jays at Boston Red Sox, $5,800 - Do you want to know how to win American League Player of the Month? Well, you sit in the 99th percentile or better in average exit velocity, barrel rate, expected wOBA, expected slugging and hard hit rate. You know, easy stuff like that. For all intents and purposes, Chapman has been the league’s best hitter to this point in the calendar and tonight he draws a plum matchup versus Nick Pivetta ($7,500). The veteran RHP has allowed 2.57 opponent home runs per nine at Fenway in 2023. Look for Chapman to take advantage.
Stud
William Contreras, Milwaukee Brewers at Colorado Rockies, $4,800 - This is a very small price to pay for Contreras in an opposite-hand matchup in the altitude. Consider that in 144 plate appearances against left-handed pitching since the beginning of 2022, the catcher is slashing .352/.444/.590 with a 186 wRC+. Kyle Freeland ($6,200) is the southpaw in question on Wednesday. Freeland is a contact oriented pitcher with a 5.06 ERA at Coors this season. Contreras should be licking his chops.
Value
Gunnar Henderson, Baltimore Orioles at Kansas City Royals, $4,100 - I was hoping the struggling Henderson would be a little less expensive on this slate, but his left-handed bat is still worth the squeeze on Wednesday. Why? Well, LHBs have been plaguing Zack Greinke ($5,600) so far in 2023. To wit, Greinke has allowed lefty opponents to slash .321/.345/.571 with a .391 wOBA. In general, opponents have mustered a .607 slugging percentage off the 39-year-old in his past three outings. I guess what I’m trying to say is: Stack Orioles.
Value
Eugenio Suarez, Seattle Mariners at Oakland Athletics, $3,700 - It would be fair to say that Suarez has not gotten off to the best start so far in 2023, yet tonight could be the night that he pulls out of his slump. JP Sears ($5,700) takes the mound for Oakland, a man who has surrendered a whopping 2.95 home runs per nine to opposing RHBs this season. Sears is also left-handed. For his career, Suarez owns a .233 ISO and a 128 wRC+ versus lefties. The veteran infielder could easily be a source of cheap pop.
OUTFIELD
Stud
Julio Rodriguez, Seattle Mariners at Oakland Athletics, $5,700 - You’ll have to keep an eye on this spot. Rodriguez was scratched from the lineup on Tuesday, as a nagging back issue has now caused the All-Star to miss multiple games. However, if he’s back in Seattle’s lineup this evening, he’s incredibly viable. As mentioned above, Sears has struggled with the long ball in 2023. That’ll happen when you’re allowing a barrel to 10.1% of batters faced — the highest rate of any starting pitcher on this slate.
Stud
Ian Happ, Chicago Cubs at Washington Nationals, $4,500 - The Nationals will turn to 26-year-old Jake Irvin ($4,000) to make his MLB debut on Wednesday. Irvin doesn’t come with much prospect pedigree, and a 5.64 ERA and 11.2% walk rate at Triple-A this season also doesn’t inspire much confidence. The Cubs should be able to score some runs, and it’s likely Happ is in the middle of it all. Hitting as an LHB in 2023, Happ is slashing an impressive .347/.462/.573 with a 180 wRC+. The man might technically be a switch-hitter, but you definitely only want to use him against righties.
Value
Randal Grichuk, Colorado Rockies vs. Milwaukee Brewers, $3,900 - Grichuk has come off the IL red-hot, with multiple hits in each of his first three games of 2023. More importantly, Grichuk and the Rockies will draw the left-handed Eric Lauer ($8,900) on Wednesday. The southpaw has had a rough go so far this season, pitching to an underwhelming 6.18 xERA. The biggest issue? Launch angle and home runs. Lauer is in possession of a ghastly 11.4% barrel rate and 0.67 GB/FB ratio. That’s no way to live at Coors. Grichuk sports a career .803 OPS against LHPs. He’s under-priced on this slate.
Value
Jarren Duran, Boston Red Sox vs. Toronto Blue Jays, $3,500 - It’s just 58 plate appearances, and his expected numbers aren’t nearly as good as the surface stats, but Duran is slashing .396/.414/.679 with a 192 wRC+. That’s pretty noteworthy. Conversely, Alek Manoah ($7,200) has taken his lumps in 2023, pitching to an ugly 6.92 xERA. Manoah’s also always had his issues with LHBs. Add it all together, and Duran is viable in this matchup.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $200K Relay Throw [$50K to 1st]
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and customer (my username is theglt13) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.