This article is part of our DraftKings MLB series.
Midweek baseball means seven games on the slate this week. The first pitch is at 7:07 p.m. ET. Seven games, a 7:07 p.m. ET start, all these sevens might bring you good luck. Or, you could look at the numbers, and assess these DFS recommendations, and pick your rosters from there.
Pitching
Zac Gallen, ARI at NYM ($9,800): After a couple bad starts, Gallen blanked the Cubs in a complete-game shutout in his last outing. He has a 2.93 ERA over the last two seasons and has allowed fewer than one homer per nine innings in that time, so I trust his pitching in an overarching fashion. The Mets are above average in home runs, but below average in runs scored, the kind of offensive profile that doesn't work against Gallen.
Braxton Garrett, MIA at MIL ($7,700): Garrett was good, if inefficient, in his last start, leading to him only making it through 3.2 innings. However, the Brewers shouldn't test Garrett as much as the Dodgers did. The southpaw has held lefties to a .211 average and has a 2.74 ERA on the road. The Brewers are below average in runs scored, and something of an all-or-nothing offense with a .237 batting average as a team.
Top Targets
As a rookie, Bobby Witt ($5,800) had 20 homers and 30 stolen bases. Now, as a sophomore he has 28 home runs and 42 swiped bags, putting him on pace for a 30/40 season, perhaps even a 30/50 season if he picks it up. Mike Clevinger has been erratic, but all in all has a 4.21 FIP. He's also allowed righties to hit .252 against him over the last two campaigns.
Rain in Boston shuffled things around, but it ultimately still leaves us with Clarke Schmidt starting for the Yankees at Fenway Park, so I'd still like Rafael Devers ($5,300) in my lineup. Since 2021 he has a .921 OPS versus righties, and also an .884 OPS at home. Schmidt, in his first season as a full-time starter, has a 5.29 ERA on the road, and also has allowed lefties to hit .301 against him.
Bargain Bats
Catchers with anything approaching power potential are a DFS boon, and in 2023 Shea Langeliers ($2,700) has emerged as one such player. He's hit 19 homers in 121 games, and he also has a .744 OPS away from Oakland's pitcher-friendly ballpark. Meanwhile, Hunter Brown has a 6.07 ERA at home, and in his career his fellow righties have hit .281 against him.
He's never grabbed a regular role for the Yankees, but Aaron Boone is intent on allowing Estevan Florial ($2,000) to start in centerfield, at least against right-handed pitchers. Down at Triple-A this year he had a .945 OPS with 28 homers and 25 stolen bases, which is intriguing. Tanner Houck has a 5.76 ERA at home and has allowed lefties to hit .292 against him, so this is the kind of matchup Florial will be in the lineup for.
Stacks to Consider
Astros vs. Athletics (Paul Blackburn): Yordan Alvarez ($6,100), Kyle Tucker ($5,700), Alex Bregman ($5,500)
Blackburn has not allowed many home runs, but he still has a 3.88 ERA, with a 4.23 ERA on the road. He's also allowed lefties to hit .303 against him, and the Astros have two elite southpaws, so that makes this an easy choice for a stack.
Injuries have cut into Alvarez's homer total, but he's slashed .298/.412/.580 with 26 homers in 98 games. He's scorching down the home stretch as well, having posted an 1.260 OPS over the last three weeks. Tucker has 26 home runs himself, but he also has 28 stolen bases. This year, though, he's also gotten on base at a robust .374 clip. Bregman is a righty, but he has an .857 OPS against right-handed pitchers. While lefties have raked against Blackburn, righties have hit .276 against him as well.
Diamondbacks at Mets (Joey Lucchesi): Ketel Marte ($4,800), Christian Walker ($4,600), Lourdes Gurriel ($3,700)
The expectation is that Lucchesi is going to be serving as the Mets' sixth starter down the stretch. No reason to stress pitching arms with the season a wash. As to Lucchesi himself, the lefty has a career 4.12 FIP, including a 4.61 FIP in six starts with the Mets this year. Assuming Lucchesi is the starter, this trio look good to me.
Marte has batted .276 with 22 homers, 25 doubles, and nine triples. While he is a switch hitter, since 2021 he has a .938 OPS versus lefties. Walker has 30 homers for the second season in a row. He's been better at home, but the slugger has a .940 OPS versus lefties, which balances thing out for me. Gurriel has 23 homers and 32 doubles, and has hit lefties and righties fairly evenly. He also has an .855 OPS over the last three weeks.
