This article is part of our DraftKings MLB series.
Wednesday features a full, 15-game baseball schedule, but with games spread throughout the day, just seven are included on DraftKings' main evening slate. That number has since shrunk to six, with the Mets-Braves game in Atlanta already rained out. We're left with a small slate that's short on reliable pitching at the top.
Pitchers
Cody Bradford ($9,000) is rather pricy for a pitcher with an unremarkable 4.72 career ERA across 22 appearances as a swingman, but on this small slate, he's worth considering. That's partially due to the lack of alternatives and partially due to his matchup against the lowly Athletics, but it's also due to Bradford himself. Through two starts (against two much better offenses in the Cubs and Astros), he has 10 strikeouts, one walk, a 2.13 ERA and a 0.71 WHIP. When his .125 BABIP rises to a more normal number, his ERA will jump as well, and he's no guarantee to remain in the rotation long-term in Texas, but as long as he's available and getting the nod against a team like Oakland, he's pitched well enough to earn consideration.
Kutter Crawford ($7,900) has a tough matchup against the Orioles, but that could keep his rostership rate more reasonable than it otherwise would be for a promising pitcher with a price tag south of $8,000. Crawford was a popular sleeper pick heading into the year, with his 25.6 percent strikeout rate and 6.8 walk rate last season making for an encouraging combination that foretold improvement on his respectable 4.04 ERA. Through two outings, he's lived up to the hype, striking out 12 and walking four while allowing just one earned run on five hits in 10.2 innings.
Top Targets
Tyler O'Neill ($4,800) is on fire right now. After a pair of injury-filled seasons in which he produced a .707 OPS, he looks like a new man in Boston, hitting .344/.488/.906 with six homers in his first 10 games. Not only is he making very loud contact, he's making much more of it, cutting his strikeout rate to 19.5 percent after it finished at an even 30.0 percent in his six years in St. Louis. With the platoon advantage against soft-tossing lefty Cole Irvin, O'Neill is in prime position to pound a few more over (or off of) the Green Monster tonight.
Vinnie Pasquantino ($4,300) has endured a pretty awful start, slashing .108/.214/.108 through 10 games. I'm including him here, however, because that terrible slash line and his 3.0 DraftKings points per game to date will likely keep his rostership rate down, which makes him an intriguing choice with the platoon advantage and prime lineup position (third) against rookie Spencer Arrighetti, who is not a top prospect and who owns a mediocre 4.26 ERA in the minors since the start of last season. If Pasquantino were whiffing all the time, I might be worried, but his 11.9 percent strikeout rate is excellent, suggesting that the hits should start falling sooner or later.
Bargain Bats
He's facing the aforementioned Cody Bradford, so you certainly don't want them in a lineup together, but any build that goes a different route at pitcher should look at Shea Langeliers ($2,600). Between his price tag, his lineup position (fourth) and the fact that he'll have the platoon advantage against a pitcher who may be interesting but is hardly an ace, he's easily the most interesting catcher on the slate. He was off to a poor start at the plate this time before homering three times last night, which sent his wRC+ on the season all the way up to 165.
A leadoff man in a great hitters' park going for less than $4,000? Welcome to my lineup, Jackson Chourio ($3,600). Chourio had been the Brewers' leadoff man against lefties to open the season while batting ninth against righties, but after a hot start, he's earned the occasional leadoff nod against right-handers as well. On Wednesday, he'll get that assignment against Hunter Greene, a talented young Reds righty but not one who's put it all together to the point that we need to avoid using hitters against him, especially at Great American Ballpark.
Stack to Consider
Reds vs. Wade Miley: Christian Encarnacion-Strand ($4,100), Jeimer Candelario ($4,200), Stuart Fairchild ($3,100)
The only reason not to stack the Reds on Wednesday is because you're afraid everyone else will do the same on this small slate. This game will be played in one of the most hitter-friendly parks in the league, and the Reds will face an opposing pitcher who isn't afraid to allow contact, with a 16.1 percent strikeout rate last year and an 18.3 percent mark for his career. It would hardly be a surprise if Miley fails to meet even those low marks in this contest, as he's now 37 years old and will be making his season debut after being slowed by a shoulder issue in camp. You could expand this stack to include pretty much any of the Reds' top six hitters, but I've gone here with a relatively inexpensive group which will bat third through fifth in the order.
