This Wednesday's MLB schedule is interesting. Much of the action is in the afternoon, leaving us with four games in the evening starting at 6:40 p.m. ET or later. On a Wednesday, it's likely easier for you to get a DFS lineup in for that slate than for one where the first pitch is at 12:35 p.m. ET. However, it's early in the season, and MLB enthusiasm (and MLB DFS enthusiasm) is high. As a result, in this instance, I have decided to have one recommendation for the afternoon and one for the evening in each of the DFS recommendation categories. Whenever you decide to play, you can get a bit of information you might want to use.
Pitching
Cole Ragans, KAN at CLE ($9,800): Injuries really frustrated Ragans last season, and those injuries were part of his bad luck. As such, it's worth noting that his 4.67 ERA in 13 starts was paired with a 2.50 FIP and 14.30 K/9 rate. Ragans' first start this year was rough, but in his second start he went six innings against the Twins, struck out eight and allowed a single unearned run. It's early, so the Guardians are both in the bottom 10 in runs scored and a stone's throw away from being in the top half of MLB. However, they finished in the bottom five last year, so offensive struggles in 2026 would not surprise.
Will Warren, NYY vs. ATH ($8,200): Man, the pitching options in the evening aren't great, so maybe trying to get a lineup in for the afternoon will be to your benefit! However, Warren does have a 2.70 ERA through two starts. He had a 4.44 ERA last season, but his home ERA was 3.50. When noting the Athletics' offensive numbers last season and to start this season, one should remember they play home games in a Triple-A ballpark that is conducive to offense.
Top Targets
It seems Jose Altuve ($4,000) has tapped into the proverbial Fountain of Youth, though most MLB second basemen throughout history would have loved to hit .265 with 26 homers in their age-35 season and have that be considered an off year. The future Hall of Famer already has two homers and four doubles, and he's hit .341 for good measure. Oh, and Wednesday he's still in Coors Field. Michael Lorenzen is a righty, but since 2024 his fellow righties have hit .278 against him.
Lefties often enjoy hitting at Yankee Stadium, and Cody Bellinger ($3,400) certainly didn't regret making the move to the Yankees in 2025. He posted a .909 OPS at home in his first campaign with the club. Through two starts this season Luis Severino has a 6.48 ERA. Severino is also a former Yankee, and in 2023, his last season with the team, he had a 6.65 ERA.
Bargain Bats
When the Cubs wanted Edward Cabrera, the Marlins wanted Owen Caissie ($3,000). He didn't manage to wedge his way into a role with the Cubs, even though he had a .930 OPS at Triple-A, in part because he was in his age-22 season and the Cubs were a playoff team. With the Marlins, Caissie has hit .296 with two homers and a stolen base. Brady Singer had a 4.88 ERA on the road in his first season with the Reds, and since 2024 lefties have put up a .270 average in matchups with the former Royal.
I've found myself turning to Marcelo Mayer ($2,700) a few times already in 2026. That is largely owed to his positional eligibility, his status as a vaunted prospect in the recent past, and his salary relative to the other lefties on the Red Sox. The issue is that, well, Mayer hasn't necessarily produced at the plate yet this year. However, last season he did slug .446 against righties and .473 at home. Chad Patrick has allowed a single run through two starts, but he's also allowed nine hits over 9.1 innings with an 1.75 K/BB rate. Also, lefties have hit .375 against him.
Stacks to Consider
Rockies vs. Astros (Cristian Javier): TJ Rumfield ($3,400), Mickey Moniak ($3,300), Ezequiel Tovar ($3,200)
When the Rockies are at home, my inclination is to stack against them. To be fair, I have been seeing the results that Coors Field yields for hitters for, oh, three decades at this point. I've also seen the ERAs put up by Colorado starters the last several seasons. However, this time the Rockies get the stack. There might be something amiss with Javier. He was gung ho to get back from having Tommy John surgery in 2024, and he did made eight starts in 2025. Javier also posted a 4.62 ERA in those starts. Through two starts this season he has a 12.96 ERA and 3.24 K/9 rate. Coors Field is not a good place for figuring things out.
Rumfield, a first baseman, was stuck in the minors with the Yankees, but there was an opportunity to be found with the Rockies. He made his MLB debut this season, and he's come out of the gate with a .389/.450/.639 slash line. Once the first-overall pick, Moniak showed a little promise briefly with the Angels, but last season with the Rockies was his most productive season yet. To be fair, a big part of that was his .946 OPS at home, but it takes skill to notch eight triples in 135 games. Tovar really struggled last season, but he also still had an .886 OPS at home. In 2024 he had 26 homers and a remarkable 45 doubles, so I'm willing to bet on the shortstop being better in 2026. Or, at the very least, still being productive at home.
Tigers at Twins (Bailey Ober): Colt Keith ($3,000), Riley Greene ($2,900), Spencer Torkelson ($2,800)
Yeah, the wheels may have come off for Ober, or if that is too hyperbolic something at least seems to be an issue. Last year his fastball speed dropped and in turn his K/9 rate dropped and his HR/9 rate rose. All that led to a 5.10 ERA. Through two starts this year, his fastball is down to 89.2 miles per hour on average. His K/9 rate is down to 5.63, and his ERA is up to 6.75. Ober is a righty, and both lefties and righties hit around .275 against him last year. This season, righties have hit .316, so I did want one right-handed Tiger.
Keith is off to an intriguing start, so maybe he's figured out MLB pitching. He's slashed .353/.389/.500 with five doubles. Keith was fine against righties last year, and it was lefties he was terrible against. Fortunately, Ober is a righty. Some struggles and some strikeouts are par for the course for Greene, but you got to take the bitter with the sweet in his game. Last year he had 36 homers and 31 doubles to go along with his 201 strikeouts. Greene had an .886 OPS against righties last year, and an .846 OPS on the road as well. I wanted Torkelson as my righty because he has power, and Ober allowed 1.85 homers per nine innings in 2025. Twice in the last three seasons Torkelson has hit 31 homers.
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