This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
Baseball's moment shall arrive soon, as the NHL and NBA playoffs get closer to concluding. You should definitely check in with MLB on Wednesday though, because there are DFS opportunities to be found. The evening slate, which starts at 6:40 p.m. EDT, includes seven games. Here are my DFS recommendations for you.
Pitching
Lucas Giolito, CWS vs. BOS ($10,300): The Red Sox have gotten their offense going and are no longer down in the bottom 10 in runs scored, which isn't surprising. That being said, Giolito is a high-level pitcher. He has a 2.84 ERA through six starts and has struck out 12.51 batters per nine innings. A healthy Giolito is a pitcher I believe in.
Drew Rasmussen, TB vs. MIA ($8,600): Rasmussen showed promise after being dealt to the Rays last season, as he had a 2.44 ERA in Tampa over 20 appearances, 10 of which were starts. He's been in the rotation from the beginning this year and has a 2.33 ERA. The Marlins are on the fringes of the bottom 10 in runs scored, and given that they finished 29th last year I think they might be dropping down the rankings on that front as things begin to level out.
JP Sears, NYY vs. BAL ($6,000): Sears' two appearances in MLB this season have been in relief, but he's been getting stretched out to be a starter in Triple-A. Down in the minors he has a 1.25 ERA this season. While there are some concerns that Sears may not go five innings and be eligible for a win, he does have an easy matchup against an Orioles team with a sub-.300 OBP.
Top Targets
While Bryce Harper ($4,400) is dealing with an elbow issue, he's still managed to slash .302/.352/.617 with 10 home runs and six stolen bases. He's also put up an 1.057 OPS against righties since 2020. Charlie Morton seems to have lost a step this season, as his strikeouts are down, his home run rates are up, and he has a 4.95 ERA.
Ensconced at the top of the White Sox lineup, Tim Anderson ($3,900) is an early favorite for the batting title with his .365 average. That's not surprising, given that he has a .326 average over the last four seasons. He also consistently has provided over 15 home runs and stolen bases in any given campaign, and he's well on his way to those marks in 2022. The 42-year-old Rich Hill can still handle lefties, but righties can tune him up, which is partially why he hasn't had a FIP lower than 3.66 since 2016.
Bargain Bats
Last season, Tyler Naquin ($3,100) hit 19 home runs and stole five bases. This year he has five homers and three stolen bases. Also, since 2020 he has slugged .501 against right-handed pitchers. Kyle Hendricks saw his ERA soar to 4.77 last season because he allowed 1.54 home runs per nine innings. Well, this year he's allowed 1.81 homers per nine.
Rafael Ortega ($2,600) cannot hit lefties, but he has an .840 OPS against righties over the last two seasons. He also had 11 home runs and 12 stolen bases last year. Righty Luis Castillo has a 4.60 ERA through three starts after having a 3.98 ERA in 2021, and though it is a small sample, lefties have hit .333 against him this season.
Stacks to Consider
Yankees vs. Orioles (Tyler Wells): Aaron Judge ($4,600), Anthony Rizzo ($3,800), Gleyber Torres ($2,700)
Wells pitched entirely out of the bullpen last season, posting a 4.11 ERA. This year he is in the rotation, and his ERA is up to 4.41. He's also allowed 1.38 home runs per nine innings. The Yankees are hitting home runs with gusto, and this is a high-salary stack I think is still worth it.
Nobody has hit better than Judge this season. Sure, he may not keep slugging .692, but in his career he has a .565 slugging percentage, so the power will remain. Plus, he already has 17 homers in 2022. Rizzo has slowed down after a hot start, but he still has 11 home runs. Also, he has a 1.011 OPS at home as well. Giancarlo Stanton and DJ LeMahieu are both banged up, so I am going with Torres to finish out this stack. He will likely never hit 38 homers in a season again, but he has seven this year, and last season he stole 14 bases.
Angels vs. Rangers (Glenn Otto): Shohei Ohtani ($3,900), Jared Walsh ($3,400), Anthony Rendon ($3,100)
Last year Otto was unlucky through six starts, as he had a 9.26 ERA but a 3.16 FIP. This year, though, through five starts he has a 5.55 ERA and 5.61 FIP. I've been doing a three-southpaw stack with the Angels when they've been facing right-handed pitchers, but Brandon Marsh has cooled a bit. As such, I am going with two lefties plus a righty that is on an upswing.
The big difference in terms of overall numbers for Ohtani this year is that he isn't walking as much, but that's less of a concern for DFS players. He has nine home runs and six stolen bases and that's enough to keep people happy. Walsh has nine homers and can crush a righty. Since 2020 he has a .962 OPS in those matchups. Rendon has five homers and two swiped bags, and he seems to be getting into the swing of things. Over the last two weeks he has a .901 OPS.
